The Shophound

CHAIN GANG: Apple Looking To Patent Its Upper West Side Store Architecture

It looks like Apple is vigilantly protective of more than just its tech patents. AppleInsider reports that the huge computer firm is in the process of patenting the architectural elements that helped to create the glass front and soaring, arched ceiling of the Upper West Side Apple Store (pictured above and below), presumably to replicate it in other locations, or at least to keep it from being copied by another store. A filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office details the unique inventions that allow the glass sections of the structure to be supported by the other three walls of what was once a more traditionally designed Victoria's Secret boutique on the corner of Broadway and West 67th Street.

It won't be the first time that Apple has sought to protect elements of its store design from copying. Obviously, the glass cube of the Fifth Avenue flagship store is carefully protected, but the signature spiral staircases that appear in Apple stores are also a proprietary design. Reportedly, the company is also looking to patent the glass cylinder design of the entrance to its flagship in Shanghai, China.

Of Apple's New York City Stores, the Upper West Side branch is the only one which has a mostly original structure (above ground, anyway) Obviously, Fifth Avenue is mostly underground while the SoHo, meatpacking District and, most prominently, Grand Central Station locations are all retrofitted into pre-existing, sometimes historic buildings.

Apple wants to patent glass design of Upper West Side NYC store (AppleInsider)

APPLEWATCH: Apple Grand Central Is Unveiled But Unopened

Apple's Grand Central store does not officially open its doors, or uh whatever they have to close it with until Friday, but the tarps and scaffolds have already been removed, and the folks at AppleInsider and Business Insider have gotten sneaky shots of what customers will see this weekend.

No big surprises here —it looks pretty much like what the renderings promised. Expect big crowds on Friday to torment commuters rushing to get to work or catch their trains. It will be interesting to see how Apple' s new self-checkout system for certain smaller items will fare among such hustle and bustle.

Grand Central Apple Store uncovered ahead of Friday's opening (Appleinsider)
Here's What Apple's Grand Central Terminal Store Looks Like On The Inside (Business Insider)

CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE: Apple's New Cube Is Unveiled On Fifth Avenue

Last night, the normally 24/7 Apple Fifth Avenue store closed in order to prepare for this morning's unveiling of its newly renovated plaza and streamlined cube entryway. In a move that flies in the face of conventional "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" wisdom, the store's iconic entrance has been hidden by scaffolding for the past few months while a streamlined version was reconstructed using only fifteen major panes of glass instead of the original 90 and devoid of any hint of hardware. The result is an even lighter more elegant looking structure that now represents even more strongly the company's dedication to constant evolution and improvement. The original cube (click the image at left for a larger view) was so important to the late Apple chief Steve Jobs that he reportedly paid for it out of his own deep pockets. Now that the cube's reported $6.7 million renovation is complete, it is once again poised to become one of the city's most photographed structures.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Apple SoHo Makes A Temporary Move

After hearing months ago that Apple would be temporarily be moving their SoHo store to 72 Greene Street, we were wondering when exactly they were planning to do this. Well, this past week, the company's longtime Prince Street store finally closed for a major renovation and expansion. For however long that takes, customers will be directed a couple of blocks away to the temporary store. Having seen it, we now understand what took so long, because what Apple considers "temporary", looks for all the world like a perfectly permanent installation. Of course, for most markets, a roomy two-level Apple store would more than adequate, but for busy SoHo, we anticipate that it will be crowded most of the time, especially at Christmas. In fact, it was pretty bustling on a rainy Thursday afternoon. It has pretty much all the same features as the store it is subbing for except for the amphitheater —and we didn't immediately if there were restrooms (one of the Prince Street store's most popular features). There is indeed a genius bar, and all the other usual services, but given the inevitable crowd crush that comes with a recent iPhone launch combined with the upcoming Holiday shopping season, we might suggest that regular Apple SoHo customers might do well to venture up to 14th Street and Ninth Avenue for an easier shopping experience.

IN MEMORIAM: Apple Stores Become Shrines To Steve Jobs

Though we haven't visited all of Manhattan's Apple Stores, it seems pretty clear from walking past the Upper West Side and Fifth Avenue locations (pictured below and above respectively), that mournful Apple Computer fans have gone out of their way to leave remembrances for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on the doorsteps of the company's stores. Leavings range from flowers to pictures to handmade notes to decommissioned computer parts to busted iPods, but the most popular item is a single apple, often with a bite taken out mimicking the brand's iconic insignia. Crowds have formed in front of stores to document the impromptu shrines, with many of them (like The Shophound) photographing them with their iPhones.

