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1271 Avenue of the Americas (formerly known as the Time & Life Building) is a 48-story
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
on
Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...
(Avenue of the Americas), between 50th and 51st streets, in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Designed by architect
Wallace Harrison Wallace Kirkman Harrison (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center. He is ...
of Harrison, Abramovitz, and Harris, the building was developed between 1956 and 1960 as part of
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
. The building's eight-story base partially wraps around its 48-story main tower. Both sections are surrounded by a plaza, which has white-and-gray pavement in a serpentine pattern, as well as water fountains. The facade consists of glass panels between limestone columns. The lobby contains serpentine floors, white-marble and stainless-steel walls, and reddish-burgundy glass ceilings, in addition to artwork by
Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...
,
Fritz Glarner Fritz Glarner (July 20, 1899 – September 18, 1972) was a Swiss-American painter. He was a proponent of Concrete Art movement and a disciple of Piet Mondrian. Work Glarner was a leading proponent of so-called Concrete Art, an artists' m ...
, and Francis Brennan. The ground floor also includes storefronts and originally housed La Fonda del Sol, a Latin American–themed restaurant. Each of the upper floors covers , with the offices arranged around the core. The 48th floor originally contained the Hemisphere Club, which operated as a members-only restaurant during the day and was open to the public during evenings. After the media firm
Time Inc. Time Inc. (also referred to as Time & Life, Inc. later on, after their two onetime flagship magazine publications) was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New ...
expressed its intention to move from
1 Rockefeller Plaza 1 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Time & Life Building and the General Dynamics Building) is a 36-story building located on the east side of Rockefeller Plaza between 48th and 49th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1937, ...
in the 1950s, Rockefeller Center's owners proposed a skyscraper at 1271 Avenue of the Americas to accommodate the move. Construction started in May 1957; the building was
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is ofte ...
during November 1958, and occupants began moving into their offices in late 1959. The
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...
designated the lobby as a city landmark in 2002. Time Inc. vacated 1271 Avenue of the Americas in 2015, and the building was subsequently renovated between 2015 and 2019.


Site

1271 Avenue of the Americas is on the western side of
Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...
(officially Avenue of the Americas), between 50th and 51st streets, in the
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
neighborhood of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The
land lot In real estate, a land lot or plot of land is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the sam ...
is rectangular and covers . The site has a
frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on 50th and 51st streets and a frontage of on Sixth Avenue. Nearby buildings include
The Michelangelo The Taft Hotel building is a 22-story pre-war Spanish Renaissance structure that occupies the eastern side of Seventh Avenue between 50th and 51st streets, just north of Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. I ...
to the west,
Axa Equitable Center Axa Equitable Center (originally the Equitable Tower or Equitable Center West) is an office skyscraper at 787 Seventh Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1986 and design ...
to the northwest,
75 Rockefeller Plaza 75 Rockefeller Plaza is a skyscraper on the north side of 51st Street in New York City, originally built as a northern extension of Rockefeller Center. History In July 1944, the Rockefellers began planning a new 16-story tower to house the Sta ...
to the northeast,
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
to the east,
30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...
to the southeast, and
1251 Avenue of the Americas 1251 Avenue of the Americas (formerly known as the Exxon Building) is a skyscraper on Sixth Avenue (also known as Avenue of the Americas), between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is owned by Mits ...
to the south. Prior to the development of 1271 Avenue of the Americas, much of the site had previously served as a
New York Railways Company The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which all of its rem ...
trolley barn, which in turn was replaced by a parking lot. There was also a four-story building facing Sixth Avenue and a collection of single-story shops on 50th Street. Rockefeller Center Inc. bought the plots on 50th and 51st streets in the first week of August 1953, followed by those on Sixth Avenue the next week. One building on the site reportedly cost $2 million after its owner had held out. Rockefeller Center's managers originally wanted to build an
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
studio or a Ford vehicle
showroom A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921 A showroom is a large space used to display products or show entertainment. Marketing location A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, such as automobiles, furniture, appliances ...
on the site.


