New York’s iconic Tiffany & Co Fifth Avenue building – made famous by the Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany’s – is devastated by an electrical fire after a $500 million cleanup
- Smoke rises from 727 Fifth Avenue – the landmark of Tiffany & Co
- The store reopened in April after a renovation that reportedly cost $500 million
A fire burned parts of the newly renovated Tiffany & Co. building on Manhattan’s famous Fifth Avenue on Thursday morning.
Photos from the scene show FDNY firefighters fighting the fire, which started as an underground street fire, according to a fire department spokesman, who said the cause was an electrical safe.
No one was seriously injured, but some employees were taken to hospital in ambulances.
The fire happened around 9:38 a.m. — just as employees were preparing to open the store at 727 Fifth Avenue.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the Tiffany & Co. Landmark store on Fifth Avenue on Thursday
Around 10 a.m. Thursday, smoke was seen billowing from a ground floor window of The Landmark store at 727 Fifth Avenue
HAPPENING NOW: Smoke grows from the fire under Tiffany & Co in Manhattan. A loud popping noise can be heard. More fire engines arrive. pic.twitter.com/NHrqu590zw
— Jayne Zirkle (@JayneZirkle) June 29, 2023
Firefighters battle the blaze at the store at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street
Among those standing on the street watching the smoke billowing through the windows were store employees and chefs at the Blue Box Cafe on the sixth floor.
The building has recently reopened after a lengthy and costly refurbishment. Stars including Katy Perry, Hailey Bieber and Blake Lively attended the grand reopening in April.
The store is located in a desirable corner of Manhattan’s shopping district – sharing the block with Trump Tower.
LVMH, the European luxury brand company, bought Tiffany for $16 billion in 2021.
Some experts estimated that the renovations cost $500 million.
Bernard Arnault, CEO and owner of LVMH, declined to confirm the number in an interview at the opening earlier this year.
The store underwent a $500 million renovation and reopened earlier this year to a great deal of fanfare
Hailey Bieber with Tiffany CEO Anthony Ledru at the store’s grand reopening in April
The renovated building reopened in April this year after months of renovation
He described the renovation of the entire building—which first opened in 1940—to make each floor different.
“We got lost in the building.” Here’s a guy who gets lost in his own store. I said: “We still have a lot to do.”‘
Part of the renovation was the addition of the Blue Box Cafe on the sixth floor.
On the first floor there is a large showroom and a shop. There are ten floors in total, half of which are open to the public.
Tiffany has not yet commented on the fire.
Smoke rises from the basement below Tiffany after a fire broke out on Thursday
The iconic store at 727 Fifth Avenue was featured in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Today, the newly renovated 10-storey building houses an “Audrey Room”.