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MetLife Building

January 01, 1970

This article is about the building at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. For the buildings near Madison Square Park, see Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower and Metropolitan Life North Building. For the building at 200 Park Avenue South, see Everett Building (Manhattan).

The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the International style by Richard Roth, Walter Gropius, and Pietro Belluschi and completed in 1962, the MetLife Building is 808 feet (246 m) tall with 59 stories. It was advertised as the world's largest commercial office space by square footage at its opening, with 2.4 million square feet (220,000 m2) of usable office space. As of November 2022, the MetLife Building remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the United States.

MetLife Building
Seen from the south in 2005
Former namesPan Am Building
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural styleInternational
Location200 Park Avenue
Manhattan, New York 10166
Coordinates40°45′12″N 73°58′36″W / 40.75333°N 73.97667°W / 40.75333; -73.97667
Construction startedNovember 26, 1959
Topped-outMay 9, 1962
Completed1963
OpeningMarch 7, 1963
OwnerTishman Speyer, The Irvine Company
Height
Roof808 ft (246.3 m)
Technical details
Floor count59
Floor area2,841,511 square feet (263,985.0 m2)
Lifts/elevators85
Design and construction
Architect(s)Emery Roth & Sons, Pietro Belluschi, and Walter Gropius[1]
EngineerJaros, Baum & Bolles (MEP)
Structural engineerJames Ruderman
References
[2][3]

The MetLife Building contains an elongated octagonal massing with the longer axis perpendicular to Park Avenue. The building sits atop two levels of railroad tracks leading into Grand Central Terminal. The facade is one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City. In the lobby is a pedestrian passage to Grand Central's Main Concourse, a lobby with artwork, and a parking garage at the building's base. The roof also contained a heliport that operated briefly during the 1960s and 1970s. The MetLife Building's design has been widely criticized since it was proposed, largely due to its location next to Grand Central Terminal.

Proposals for a skyscraper to replace Grand Central Terminal were announced in 1954 to raise money for the New York Central Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the financially struggling railroads that operated the terminal. Subsequently, plans were announced for what later became the MetLife Building, to be built behind the terminal rather than in place of it. Work on the project, initially known as Grand Central City, started in 1959 and the building was formally opened on March 7, 1963. At its opening, the building was named for Pan American World Airways, for which it served as headquarters. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) bought the Pan Am Building in 1981 and used it as their headquarters before selling the building in 2005. The MetLife Building has been renovated several times, including in the mid-1980s, early 2000s, and late 2010s.

Site edit

The MetLife Building is at 200 Park Avenue, between the two roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct to the west and east, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building faces the Helmsley Building across 45th Street to the north and Grand Central Terminal to the south. Other nearby buildings include One Vanderbilt and 335 Madison Avenue to the southwest; the Yale Club of New York City clubhouse to the west; The Roosevelt Hotel to the northwest; 450 Lexington Avenue to the east; and the Graybar Building to the southeast.[4] The building is assigned its own ZIP Code—10166—and is one of 41 such buildings in Manhattan, as of 2019.[5]

In 1871, the New York Central Railroad built the Grand Central Depot, a ground-level depot at the intersection of Park Avenue and 42nd Street; it was succeeded in 1900 by Grand Central Station, also at ground level.[6] The completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of the areas around Grand Central, which became known as Terminal City.[7] The Grand Central Terminal complex included a six-story building for baggage handling just north of the main station building, on what is now the site of the MetLife Building.[8] The baggage handling building was converted to an office building late in its history.[9] The surrounding stretch of Park Avenue was developed with International Style skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s.[10][11]

Architecture edit

Designed in the International style by Richard Roth, Walter Gropius, and Pietro Belluschi, the MetLife Building was developed by Erwin S. Wolfson and completed in 1963 as the Pan Am Building.[1] It is 808 feet (246 m) tall with 59 stories,[12][13][14] containing both commercial and office space.[4] As of November 2022, the MetLife Building is the 35th-tallest building in New York City and 79th-tallest in the United States.[13]