Architecture

The building was designed by
Harrison & Abramovitz Harrison & Abramovitz (also known as Harrison, Fouilhoux & Abramovitz; Harrison, Abramovitz, & Abbe; and Harrison, Abramovitz, & Harris) was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976. The firm was a partner ...
, a firm led by
Wallace Harrison Wallace Kirkman Harrison (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center. He is ...
and
Max Abramovitz Max Abramovitz (May 23, 1908 – September 12, 2004) was an American architect. He was best known for his work with the New York City firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Life Abramovitz was the son of Romanian Jewish immigrant parents. He graduat ...
. It was constructed by John Lowry and the
George A. Fuller Company George A. Fuller (October 21, 1851 – December 14, 1900) was an American architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern general contractor, contracting system. Early life and career Fuller was born in Te ...
.
Syska Hennessy Syska Hennessy is a global Consultant, consulting, engineering and Building commissioning, commissioning firm for the built environment. Established in 1928, Syska Hennessy was ranked the 161st-largest U.S. design firm by Engineering News-Record, ...
was hired as the mechanical engineering firm, and Edwards & Hjorth was the structural engineering firm. 1271 Avenue of the Americas was planned as a 48-story
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
, rising and measuring around . The tower is flanked by shorter segments with setbacks at the third and eighth stories. The north and west edges of the tower are flanked by a seven-story section of the base. An auditorium designed by
Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...
, with colored triangles, was installed on the eighth-floor setback. The neighboring Roxy Theatre was acquired as part of the building's development, allowing the building's floor area to be increased under the limits set by the
1916 Zoning Resolution The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide Zoning in the United States, zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both Boroughs of New York City, borough and local interests, and was adopted primar ...
. A provision under the 1916 Zoning Resolution had allowed structures to rise without setbacks above a given level if all subsequent stories covered no more than 25 percent of the land lot.


Facade

1271 Avenue of the Americas' facade is made mostly of glass, which at the time of the building's construction cost the same as a wall made mostly of
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. The use of a glass facade permitted a higher degree of flexibility on each story compared to a limestone wall of the same size. Before the current facade design was selected, several alternatives were considered. Time Inc. wanted a flush exterior wall, but this was rejected because exterior columns would protrude into the floor area. Another alternative called for an accordion-shaped wall: The windows would have sloped inward, and the
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
panels between the windows on each story would have sloped outward. The accordion wall, which would have been framed by flat columns, was infeasible because it reduced floor area, required modifications to the drapes and air-conditioning, and was not aesthetically desirable to the architects. At ground level, there is a
canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
over the 51st Street entrance. The rest of the tower has a glass curtain wall. On all stories, the facade includes structural columns with limestone cladding. The limestone columns frame the glass curtain wall and also serve as an architectural allusion to the other buildings at Rockefeller Center. In addition, more than of stainless-steel flashing was placed on the facade. The stainless-steel flashing was meant to last for as long as the building existed; on the setbacks at the base, the flashing was buried inside corners along the roof deck. The limestone columns are spaced every . There are five vertical
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
of windows between each set of limestone columns. Each bay has two narrow aluminum
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
s flanking the center pane and two larger air-conditioning risers along the outer panes. Originally, each glass pane measured wide and tall. The spandrels between the windows on different stories consist of a plate, behind which is a screen made of aluminum mesh. The mechanical pipes and ducts, as well as the
floor slab A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings, consisting of a flat, horizontal surface made of cast concrete. Steel- reinforced slabs, typically between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct floors and ...
s, are hidden behind the spandrels. The windows were planned as square panes, but the
window sill A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The ...
s were lowered during the design process so they were only above each floor slab. Each spandrel was then covered by a regular glass pane. In the late 2010s, new low-
emissivity The emissivity of the surface of a material is its effectiveness in emitting energy as thermal radiation. Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation that most commonly includes both visible radiation (light) and infrared radiation, which is n ...
glazed panels with thermal breaks were installed.


