Tag Archives: Theodore William Emile De Lemos

De Lemos & Cordes

De Lemos & Cordes – Theodore William Emile De Lemos and August William Cordes – were German-born and -educated architects who came to the United States in the 1880s, setting up their firm in New York in 1884.

The pair achieved success quickly, specializing in commercial buildings and department stores. Their Cooper-Siegel department store (1897), and Macy’s department store (Broadway building)(1902) were both, at the time of their construction, the largest department stores in existence.

According to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, “The firm tended to favor a Renaissance Revival stylistic vocabulary, and its commissions were often executed in a picturesque manner with notable ornamentation and a mixture of materials, including brick, stone, and terra cotta.”

De Lemos & Cordes Representative Buildings

* The original Empire State Building, named for the Empire State Bank

De Lemos & Cordes Suggested Reading