The Diesel Construction Company was the general contractor for the building;[15][16] at the time of construction, Wolfson had owned that company.[15] Numerous other engineers and contractors were involved in the building's construction, including Hideo Sasaki as site planning consultant and landscape architect;[17][18] Jaros, Baum & Bolles as MEP engineers;[13][19] and James Ruderman as structural engineer.[19] From the beginning, the building was intended for large firms, with 2.4 million square feet (220,000 m2) in office floor area.[20][21] In total, it has 2,841,511 square feet (263,985.0 m2) of gross floor area, according to The Skyscraper Center.[13]

Form edit

 
West facade from 44th Street

The massing consists of a base and an octagonal tower. Contemporary sources describe the base as measuring nine stories tall, atop which rises 50 tower stories.[22][23] However, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat gives a conflicting measurement of 10 base stories and 49 tower stories.[24] Exterior planted areas were planned for the sidewalks and above the roof of the base.[18]

The tower stories' floor plates are designed in an elongated octagonal lozenge, with the longer axis running parallel to 45th Street.[25][26] The north and south facades are divided into three broad segments, while the west and east facades are one segment each. The building's form may have been influenced by the 1961 Zoning Resolution, a major change to New York City zoning code that was proposed just before construction started. The massing is similar to Le Corbusier's unbuilt tower in Algiers, proposed between 1938 and 1942,[27][28] as well as the nearly contemporary Pirelli Tower in Milan (completed in 1958).[27][29][30] The architects intended for the octagonal shape and exterior curtain wall to reduce the building's perceived sense of scale.[31]

Facade edit

The facade of the first two stories and mezzanines is clad with granite, aluminum, marble, and stainless steel with glass windows.[22] On Depew Place, an alley running below the eastern leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct, fifteen loading docks were constructed for trucks to conduct deliveries and loading.[32][33] On the Vanderbilt Avenue side, a marquee was installed over the entrance in the 1980s.[34] The third through seventh stories are exclusively sheathed in granite, with window inserts.[22][35] The eighth and ninth floors, which are slightly set back, are clad in aluminum.[22][35][36]

The 10th through 59th stories of the MetLife Building contain one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City.[1][35] The building includes about nine thousand light-tan precast concrete Mo-Sai panels, each of which surrounds a window measuring 4 feet (1.2 m) wide by 8 feet (2.4 m) high.[22][37] The panels themselves measure 6 feet (1.8 m) wide by 13.67 feet (4 m) high and weigh 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg).[22] Each panel is coated with a quartz aggregate to give texture to the facade.[22][36][37] Vertical concrete mullions project about 13 inches (330 mm) from the facade, separating the panels on every story.[37] Flat concrete spandrels separate the windows between stories.[22] Though Walter Gropius had considered a precast concrete facade to be more solid than a glass curtain wall, this only made the building appear bulkier.[14] Furthermore, the appearance of concrete degraded over time; this effect could be seen in structures such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum but was more pronounced on the MetLife Building's facade.[29] During the building's construction, the manufacturer of the Mo-Sai panels declared bankruptcy, forcing Diesel Construction to buy out that company to prevent delays in construction.[38]

The facade is recessed at the 21st and 46th stories, where there is mechanical space.[22][27] These recesses create the impression of deep shadows.[29] Both mechanical stories are surrounded by a colonnade of columns, which are spaced 16 feet (4.9 m) apart on centers. The precast concrete curtain wall is recessed behind the columns.[39]

The MetLife Building originally bore 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) "Pan Am" displays on its north and south facades and 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) globe logos on the east and west facades.[40] This was swapped with neon "MetLife" displays to the north and south in 1992.[41][42] These displays were changed again in 2017, being replaced with LED letters to conserve energy.[43][44] The Pan Am Building was the last tall tower erected in New York City before laws were enacted preventing corporate logos and names on the tops of buildings.[45] Modern New York City building code prohibits logos from being more than 25 feet (7.6 m) above the curb or occupying over 200 square feet (19 m2) on a blockfront.[46] The sign replacements had been permitted because the city government considered the new signs to be an "uninterrupted continuation of a use" that was allowed before the zoning laws were changed.[45]