Plaza

The eastern part of the site was planned with a plaza. The plaza measures long and wide and is flanked by the eight-story base. The southern part of the site also has a promenade that is about wide. The plaza has pavers in a serpentine pattern, similar to those found on the sidewalks of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
's
Copacabana Beach Copacabana ( , , ) is a Brazilian (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in ...
. According to the architectural writer
Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern (born May 23, 1939) is an American architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects, also known as RAMSA. From 1998 to 2016, he was the Dean of the Y ...
, the pavement was "an illustration of the 'good neighbor' ideals of the Avenue of the Americas Association". Harrison believed the pavers would bring variety to the building's design. The original pavers, designed by Port Morris Tile & Marble Corporation, were removed in 2001 because they were too slippery; the same company reproduced the pattern in rougher
terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...
. In the late 2010s, the sidewalk pattern was extended from the lot line to the
curb A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway. History Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...
line. A seating
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
in the plaza surrounded a
reflecting pool A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets. Design Reflecting pools are o ...
with four jets, measuring about . Another six pools, measuring each, were placed within the plaza. Each pool had a mat made of lead for waterproofing, which in turn was covered by cement and terrazzo. Trees and shrubs were originally also planted on the 50th Street side, while three flagpoles were placed on the section of the plaza facing Sixth Avenue. After the late 2010s renovation, the original decorations were replaced. The new decorations included five pools with fountain jets on Sixth Avenue, in addition to planting beds and seating areas. Also within the plaza is an entrance to the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
's 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station, serving the . In 1972, the
Association for a Better New York The Association for a Better New York (ABNY) is a real-estate advocacy group in New York City founded in late 1970 by Lewis Rudin, Alton Marshall, and Rexford Thompkins to market New York as business-friendly amid concerns about crime and to lobby ...
hired William Crovello to create a sculpture at the building called ''Cubed Curve'', measuring wide and wide. The sculpture was inspired by a fluid brush stroke. According to ''The New York Times'', the sculpture marked Time Inc.'s "presence at the center of the media universe". It was moved in 2018 to
Ursinus College Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a campus. Ursinus College's forerunner was the Freeland Seminary founded in 1848. Its $127 million endowment supports about 1, ...
in
Collegeville, Pennsylvania Collegeville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb outside of Philadelphia on Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the location of Ursinus College, which opened in 1869. The population was 5,089 ...
, while the building was being renovated.


Interior

1271 Avenue of the Americas was built with about of rentable space. According to the
New York City Department of City Planning The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...
, the building has a gross floor area of . The interior design was contracted to a variety of architects, including Alexander Girard,
Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...
,
Charles Eames Charles Ormond Eames Jr. (June 17, 1907 – August 21, 1978) was an American designer, architect and filmmaker. In professional partnership with his wife Ray-Bernice Kaiser Eames, he made groundbreaking contributions in the fields of architect ...
, William Tabler, and George Nelson & Company. Thirty elevators, within the core, serve the building. The building's interior is divided into eight air-conditioning zones. Floors 8, 9, and 16 through 34 were originally occupied by Time Inc. and had their own thermostats, accommodating the nonstandard working hours of Time Inc. employees. In conjunction with the building's construction, Rockefeller Center's central air-conditioning system was upgraded in 1957 to provide 6,000 tons of cooling capacity to the building every hour. The cooling systems had to operate all year because Time Inc.'s equipment generated large amounts of heat. The original cooling system was powered by steam, but electric and natural gas cooling systems had been added by 2000. The mechanical spaces are concealed by narrow windows on the facade. There are three basement stories. The first basement has a passageway leading to Rockefeller Center's underground concourse and the 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station. The two other basements are not accessible to the public and are used for storage, maintenance, and service functions.


