By Jared Ebersole in Video 06 Oct 2026

Starrett-Lehigh: The Freight Terminal That Became a Fashion Address

Railcars arrived by water, and trucks rode upstairs. Inside Starrett-Lehigh, the machinery of Manhattan’s industrial waterfront helped shape an unlikely second act.

At Manhattan’s western edge, railroad tracks pointing toward the Hudson can look like a transportation mistake. Their destination seems to be water. Once, that was precisely the point: freight cars crossed the river on barges, completing a journey that combined steel rails with a floating middle section.

A short distance inland, the Starrett-Lehigh Building took that arrangement to an extraordinary architectural conclusion. Rail freight entered at ground level, while elevators carried trucks to loading areas upstairs. The building stacked manufacturing and storage above a transportation terminal, bringing the delivery network into the structure itself.

Today, its association with fashion and creative businesses can make the industrial past feel remote. But the connection is visible in the building’s proportions. The generous spaces that accommodated goods and vehicles also gave later occupants room to make photographs, arrange showrooms and stage runway presentations.

Where it is

Starrett-Lehigh Building
601 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001
The block between West 26th and West 27th Streets, from Eleventh to Twelfth Avenue.

The address places it directly beside the waterfront district that explains its existence. Starrett-Lehigh

The river crossing was a practical piece of freight handling. Railroad cars traveled aboard barges called car floats, allowing their cargo to remain inside while crossing the water. At the receiving shore, tracks on a movable float bridge connected the barge with land. Because the Hudson’s water level changes with the tide, that connection had to move vertically to meet the floating deck.

One surviving example is the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad float transfer bridge at Pier 66a. Its identity matters: this is a remnant of a neighboring railroad operation, rather than a surviving Lehigh Valley entrance to Starrett-Lehigh. Together, the bridge and the building reveal how thoroughly rail and water transportation once shaped this stretch of Chelsea. Hudson River Park dates the local use of these barge connections into the early 1970s. Hudson River Park’s Pier 66a history

Starrett-Lehigh was constructed in 1930–31 on the site of Lehigh Valley Railroad yards. Its designers included Cory & Cory and associate architect Yasuo Matsui, with Purdy & Henderson as consulting engineers. The arrangement brought a freight terminal, warehouses and manufacturing premises together on an entire Manhattan block. Historic Districts Council

That combination addressed a basic problem of urban industry: the journey between a shipment’s arrival and the place where someone actually needed it. A waterfront location alone could not eliminate the work of moving goods through a building. Starrett-Lehigh’s distinctive response was to accommodate vehicles within the vertical circulation system.

Railcars entered the ground floor. Trucks could ride freight elevators to loading docks on the upper floors. This distinction is essential to understanding the machinery: the upper loading areas were reached by trucks, rather than by lifting railway cars through the building. The interior effectively extended the delivery route upward, putting access close to tenants who otherwise would have depended on transfers from street level. Historic Districts Council’s account of the freight system

Its appearance gave those practical ambitions an unusually elegant expression. Horizontal window bands wrap around the exterior, alternating with solid strips of wall. The repetition makes the enormous structure read as a sequence of long, illuminated work floors. The same design that advertised an efficient industrial interior also placed it among the early landmarks of modern architecture in New York.

Recognition came quickly. Starrett-Lehigh appeared in the Museum of Modern Art’s influential 1932 architecture exhibition, soon after construction. A building organized around freight could also serve as an argument about what contemporary architecture should look like. Historic Districts Council

The terminal arrangement eventually lost its original advantage. Docomomo US records declining railway use during the 1950s as highways gained importance, followed by removal of the building’s tracks in 1966. Those dates describe a gradual shift in transportation, rather than a single moment when a new crossing suddenly made the entire operation unnecessary. Docomomo US building history

The building’s subsequent life also resists a simple story of abandonment followed by rescue. Commercial occupation continued, while the balance of uses changed. Docomomo identifies a major renovation in 2000 and describes the subdivision of large industrial interiors into smaller commercial office spaces. The railway disappeared from the ground floor, but the structure remained useful. Docomomo US

Its size created options. Broad floors could accommodate substantial teams, while portions could be divided among different businesses. The current leasing website advertises full floors of up to 70,000 rentable square feet. That offers a different workplace arrangement from one spread across several smaller tower floors: more activity can take place on a single level. Starrett-Lehigh leasing information

The later amenity program makes the change in priorities especially clear. RXR’s 2024 building brochure lists spaces called amenity bays, including a library, work lounge, living room and drive-in theater screen. It also identifies a billiard room. Areas associated with the building’s industrial scale have become places for occupants to gather and spend time between tasks. RXR’s building brochure

The same brochure lists Polo Ralph Lauren and Under Armour among the businesses at the address, alongside design and architecture occupants. Fashion’s presence therefore extends beyond a few photogenic evenings. Office work, product development and presentation fit into a building whose large interiors were already accustomed to accommodating varied commercial needs. RXR

In February 2024, that relationship became especially public. The official NYFW: The Shows schedule named Starrett-Lehigh as the venue for runway events including Juzui, Area and Ludovic de Saint Sernin on February 11. The former freight terminal had become a place where audiences gathered to see what would move through fashion next. NYFW’s February 2024 schedule

The continuity lies in the space itself. A wide floor, abundant perimeter windows and room to handle large objects can serve more than one economy. Starrett-Lehigh’s original designers could organize a building around the needs of freight without fixing every future use. Nearly a century later, the railroad has gone, but the architectural generosity it required still gives the building somewhere to go.