Structural features edit

200 Park Avenue was built atop two levels of railroad tracks underground, which feed directly into Grand Central Terminal. The substructure of the building uses foundational columns that extend into the track levels, descending some 55 feet (17 m) below street level into the underlying bedrock.[16][23] The substructure includes more than 300 columns, each 18.5 inches (470 mm) across and clad with 2 inches (51 mm) of concrete. Ninety-nine columns were built specifically for the Pan Am Building; these columns were installed within several inches of existing steel members such as third rails, but had to be isolated from the other steel.[23][47] The new columns weighed between 22 and 44 short tons (20 and 39 long tons; 20 and 40 t).[47][48] Approximately two hundred existing columns, which supported the former baggage building on the site, were reinforced.[23][47] The work involved abridging the tops of many existing columns and installing horizontal beams weighing up to 36 short tons (32 long tons; 33 t).[23] A "triple decker sandwich" made of lead, asbestos, and sheet steel was installed under each level of tracks to provide insulation.[16][23]

 
Rooftop view from One Vanderbilt

The superstructure was constructed similarly to bridge spans. To fabricate the floor slabs, builders used a process called composite action, in which concrete was bonded with structural steel panels to create a stronger structure.[49] Steel panels were fabricated, rather than concrete floors, because steel panels were lighter and could be constructed regardless of unfavorable weather. Over 56 acres (230,000 m2) of steel panels are used in the floor plates, each of which contains wire and cable ducts.[50] A standard floor slab could handle loads of 50 pounds per square foot (240 kg/m2).[51] The building's steel frame weighs over 45,000 short tons (40,000 long tons; 41,000 t) in total.[47] The roof of the building contains NOAA Weather Radio Station KWO35, a National Weather Service radio station.[52]

Helipad edit

The initial plans for the Pan Am Building were altered in March 1961 to provide for a helipad on the east side of the roof.[53][54] The helipad garnered controversy immediately after it was announced, and opponents of the plan cited noise and safety concerns.[54] The heliport's opening required approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the city government, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.[55][56] Lawyers for the building's owners applied for permission to operate the heliport in August 1963,[57] and the New York City Planning Commission confirmed in early 1964 that the owners had sought a permit for the heliport.[58][59] The New York City Board of Estimate gave final approval to the heliport in January 1965,[60][61] and test flights began that March,[60][62] amid continued opposition to the heliport.[60][63]

Helicopter service started on December 22, 1965.[64] The service was operated by New York Airways, which flew Vertol 107 helicopters from the rooftop helipad to Pan Am's terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).[65][66] There was a ticket office for the heliport at the base of the building. Passengers would check in at the ticket office, then take an express elevator to the 57th floor, an escalator to the heliport lounge, then another elevator to the roof. The flight to JFK lasted an average of six minutes and twenty seconds.[66] The New York City government renewed the heliport's operating license in 1966, despite continued opposition to the heliport.[67] For a short period starting in March 1967, the company also offered service to Teterboro Airport.[68] All helicopter service stopped on February 18, 1968, because of insufficient ridership,[69] as well as disagreements over funding.[67][70][71]

Though discussions to restart helicopter service were held in 1969,[72] approval was not given until early 1977.[73][54] Service to JFK resumed that February using Sikorsky S-61s.[65][74] On May 16, 1977, about one minute after an S-61L landed and its 20 passengers disembarked, the right front landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to topple onto its side with the rotors still turning. One of the blades detached, killing four men who were waiting to board and a fifth person at ground level; two other people were seriously injured.[75][76] Helicopter service was suspended that day and never resumed.[65][77] The already-controversial building received further negative attention as a result of the incident, and both New York Airways and Pan Am suffered financially in subsequent years.[77] During its short periods of operation, the heliport was largely perceived as a nuisance and danger, but its presence was also seen as satisfying what David W. Dunlap described as "the consummate technological fantasy of airborne travel through skyscraping pinnacles".[78]

Interior edit

Structural and mechanical features edit

 
Vanderbilt Avenue entrance arcade

A central telephone office was installed on the 20th and 21st stories,[79] serving 30,000 telephones within the building.[51][80] The system, costing $11 million, was the first of its kind in an office building in the United States.[80] The central office, operated by New York Telephone, eliminated the need for tenants to have individual telephone offices and equipment rooms. To avoid interfering with the subterranean railroad tracks, the telephone conduits were routed through the roof of the railroad tunnel.[51] On the two floors where the telephone office was installed, the floor slabs were strengthened to handle loads of 150 to 300 pounds per square foot (730 to 1,460 kg/m2), and floor heights were increased to provide clearance of at least 13.5 feet (4.1 m).[51][79]