Ground floor


= Lobby

= 1271 Avenue of the Americas' lobby is surrounded by commercial spaces on all sides; with the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
incorporated in the core and exterior, Harrison could design the lobby with more flexibility. Originally, the lobby was planned to include a covered shopping and exhibit hall on 50th Street and a north–south passage between 50th and 51st streets. These details were changed significantly in the final plan. The lobby has two entrances to the south on 50th Street, one on either side of the core, as well as an entrance to the north on 51st Street, along the east side of the core. The core itself has two west–east passages connected by elevator banks. The more northerly of the east–west passages has stairs and escalators to the second story and the basement. Until the 1990s, the southern passage had been a narrow hallway because there were two storefronts next to it. A
breezeway A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often, a breezeway is a simple roof connectin ...
led east to Sixth Avenue, but this had been closed by 2002. Time Inc.'s reception area was within the lobby behind the fountain. The lobby has the same style of pavement as the plaza outside the building. The original tiles were installed by the American Mosaic & Tile Company. They were made of white
cementitious A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...
terrazzo with stainless steel borders, aligned west–east. The southern section of the lobby was expanded in the 1990s, over the site of the storefronts there, but the extended floor did not match the original pavement. The entire lobby was resurfaced in the late 2010s with marble-based terrazzo tiles that matched the original floor design. Because the marble tiles had contained natural veins of black rock, contractors manually removed the
vein Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...
s before installing the tiles. The walls are largely made of plate-glass windows and white marble panels. Around the core, the walls are made of stainless steel rectangular panels. The steel panels are designed to complement the floor colors and are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The ceiling throughout the lobby is high and was originally made of dark maroon glass tiles, finished in a matte covering. There were white lighting coves in some tiles. Manufactured by American-Saint Gobain Corporation, the glass tiles were suspended from washers at each corner and were designed to be removed for maintenance. In the late 2010s, the original glass ceiling was replaced with reddish-burgundy tiles of similar design, which matched the original color. The lobby walls contain large murals by
Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...
and
Fritz Glarner Fritz Glarner (July 20, 1899 – September 18, 1972) was a Swiss-American painter. He was a proponent of Concrete Art movement and a disciple of Piet Mondrian. Work Glarner was a leading proponent of so-called Concrete Art, an artists' m ...
, both of whom Harrison had known for many years. Glarner's mural, entitled ''Relational Painting No. 88,'' measures and is mounted east of the elevators. It includes overlapping red, yellow, blue, gray, and black geometric shapes on a white background. Albers's mural, entitled ''Portals,'' measures and is mounted west of the elevators. ''Portals'' includes alternating bands of white and brown glass, which surround a set of bronze and nickel plates in a way that gives the impression of depth. ''Relational Painting No. 88'' was installed in April 1960, while ''Portals'' was installed twelve months later. Another artwork by ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
'' art director Francis Brennan was installed north of the elevators in January 1965. Brennan's work consists of a relief measuring , which contains all the letters of the alphabet in the Caslon 471 typeface.


= Storefronts

= When 1271 Avenue of the Americas opened, there was a Manufacturers Trust bank branch within the northeast corner of the base, next to the lobby. There had also been two storefronts along the southern end of the lobby, next to the west–east corridor there, but the storefronts were removed in the 1990s. Along the lobby's west side was La Fonda del Sol (the Inn of the Sun), a Latin American–themed restaurant operated by Joseph Baum of Restaurant Associates. The interiors were designed by Alexander Girard and furniture by Charles Eames. La Fonda had an elaborate entry foyer and a set of dining spaces leading to the largest dining room. The dining rooms were decorated with Latin American artifacts, and each of the dining rooms was furnished in vivid colors with at least two hues of fabrics. It relocated elsewhere in 1971 and was replaced with a bank branch. Originally used by the Seaman's Bank for Savings, the branch had round steel columns as well as green marble counters with flecks of white. , the businesses in the lobby include
the Capital Grille The Capital Grille is an American restaurant chain of upscale steakhouses owned by Darden Restaurants. The brand has locations in twenty-five U.S. state, states, the District of Columbia, and Mexico City. There are 63 locations, including one lo ...
and Ted's Montana Grill.