APPLEWATCH: Fifth Avenue Apple Store Hints At A New Cube Design

It's a slow August afternoon, so we must thank the folks at AppleInsider for alerting us to the modifications to the iconic cube that are underway at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. It's not a huge secret —this picture is of the scaffolding that covers the construction— but the newly rebuilt cube will be a simplified version of the one that was just dismantled. The new signage reads: "We're simplifying the Fifth Avenue Cube. By using larger, seamless pieces of glass, we're using just 15 panes instead of 90."

So there you go, geometry fans. In keeping with the brand's signature minimalist aesthetic, Apple's architects are getting rid of pesky panes that disrupt the serenity of the structure. As we interpret it, as soon as Apple figures out a way to make the cube with just 5 huge panes of glass, they will probably dismantle the cube they are building now in favor of more simplification until, eventually, they will be able to produce a unibody single piece glass cube for customers to walk through. Well, when you reportedly have more cash on hand than the U.S. Government, then you can afford to do that kind of thing.

Presumably, the construction should be completed in time for the long rumored new iPhone launch sometime in September? October?

Apple simplifying Fifth Ave glass cube with larger, seamless panes (AppleInsider)

APPLEWATCH: More Apple News In SoHo And Grand Central Include Renderings & A $1.4 Million Temporary Store

It's like someone turned on a spigot and the news about Apple stores keeps gushing out. While we were all digesting the news about Apple's upcoming store in Grand Central Station, AppleInsider discovered that 72 Greene Street (pictured above) will be the site of a temporary store in SoHo to replace the Spring Street Apple unit while it undergoes renovations and expansion.

With some additional work from ifoAppleStore.com (There's a whole cottage industry of Apple blogs out there) the tireless bloggers combed through building permits to conclude that the retailer would take over both ground floor retail spaces, the cellar and half of the second floor at the historic 1873 cast-iron, French Renaissance style building between Spring and Broome streets that sits about a block and a half from the former post office building holding the store set to go under construction within the next few months. This presumably means that King Of Greene Street, the boutique in one of the ground floor spaces that was named after the imposing building's longtime nickname, has closed, which, sadly, we hadn't noticed. The bloggers deduced who the renovating tenant was by matching the architectural firm cited in the documents with one which has frequently worked for Apple in the past. The most striking feature is the price tag on the store. Apple will be shelling out $1.4 million to alter and use the space for only a few months. When it will make the move is unclear, but all signs point to a mid-September launch for the newest iPhone, so we are guessing that the temporary replacement store will be up and running in plenty of time to prepare for that particular bit of rabid customer frenzy.

As for Grand Central, The Wall Street Journal's Metropolis blog has renderings of the upcoming store in the main terminal there courtesy of MTA officials who also announced that the historic station would also be welcoming a Shake Shack (Let's just move in there permanently, shall we?). The officials reported that the store would take only four months to build, which suggests that Apple will be making few if any architectural additions or changes to the existing landmarked structure and that it will be open in time for Holiday shopping. In addition, the Journal estimated the annual rent of the space up to $1.1 million —higher than earlier estimates— which would be on top of the $5 million it reports the company paid Chef Charlie Palmer to shut down his Metrazur restaurant more than eight years before his lease would have expired. Palmer, in stark contrast, was only paying $263,997 a year for a somewhat smaller space. This means that the MTA more than quadrupled its income for the space plus a portion of the balcony which had not been previously rented. It's no wonder that they were so eager to strike a deal with Apple.

And that's this morning's New York City Apple retail update. If things keep going the way they have been, we may have a whole new bunch of news by this afternoon

Apple building $1.4M temporary store in New York's SoHo neighborhood (AppleInsider)
Apple Won’t Skimp On Temporary NYC Store (ifoAppleStore)
First Glimpse of Apple’s Plans for Grand Central Terminal (Metropolis/WSJ)

APPLEWATCH: Lease Reportedly Signed For Apple Grand Central Store

Over the weekend, The New York Post reported that Apple has signed a 10-year deal for the north and northeast balconies at Grand Central Terminal (see map below from AppleInsider).  The lease will be worth $800,000 per year —more than a half a million dollars more than previous tenant Metrazur restaurant which, in fairness, occupied a somewhat smaller space. After 10 years, however, the rent will jump to over $1 million a year. Renovation and construction costs will be covered by Apple as well.