A refrigeration plant, described at the time of construction as the world's largest such plant,[81] was installed on the roof with three steam-powered units each weighing 3,333 short tons (2,976 long tons; 3,024 t).[82] The plant was placed on the roof because the building has no usable basement, as all the subterranean space is part of Grand Central Terminal. The plant could melt up to 20 million pounds (9.1 kt) of ice each day and could use 200,000 pounds of steam every hour. Large fan rooms were placed on the mechanical stories at the 21st and 46th floors, dispersing air to the other floors, and two individual air supply systems were placed on each story.[81] The ventilation systems could deliver 5,000,000 cubic feet (140,000 m3) every minute. The pipes and ducts had to serve all the building's floors, with an electrical system and water pressure system capable of serving all the building's stories.[19] At ground level was a room where wastepaper could be "baled" on-site to make easier to dispose of paper.[83]

Westinghouse Electric Corporation also manufactured 65 elevators and 21 escalators for 200 Park Avenue, which at the time of construction was the largest-ever order for elevators.[84][85] One bank of six elevators was able to travel 1,600 feet per minute (490 m/min), the fastest elevators in the world at the time of their installation.[84][85][86] Five elevators were reserved for freight.[35] The elevators rise from the second-story lobby because the elevator pits could not descend below the first story due to the presence of the tracks.[35][87] The upper stories were served by 59 elevators.[24] According to the Skyscraper Center, as of 2021, the building has 85 elevators.[13]

Lobby edit

 
Southern end of the lobby

The MetLife Building's base contains a lobby across its lowest two stories. At ground level is a 76-foot-wide (23 m) pedestrian passageway, enabling traffic flow between the Helmsley Building's pedestrian arcades and Grand Central Terminal. The 45th Street entrance to the passageway is set back 65 feet (20 m) from the sidewalk. A 103-foot-wide (31 m) entrance arcade is placed on Vanderbilt Avenue, with the doorways set about 81 feet (25 m) back from the sidewalk there. The building's main office lobby is placed at the second story, at the level of the viaduct.[32][33][88] The lobby was also designed with plantings and a 40-foot-high (12 m) enclosed plaza.[18] The lobby contains 18 escalators in total.[24] Four escalators lead to the Main Concourse at the southern end of the passageway,[35][89] while fourteen more lead from the passageway to the office lobby.[29][35]

Gropius was responsible for the original design of the lobby, which was largely austere.[90] The building's original anchor tenant, Pan Am, had a ticket office under a 25-foot-wide (7.6 m) niche off the main lobby, measuring 135 feet (41 m) long and 11 feet (3.4 m) high, with circular counters and a wall with a relief map of the world. It was the world's largest airline ticket office at the time of its opening, covering 10,000 square feet (930 m2).[91]

Renovations edit

During a 1980s renovation by Warren Platner, some 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of retail space were constructed in the lobby.[92][93] Also installed was a staircase at the center of the lobby on 45th Street, which consisted of alternating travertine and gray-granite risers.[34][94] The staircase ranged from 10 feet (3.0 m) wide at the ground floor to 20 feet (6.1 m) at an intermediate landing, where it split into two flights and reached a width of 30 feet (9.1 m) at the mezzanine. There were four triangular planters at the bottom of the staircase, which complemented an orange carpet with flower motifs at the mezzanine.[34][95][96] The lobby also contained unusual semicircular discs that were either mounted atop poles or suspended from the ceiling.[34][94][96] In addition, a security desk was added and the storefronts were expanded.[90]

In an early-2000s renovation by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the lobby received tile and black travertine floors, the storefronts were moved to the side, and the central staircase was removed.[42] The storefronts were removed in the late 2010s, when the lobby was re-clad in light-colored travertine.[97] The renovated lobby has an oak-floored reception lounge overlooking the entrance.[98]