Upper floors


=Offices

= The seven lowest stories each have about of floor space. Each of the upper stories has around , largely uninterrupted by columns. These were among the largest floor slabs of any office building in New York City since World War II. All stairs and elevators are placed in the core, leaving the outer section of each floor available for use. This improved the efficiency of each floor by allowing an open plan for the offices. The arrangement of the building allowed high flexibility in planning interior offices. An office module in the building generally measured , though these could be combined as necessary. The interior arrangement was inspired by that of the
PSFS Building Loews Philadelphia Hotel, previously known as the PSFS Building, is a skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A National Historic Landmark, the building was the first International Style skyscraper constructed in the United Stat ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania. The firm Designs for Business was responsible for the design of Time Inc.'s space, which originally spanned 21 stories. Time Inc. had to fit multiple small rooms and cubicles on each of its floors, but the company was largely able to fit these rooms and cubicles within the modular system. Square aluminum posts were installed in Time Inc.'s space, through which partition panels could be installed. The panels were made of a myriad of materials including wood, plastic, burlap, and glass, though they were initially not soundproof. Mockups of the offices were manufactured at
Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...
, as well as in Time Inc.'s earlier headquarters at
1 Rockefeller Plaza 1 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Time & Life Building and the General Dynamics Building) is a 36-story building located on the east side of Rockefeller Plaza between 48th and 49th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1937, ...
. The elevator lobbies on each of Time Inc.'s stories had different decorations. The 28th floor also had a photo gallery where photojournalist
Alfred Eisenstaedt Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for ''Life'' magazine af ...
worked. After Charles Eames designed the chairs for Time Inc.'s offices, he created a new chair design in 1961, which was nicknamed the Time-Life Chair. Eames designed them as a favor to
Henry Luce Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an American magazine magnate who founded ''Time'', ''Life'', '' Fortune'', and ''Sports Illustrated'' magazines. He has been called "the most influential private citizen in the Amer ...
, the founder of ''Time'' and ''Life'' magazines, who had allowed Eames to use photos from the Time-Life archives for the pavilion he designed at the 1959
American National Exhibition The American National Exhibition, held from July 25 to September 4, 1959, was an exhibition of American art, fashion, cars, capitalism, model homes and futuristic kitchens. Held at Sokolniki Park in Moscow, then capital of the Soviet Union, the e ...
in Moscow. The chairs remain in production during the 21st century, albeit with modifications for stability and to meet updated product codes. Other offices in the building originally included the second-story offices of the
Gilman Paper Company The Gilman Paper Company was an American paper producer founded by Isaac Gilman in the 1880s in the village of Fitzdale, Vermont, which would later be renamed Gilman, Vermont. History Gilman Paper Company's founder, Isaac Gilman, emigrated from Ukr ...
, designed by SLS-Environetics and connected to the lobby by an escalator. The vestibule at the top of the escalators had stainless-steel wall and a carpet that extended across the floor and part of the walls. Gilman's reception area had an angular reception desk and lighting fixtures made of stainless steel. Gilman's offices had ceilings measuring tall, with angular furniture, sculpted ducts and lighting elements, exposed structural beams, and a color-coding scheme to distinguish the different departments. The Rockefeller Group also has an office on the 24th floor, which was redesigned in 2020 by the firm of Fogarty Finger. The Rockefeller Group's offices include a reception area with dark woods and a pantry designed in a mid-century modern style. There are
open plan Open plan is the generic term used in architectural and interior design for any floor plan that makes use of large, open spaces and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms such as private offices. The term can also refer to landscaping of ...
workspaces with
dropped ceiling A dropped ceiling is a secondary ceiling, hung below the main (structural) ceiling. It may also be referred to as a drop ceiling, T-bar ceiling, false ceiling, suspended ceiling, grid ceiling, drop in ceiling, drop out ceiling, or ceiling tile ...
s, as well as executive offices and meeting spaces with glass walls.


=Auditorium

= Gio Ponti designed an auditorium at the setback above the eighth floor, along with an adjoining kitchen, dining room, reception area, and lounge. This space was meant for meetings with advertisers and corporate and sales functions. The space was arranged with walls at irregular angles and originally had colored glass-block walls and Sicilian paintings. The auditorium itself had a domed ceiling, while the ceiling in the adjoining spaces contained brass motifs. The floors were yellow with green and blue streaks, and geometric wooden furniture was specially designed for the space. The auditorium was closed by 1981, and the furniture was sold. It was redesigned by Davis, Brody & Associates in 1983 and became a conference center.