To emphasize just how complicated this process is, the deal must still be approved by the MTA's financial committee, which it is expected to do today, and then will have to be finally approved by its Board of Directors which is expected to happen this Wednesday.

The Post is reporting that the space totals 23,000 square feet which is many times the size of Apple's average retail store, and more than double the size of what is currently its largest unit on Fifth Avenue. The new store is also likely to be its most complex and contentious in design. Any changes and additions to the space will have to be approved by the MTA and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The commission is known to be vigilantly protective of Grand Central in particular, as the building's rescue from demolition in 1978 was one of its most famous actions.

While no architectural plans have been released, perhaps the biggest question is how Apple will secure merchandise in what is currently an unenclosed, open-air space with few actual doors to lock when the store is closed? Will it be open during all hours the station is open, or will Apple be allowed to build some sort of enclosure on the balconies? The company is notoriously tight-lipped about such decisions, but the MTA's and Landmark Preservation Commission's public processes will require more disclosure.

So far, projected opening dates have been announced, but we are guessing that the store is about a year off at least —at which point we will be able to see how much more traffic Apple will draw to an already busy destination.

Apple's 'Grand' opening (NYPost)
Apple signs 10 year deal for massive Grand Central Terminal retail store (AppleInsider)

APPLEWATCH: It Looks Like Apple Will Open A Store In Grand Central After All

After much back and forth earlier this year, it looked like Apple would not be opening its heavily rumored Grand Central Terminal store due to the MTA's strict rules and guidelines for landmark location. However, an article in yesterday's New York Times, which mostly focused on the location's brutal leasing policies, mentioned that the computer giant had reconsidered and was close to an agreement to put a store on the main hall's east and north balconies. MTA approval is expected early next week, and construction should begin quickly as Metrazur, the restaurant that had occupied the east balcony, has cleared out.

The article also shed light on the MTA's demanding leasing policies, including the rule that longtime tenants reapply for their store spaces each time their leases come up rather than being granted a first option for renewal. This has often left what anyone else might consider solid tenants out in the cold, and explains, for example, why the much loved Little Pie Company was forced out of the downstairs concourse last year in favor of the richer but less interesting Magnolia Bakery.

As for the Apple Store, the company has a habit not announcing new stores until they are only a few weeks from opening, but the MTA is forced to be more public. We should know the final disposition of the proposed store by next week.

As Grand Central Changes, Longtime Tenants Are Left Behind by Christine Haughney (NYTimes)
previously:
Apple Out Of Grand Central? (03.18.11)

TODAY IN RELOCATIONS: Apple's SoHo Store To Relocate During Renovation

Apple's New York Stores are knee deep in construction. While the Fifth Avenue flagship cube entrance is being dismantled and rebuilt (see below), the latest word is that the SoHo Store, the city's first, is about to be temporarily relocated while extensive renovations are performed.

An instant hit when it opened in 2002, the 16,000 square foot store was the Apple chain's first flagship sized store. Now, out of Manhattan's four locations, it is the smallest, and recently arranged to take over the post office space that remained in the landmark building it occupies. The renovations will add 5,000 square feet to the store's main level for what is now a much needed expansion, and it looks like the store will have to be closed to the public while construction takes place. Exactly where it will move is the big question. No location has yet been announced, and replicating the store's services will be a challenge. It remains unique among the city's Apple stores with its upstairs amphitheater constantly in use for free software classes hosting celebrity appearances and performances to promote upcoming films, CDs and special events like The Tribeca Film Festival. Often these appearances are repurposed as iTunes podcasts. In addition the store has become a popular tourist magnet for its free internet and, for those in the know, easily accessible bathrooms.

AppleInsider reports that the relocation will happen sometime in the next three months, and consider that any construction is likely to be timed to be completed before the Holiday selling season starts. We expect it to be moved somewhere in the neighborhood, and when we find out where, we'll let you know.

Apple's SoHo expansion calls for temporary shop at unknown location (AppleInsider)