Artwork edit

The Pan Am Building's lobby was planned with several works of art,[35][99] which comprised most of the original lobby's decoration.[90] One such artwork is Flight, a triple-story wire sculpture by Richard Lippold.[100][101] The sculpture contains a sphere, representing the earth; a seven-pointed star, representing the seven continents and seas; and gold wires representing aircraft flight patterns.[101][102] It measures 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 40 feet (12 m) deep.[103] The composer John Cage, a friend of Lippold's, had initially proposed a musical program to complement Flight,[100][104] consisting of ten loudspeakers, which would have played works by Muzak whenever people walked in and out of the lobby.[103] Lippold canceled the idea and management instead agreed to play classical music in the lobby.[35][105]

At the Pan Am Building's opening, the entrance from the Main Concourse was topped by Manhattan, a 28-by-55-foot (8.5 by 16.8 m) mosaic mural of red, white, and black panels by Josef Albers.[35][106] That work was removed in a 2001 renovation,[42][107] though Albers had left exact specifications for reproducing the work,[42][108] and a replica was installed in 2019.[109][110]

Suspended over the 45th Street entrance was a mural by György Kepes, consisting of two aluminum screens[111] with concentric squares.[35][99] Kepes's mural measured 40 feet (12 m) wide and was placed on the balcony;[103] it was removed in the 1980s.[34] At Vanderbilt Avenue, Robert Berks sculpted a bronze bust depicting the building's developer, Erwin S. Wolfson.[35][99][103]

Other interior spaces edit

The MetLife Building was designed with a six-level parking garage with room for 400 cars. The garage contains entrances and exits from both roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct.[112][113] According to owner Tishman Speyer, as of 2021, the building's garage contains 248 spots across four levels.[114][a]

A variety of commercial and office spaces were included in the Pan Am Building when it opened. Pan Am, the airline for which the building was originally named, contained a ticketing office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, similar in design to Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport.[35] Office stories in the octagonal slab typically have between 32,000 to 36,000 square feet (3,000 to 3,300 m2) of usable space, with elevators and stairs at the center, as well as uneven column spacing.[21] This arrangement allows a large amount of window-office space for tenants, as each story contains 780 feet (240 m) of outer perimeter walls.[115] Different companies with full-floor leases designed their spaces in various manners. Some tenants placed private offices along the perimeter, with important executive offices at the far corners of the story.[116] Other tenants placed open spaces at the west and east ends of the floor[117] or in the center.[118]

The Sky Club, a private luncheon club, had been on the 56th floor of the Pan Am Building.[119][120] For several years the Sky Club had contained a private restaurant.[28] Aircraft pioneer Juan Trippe, founder of Pan Am, was a member of this club.[121] Trippe had commissioned a mural of clipper ships for the walls of the Sky Club; it was sent to Tucker's Point resort in Bermuda after the club shuttered.[122][123] On the 57th and 58th stories was the Copter Club, which was used by passengers of the short-lived helicopter service.[78]

History edit

Planning edit

By the 1950s, passenger volumes at Grand Central Terminal had declined dramatically from the early 20th century, and there were proposals to demolish and replace the station.[124][125] The New York Central Railroad was losing money, partially on paying taxes on the building's air rights. New York Central wanted to sell the property or its air rights to allow the construction of a skyscraper above or on the terminal's site.[126] At the same time, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad retained a partial interest in the terminal's operation.[127][128]

Early plans edit

 
View from the north, with the New York Central Building (now Helmsley Building) in front

Initially, New York Central's chairman Robert R. Young had been negotiating with developer Erwin S. Wolfson and their mutual friends Herbert and Stuart Scheftel to determine how the Grand Central site could be redeveloped.[129] After these discussions broke down, two competing plans for the replacement of Grand Central Terminal were proposed in 1954.[125][127][130] One design, by I. M. Pei, was suggested by Young along with developer William Zeckendorf. The proposal called for an 80-story, 5-million-square-foot (460,000 m2) tower that would have succeeded the Empire State Building as the world's tallest building.[130][131][132] The other, by Fellheimer & Wagner, was put forth by New Haven's chairman Patrick B. McGinnis along with Wolfson. The plan envisioned a 55-story building, the largest office building in the world with 4 to 6 million square feet (370,000 to 560,000 m2).[130][133][134] Both proposals were poorly received, with 235 architects cosigning a letter imploring Young and McGinnis to reject the plans.[124][135] Neither plan was ultimately ever carried out.[124][127]