=Hemisphere Club and Tower Suite

= The Hemisphere Club and Tower Suite shared a space on the 48th floor, which was designed by George Nelson & Company. During the day, the Hemisphere Club was a 250-seat
private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious ...
for executives that, when the building opened, charged $1,000 for initiation and $360 in annual fees thereafter. This made the Hemisphere Club one of several private clubs at the tops of New York City skyscrapers. In the evenings, the restaurant space opened to the public as the Tower Suite, which originally offered meals for $8.50 per person. The restaurant was operated by Restaurant Associates. George Nelson designed special chairs for the restaurant, which apparently were never manufactured. Since the windows split the view from the 48th floor into many sections, the space was designed with window
embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of Age of Gunpowder, gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a sp ...
s. ''The New Yorker'' reported several years after the Tower Suite's opening that "a butler in a black tailcoat and a maid in a fluffy white apron" visited every table seven days a week. When the restaurant opened,
Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks ...
of ''The New York Times'' called it "for the most part, excellent"; by 1970, ''New York'' magazine had called it "the baneful cumulus atop Time Inc." According to ''New York Times'' food critic
Florence Fabricant Florence Fabricant is an American food critic and food writer. She has authored multiple cookbooks and has regularly contributed to ''The New York Times'' since 1980. Fabricant lives in Manhattan, New York and East Hampton, New York. Early life ...
, the Tower Suite may have originated the trend of servers introducing themselves to guests. When business at the Hemisphere Club declined with the construction of taller buildings in the area, the space was renovated so it could function as a dining hall at night. Dinners at the Tower Suite cost $11.50 per person in 1970, but they had increased to $70–130 per person by 1990. The Hemisphere Club closed in the 1990s.


History

The media firm
Time Inc. Time Inc. (also referred to as Time & Life, Inc. later on, after their two onetime flagship magazine publications) was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New ...
had been housed at
1 Rockefeller Plaza 1 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Time & Life Building and the General Dynamics Building) is a 36-story building located on the east side of Rockefeller Plaza between 48th and 49th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1937, ...
since 1937, when that building had opened as part of the
construction of Rockefeller Center The construction of the Rockefeller Center complex in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, was conceived in the late 1920s and led by John D. Rockefeller Jr. Rockefeller Center is on one of Columbia University's former campuses and is bounded by F ...
. As early as 1946, it had sought to develop the site of the
Hotel Marguery The Hotel Marguery was the first of three buildings located at 270 Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was a six-building apartment hotel complex built in 1917 as part of Terminal City (Grand Central Termina ...
at 270 Park Avenue for a 35-story headquarters designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, though the plans did not come to fruition. By 1953, Time Inc. was set to outgrow its existing space in 1 Rockefeller Plaza within a year, and it wanted to have its headquarters in a single building. Time Inc. seriously considered relocating to
Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...
, a northern suburb of New York City, as well as to a suburb of Philadelphia. By November 1955, the company had decided to stay in New York City because of the large number of transportation options there.


Construction

Once Rockefeller Center Inc.'s managers learned of Time Inc.'s predicament, they hired Harrison & Abramovitz to create plans for a building on Rockefeller Center Inc.'s vacant plot that could house both NBC and Time. The plans involved creating several elevation drawings as well as a 15-minute film. NBC ultimately dropped out of the project because its CEO,
David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for most of his career in ...
, dissented. Rockefeller Center Inc. acquired the Roxy Theater in August 1956. That December, officials announced the construction of the Time-Life Building. When the plans were announced, Time had leased in the building, and
American Cyanamid American Cyanamid Company was an American manufacturing conglomerate. It began as a fertilizer company and added many additional lines of business before merging with American Home Products in 1994. The combined company sold off most of its di ...
,
Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
,
McCann-Erickson McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in over 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCa ...
, and
Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...
had already made lease agreements for other floors. The developers had already ordered 27,000 tons of structural steel to be delivered in early 1958. Time Inc. and Rockefeller Center Inc. formed a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
, Rock-Time Inc., to share the tower's rental income. Rockefeller Center had the majority stake of 55 percent, and Time Inc. had the remaining 45 percent. Harrison & Abramovitz filed plans for the building in March 1957. A
groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...
ceremony occurred on May 16, 1957, marking the start of excavation. By the following month, the building was 70 percent leased, and
Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation (business), consoli ...
and
Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...
had become tenants. The Rockefeller Center Sidewalk Superintendents' Club, composed of members of the public who wanted to observe Rockefeller Center's construction, was revived after having been dormant for seventeen years. The actress
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
presided over the club's inaugural ceremonies that July. The site was excavated to a depth of , where there was a layer of
Manhattan schist In the United States, the Manhattan Prong of the New England Uplands is a smaller belt of ancient rock in southern New York (including Manhattan, the Bronx, and segments of Brooklyn and Staten Island), parts of Westchester County, and upland po ...
. By November 1957, the excavations were largely complete; the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
had leased offices and two tenants had expanded their lease commitments. Rockefeller Center Inc. chairman
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
and Time Inc. president Roy E. Larsen announced details of the design the same month. Construction on the Time-Life Building's superstructure started in April 1958. That August, the Equitable Life Assurance Society lent the project's developers $50 million. At the time, it was the largest-ever financing on a single real-estate parcel. The structure topped out in November of that year. The next April, Time Inc. sublet six of the 21 floors under its control. The building was 92 percent leased by then, including the space that was being sublet. The Time-Life Building's cornerstone was laid in June 1959, at the southeast corner of the building, after the superstructure had been completed.


