The New York Design Center is the country’s oldest furniture and design building. Built in 1926 as the New York Furniture Exchange, 200 Lexington was the dream of visionaries in the furniture industry. This historic 16-story, 500,000-square-foot building designed by Ely Jacques Kahn was originally available only to furniture and department store buyers. In the late 1970s, the building began to shift its focus towards interior design and architecture; and in 1981, emerged as the New York Design Center. Today, 200 Lexington houses nearly 100 showrooms representing more than 500 lines of fine, traditional, contemporary, residential and contract furniture, as well as fabric, floor covering, lighting, wall covering, kitchen and bath and decorative accessory resources. (New York Design Center website)