Though the New Haven and New York Central continued to struggle financially, both railroads agreed to work with Wolfson, the New Haven's developer.[127] In February 1955, Wolfson, the Scheftels, and Alfred G. Burger proposed a 65-story tower called Grand Central City, which would replace a six-story baggage structure north of the terminal.[136][137][138] Richard Roth of Emery Roth and Sons, who created the design, had agreed to participate only if the office building would not result in the passenger concourse's demolition.[135][136] The plans were widely circulated in the New York Herald Tribune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.[138] The proposal garnered significant opposition after architect Giorgio Cavaglieri expressed concerns about the effects of the proposed building on traffic congestion in the area.[139]

Roth and Wolfson's plan was effectively forgotten in March 1955 when Zeckendorf was named the partner for any new development in the vicinity of Grand Central.[140][141] Zeckendorf and Pei modified the blueprints for their 80-story tower but never publicly announced the revised plans.[140] Unpublished drawings indicate that Pei's second design was supposed to be a hyperboloid-shaped tower.[142][143] For various reasons, the hyperboloid tower never progressed past the planning stage. The building had faced extensive criticism from both professionals and the general public; the railroads faced significant financial shortfalls; and the economy as a whole had started to decline, leaving Zeckendorf unable to finance the project. Meanwhile, traffic around Grand Central Terminal worsened in the late 1950s.[144]

Revival of plans edit

In January 1958, representatives of an unnamed large company, who were unaware of Grand Central City's cancellation, notified Stuart Scheftel that they were interested in leasing space in the new building.[145][146] Upon learning of the news, Young placed Scheftel in contact with his real estate agent. Although Young died by suicide shortly afterward, the remaining partners continued working on the project.[145] A revised version of Roth's plan was announced in May 1958. The plan called for a 50-story aluminum and glass tower parallel to Park Avenue, with 3 million square feet (280,000 m2) of floor area; three theaters with a total capacity of 5,000; an open-air restaurant on the seventh floor; and a 2,000-spot parking garage.[147][148][149] The New York Central and New Haven railroads were guaranteed at least $1 million a year from the agreement.[145][150] Despite the presence of tracks under the building site, Wolfson said a survey of the site had "no insurmountable problems".[151] James Ruderman, the building's structural engineer, had drawn up preliminary plans for a steel framework spanning the tracks.[152] Wolfson hired James D. Landauer Associates Inc. to handle leasing at the proposed building, negotiating directly with tenants' brokers.[153][154]

Wolfson found Roth's revised plan to be unsatisfactorily modest for such a prominent site.[28][127][153] He said in the New York Herald Tribune that he wanted to "avoid adding just another massive shape to an already developed midtown business community".[155] In July 1958, architects Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi were announced as co-designers for Grand Central City.[156][157][158] Wolfson expressed his hope that Gropius and Belluschi, both prominent architects in the Modern style, would be able to help devise an "esthetic and functional design".[127][157] Initially, Gropius and Belluschi were to serve a relatively minor advisory role.[159] A week after being hired, Gropius suggested that the slab be oriented east–west, with a large plaza or courtyard in front of the tower, similar to the design of Lever House. Gropius also recommended that the building include a textured facade, rather than the metal-and-glass curtain walls commonly used by the Roth firm in its previous buildings.[158] Gropius modified the plans in mid-1958; the facade would use simulated stone, the large plaza was dropped from the plans, and the tower was moved northward to 45th Street.[160] That October, Wolfson traveled to Europe to study buildings and gain inspiration for the building's design.[161]

Gropius and the Roth firm continued to modify their design through early 1959.[37] The revised final plans were announced in February 1959. While Wolfson had promised a "modest" redesign,[127] the new plans were a radical change from Roth's 1958 plan, calling for a 55-story octagonal tower parallel to 45th Street, with 2.4 million square feet (220,000 m2) of space.[26][162][163] The Roth firm said the octagonal massing could absorb "different planes of light as on a diamond", while Gropius said the new alignment was easier for air conditioning.[26][27] The octagonal building was smaller than the original plans, but Gropius's team reasoned that a 3-million-square-foot (280,000 m2) edifice would have been too large to rent out. The Roth firm expressed its concerns over the east–west orientation of the tower, since it would raise the cost of the superstructure by 50 percent compared to a slab oriented north–south.[30] A model of the redesigned tower was exhibited publicly in November 1959.[37][164][165]