Late 20th century

The first tenant, the American Cyanamid Company, began moving into the tower in October 1959. Over the next couple of months, tenants began moving into the building and the final interior design elements were installed. By that December, the construction fence around 1271 Avenue of the Americas had been dismantled and several companies had occupied their space. Additional leases were announced in January 1960, including one storefront. A passageway from the basement to the subway station opened the next month. ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine moved into the building that April, writing that its new headquarters was "a victory in the fight to improve down-at-the-heels Sixth Avenue". Ultimately, Time Inc. was able to sublet part of its space to more than forty firms. By late 1961, the building was almost completely occupied. La Fonda del Sol had moved out of the Time & Life Building to a smaller location by early 1971. The restaurant space was replaced by a Seaman's Trust bank branch. The bank was so popular that, in three weeks, it performed six months' worth of transactions. Although ''Life'' magazine stopped publishing in 1972, the building retained its name, and the former ''Life'' space was quickly taken by the company's other publications, such as ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' and ''
Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...
''. A U.S. Steakhouse restaurant designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects opened in the building in 1975 and was slightly renovated a few years later. By 1981, Time Inc. occupied about of space and some of its divisions, such as
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
, had to be housed in other buildings. The eighth-floor auditorium was renovated in 1983. An electric cooling system was also added in the early 1980s to supplement the original steam-powered cooling system. Time Inc. sold its 45 percent ownership stake in December 1986 to the Rockefeller Group for $118 million. Time Inc. planned to use some of the proceeds from the sale for other purchases such as stock buybacks. In the same transaction, Time Inc. extended its lease from 1997 to 2007, with an option to extend its lease by another ten years, to 2017. Time Inc. executed its option to extend its lease in 1999. At the time, the company occupied 80 percent of the Time & Life Building and it had rented space at the adjacent 135 West 50th Street. The two buildings were to be connected internally on the second floor as part of a $190 million renovation. A natural-gas cooling system was added in 2000; at the time, it was New York City's only building with three cooling sources.


