Apple Store's glass cube on Fifth Avenue is taking a sabbatical

UPDATE: Apple’s glass cube on Fifth Avenue has been taken down, new photos obtained by Gothamist have revealed. It’s not yet clear how long it will be taken away from New Yorkers and tourists alike who have flocked to check out the iconic cube over the years, but it will supposedly make a return when renovations on the underground Apple store are complete.

By Josh Weiner via Gothamist

Apple’s iconic glass cube on Fifth Avenue will be no more—well, at least for a little bit. The cube will be removed to allow renovation work to continue on the underground store as it preps for its expansion to 77,000 square feet of space, Crain’s has learned.

Curbed was tipped off by BuildingZoom to plans filed by Boston Properties—the owner of the building in front of which the Apple Store is located. The plan calls for the “full removal of glass cubical structure at Apple store entrance,” according to the city’s Department of Buildings. The agency issued the permit for the work on April 17.

In January, Apple temporarily moved to F.A.O. Schwarz’s former flagship store on Fifth Avenue to allow construction to get underway at their underground space. The glass cube will likely return once the expansion work is complete, but this has yet to be confirmed. Curbed’s request for a comment from Apple was unreturned, and the company declined to issue a comment to Crain’s as well.

• Apple filed plan to dismantle Fifth Avenue store's glass cube [Crain’s]