Construction edit

Initial work edit

Five leases for a collective 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) in Grand Central City were announced immediately after the final design was announced in February 1959.[166] A contract for 40,000 short tons (36,000 long tons; 36,000 t) of structural steel was awarded to U.S. Steel's American Bridge division that May; at the time, the contract was reportedly the most expensive ever awarded for an office building.[167][168][169] Ruderman finalized his plans for the framework in September 1959.[86] The next month British firm City Centre Properties invested $25 million and took a half interest in Grand Central City's development, covering part of the project's $100 million cost.[170][146][171] It was the first British–American joint venture for a real estate development in the United States.[171] Gordon I. Kyle, an appraiser who had calculated the valuations of more than two-thirds of Manhattan's skyscrapers,[172] concluded that the building would be worth twice as much as the Empire State Building.[173] Wolfson and City Centre paid Kyle $50,000, which at the time was the highest single appraiser's fee ever recorded.[173][172]

The New York Central Railroad granted an 80-year lease for the air rights above the building, in exchange for a portion of the building's gross revenue.[174][b] This agreement added about $6 million to the construction cost.[175] Final plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on November 24, 1959.[176][177] Construction on the structure officially started two days afterward on November 26,[178] and Cushman & Wakefield were named as leasing agents for Grand Central City the following month.[179] This was followed by contracts for the building's soundproofing and elevators in February 1960.[86] James Ruderman had devised engineering plans for five other structures above the Park Avenue railroad tracks. As the Grand Central City site was impossible to excavate, the substructure had to be erected while the baggage building served as a staging area. Furthermore, as some materials would have to be delivered by railroad, material deliveries would be coordinated closely to avoid delays on the commuter rail lines entering Grand Central.[16][23]

Construction of the substructure commenced in May 1960, during which the architects finalized plans for the entrances, lobbies, and facade lighting.[180] Gropius was involved in all aspects of the building's design, from traffic flow to minor architectural details, which sometimes led to conflicts with the project's other architects and engineers. For example, he wanted the lobby's bronze details to contain a matte finish, and he requested that the elevator penthouse be no higher than 26 feet (7.9 m) above the roof so that it did not "look silly".[181] Work on the tower itself was held up by a steel strike that lasted through much of 1960;[35] the baggage handling building was ultimately demolished starting that June.[182][183][184] Foundations for the building were sunk in August 1960.[185]

Pan Am lease and completion edit

Pan Am founder Juan Trippe signed a 25-year, $115.5 million (equivalent to $911.7 million in 2023)[186] lease for 613,000 square feet (56,900 m2) across 15 floors, plus a new main ticket office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, in September 1960.[187][188][189] In an indication of the widespread interest surrounding this lease, the mayor and the governor of New York both congratulated Grand Central City's builders after the lease was signed.[190] Following this, Pan Am hired Ivan Chermayeff to design the building's signage.[180] Grand Central City officially became known as the Pan Am Building in December 1960, after its major lessee. Signs bearing the company's name or logo were placed atop the four major facades.[35][82] Originally, Trippe had wanted signs with the name "Pan Am" on all eight facades, but this was scaled down after Gropius objected that the large number of signs would decrease "the dignity of the building".[190] The Pan Am Building's developers secured a $70 million mortgage loan and a $65 million construction loan during January 1961.[174][191] At the time, the building was more than half rented.[192][193]

The Pan Am Building's construction involved over 200 engineers and 7,500 workers from 75 trades.[38] Three derricks were installed to erect the steel for the tower, while four derricks were used for the base. Five to seven steel columns were installed every day during two shifts, with materials deliveries taking place mostly at night.[47] The Pan Am Building's structural steel topped out during May 1962.[194][195] The facade cladding was installed in two ways. The facade of the base was bolted into place, down to the individual spandrels and mullions. The Mo-Sai panels for the tower were installed via an interior hoist.[22][36] Wolfson, though recovering from surgery during mid-1962, continued to observe the building's progress using a helicopter.[196] When Wolfson died that June, James D. Landauer was selected to oversee the building's completion.[197] The lobby, the last part of the Pan Am Building to be completed, was built with cheap materials such as restroom tiles because the builders had run out of money toward the project's completion.[93]