21st century

By August 2001, Time Inc. was part of
AOL Time Warner Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner i ...
and occupied 98 percent of the building's space. That month, AOL Time Warner subsidiary
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
and the Rockefeller Group agreed to convert a former
Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...
branch at the base into a two-story CNN television studio. In July 2002, the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...
designated the lobby interior as a city landmark.
Municipal Art Society The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city. The organization was ...
executive director Frank E. Sanchis III prompted the Rockefeller Group to support the preservation of the lobby. At the time, the lobby was being renovated by
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects Swanke Hayden Connell Architects was an international architecture, interiors and historic preservation firm with U.S. headquarters in New York City. History The firm was founded in New York in 1906 by Alexander Stewart Walker (1876–1952) and ...
for $40 million. The renovation involved combining two storefronts into a waiting lounge, as well as creating a secure area around the elevators. The CNN studio opened in September 2002, with scenic design by Production Design Group. The Ted's Montana Grill restaurant opened in 2006 on the ground level. In May 2014, Time Inc. announced it was planning to leave the Time & Life Building for the Brookfield Place complex in
lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
. The following year, Time Inc. moved out of its offices, and the Rockefeller Group announced a $325 million renovation of the entire building, designed by
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.
. As part of the renovation, the architects created a new entrance on Sixth Avenue, repaved the plaza, and replaced the facade. All 30 elevator cabs were replaced with new cabs whose ceiling design was an homage to the 51st Street canopy. The Rockefeller Group also restored the lobby and renamed the building to its address. Time Inc. removed a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...
that had been embedded in the building when its cornerstone was laid. The time capsule included contemporary objects such as magazines, photography books, a pencil, and a microfilm about the Rockefeller Center complex. Glarner's and Albers's paintings were restored, and the floors, ceilings, and signs were modified to match the original design. The building was completely vacant by the beginning of 2018. The renovation was nearly completed by 2019, and the building was fully leased at that time. The building's major tenants included financial firms such as
American International Group American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...
, Greenhill & Co., and
H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. Capital, LLC is a global alternative investment firm with $69 billion of capital under management. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt capital, debt and equity capital to middle-market company, middle ...
. and
Mizuho Financial Group The , known from 2000 to 2003 as Mizuho Holdings and abbreviated as MHFG or simply Mizuho, is a Japanese banking holding company headquartered in the Ōtemachi district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group was formed in 2000-2002 by merger of Dai- ...
. The other tenants included law firms Blank Rome and
Latham & Watkins Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2022, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world ...
, as well as multi-family office
Bessemer Trust Bessemer Trust is a private, independent multi-family office that oversees more than $200 billion for over 3,000 families, foundations and endowments. Founded in 1907, the firm has its headquarters in New York City, with 19 regional offices elsew ...
on the top seven floors. In addition,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
moved its headquarters to the building, and it leased two stories in the building's base for use as an MLB store, which opened in 2020. With the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
, the building stood largely empty for several months in 2020. The building received a
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
(LEED) Gold certification the same year. The building was again fully leased by May 2021, and the Greek restaurant Avra Estiatorio leased a two-story space at the base, which opened in June 2022.


Impact

Upon the building's completion, ''Architectural Forum'' wrote: "The building's character reflects a joining of partners, a marriage of uses, a meld of design, and a union between New York's two generic office-building types. ..In skyscraper society, the Time & Life Building is upper-middle-class." ''New York Times'' critic
Ada Louise Huxtable Ada Louise Huxtable (née Landman; March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) was an American architecture critic and writer on architecture. Huxtable established architecture and urban design journalism in North America and raised the public's awarene ...
, writing in 1960, said that 1271 Avenue of the Americas,
28 Liberty Street 28 Liberty Street, formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza, is a 60-story International Style skyscraper between Nassau, Liberty, William, and Pine Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building, designed by ...
, and 270 Park Avenue all had a "still too-rare esthetic excellence". Huxtable also characterized 1271 Avenue of the Americas' spaces as "flexible architectural anarchy". Another architectural critic, Carter B. Horsley, praised the lobby's design and materials, though he believed the facade had an inconspicuous, albeit "not terrible", design. The Time & Life Building's completion spurred the construction of similar office buildings along Sixth Avenue. The architect
Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern (born May 23, 1939) is an American architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects, also known as RAMSA. From 1998 to 2016, he was the Dean of the Y ...
wrote in his 1995 book ''New York 1960'' that the building "marked the first key step" in the avenue's reconstruction. ''Architectural Forum'' wrote that the building's completion "opens a wide frontier for an expanding city", leading the way for the construction of other large office buildings west of Sixth Avenue. 1271 Avenue of the Americas has appeared in several media works. The building was featured in the television series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' as the fictional headquarters of the advertising agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (later Sterling Cooper & Partners).
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
, the network on which ''Mad Men'' airs, unveiled a bench in front of the building in 2015; it contains a sculpture of lead character
Don Draper Donald Francis "Don" Draper, born Richard "Dick" Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. At the beginning of the series, Draper is the charismatic yet en ...
's black silhouette, as shown in the show's opening credits. The 2013 film ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'' was partially set within the building.


See also

*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the Government of New York City, New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated ove ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links

* {{Midtown North, Manhattan 1959 establishments in New York City Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certified buildings Magazine headquarters Mass media company headquarters in the United States New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan New York City interior landmarks Office buildings completed in 1959 Rockefeller Center Sixth Avenue Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan 1950s architecture in the United States