Opening and Pan Am ownership edit

 
The Pan Am Building as seen in the 1980s

The as-yet-incomplete Pan Am Building was formally opened on March 7, 1963, with a ceremony attended by British and American officials,[173][198] and tenants started moving into the structure the following month.[199] The building had secured tenants for 91 percent of its office space upon opening, in large part to its central location.[200][201] Within three months, the Pan Am Building was 92 percent rented and 70 percent occupied;[24][202] by the first anniversary of its opening, the building was 97 percent leased with 241 tenants.[203] This contrasted greatly with the smaller Empire State Building, which was only 25 percent rented when it opened and did not reach full occupancy for more than a decade afterward.[200] At the time of its completion, the Pan Am Building was the largest commercial office development in the world by square footage,[14][203][204] being surpassed nearly a decade later by 55 Water Street and the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.[204] In the 15 years prior to the Pan Am Building's opening, 147 office buildings had been completed in Manhattan, totaling 50.632 million square feet (4,703,900 m2) of office space.[202]

Initially, the airline only had a 10 percent ownership stake in its namesake building.[205] Besides Pan Am, other early tenants included the Westinghouse Electric Corporation,[206] Alcoa,[207] the Hammermill Paper Company,[208] National Steel Corporation,[209] Kodak,[210] the Reader's Digest Association,[211] Mitsui,[212] Chrysler,[115][213] and the British Iron & Steel Corporation.[214] The shops at the Pan Am Building's base were opened in August 1963.[215] The tenant selection process was rigorous, as Cushman and Wakefield examining the services and goods sold by potential tenants: for example, the firm's vice president got haircuts from each of the six applicants for the lobby barbershop.[216] Furthermore, average rents in the Pan Am Building were about $6.75 per square foot ($72.7/m2), slightly higher than the average of $5.25 to $6 per square foot ($56.5 to $64.6/m2) in other Midtown Manhattan buildings.[174]

Although the Pan Am Building's completion averted the terminal's imminent destruction, New York Central had experienced further decline, merging with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968 to form the Penn Central Railroad.[217] That year, Pan Am bought a 45 percent stake in the building from the estate of Jack Cotton,[205] formerly chairman and co-owner of City Centre Properties.[218] After Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, it sought to sell its properties, including the land below the Pan Am Building.[219] Among the building's tenants during this time was the United Brands Company (now Chiquita Brands International), whose CEO, Eli M. Black, jumped from the 44th story to his death on February 3, 1975.[220][221]

Pan Am was considering moving its headquarters from the building by 1978.[222] That year, the airline bought the remaining 45 percent stake in the building from Wolfson, obtaining full ownership of the property.[223][224][225] A Pan Am subsidiary, Grand Central Building Inc., acquired the underlying land for about $25 million (equivalent to $85 million in 2023)[186] the following year as part of a legal settlement with Penn Central.[226] The airline sustained large financial losses during the early 1980s recession,[227][228] leading it to announce in February 1980 that it was considering selling the building.[228][229][230] About half the leases were scheduled to expire in three or four years.[227][231] Many lessees were exempt from paying the building's operating costs, which made the Pan Am Building only marginally profitable for the airline.[227] Amid high fuel costs and a lack of income from airfare, Pan Am decided in April 1980 that it would definitely sell the building.[232]


Sale to MetLife and renovations edit

 
Seen from the south, with Grand Central Terminal in the foreground and the Pershing Square Building at right

When the Pan Am Building officially went on the market in May 1980, Business Week magazine predicted that it might be sold for as much as $200 million (equivalent to $621 million in 2023)[186].[233] The sale was so complex that Landauer Associates published a 65-page brochure just to describe the terms of the sale.[96] Nine bidders submitted offers, five of whom were selected for further consideration: the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), the Equitable Life Assurance Society; Donald Trump; Paul Milstein; and Olympia and York.[234][c] In July 1980, Pan Am sold the building to MetLife for $400 million (equivalent to $1.24 billion in 2023)[186].[205][227][233] At the time, it was the highest-priced sale of an office building in Manhattan. This was attributed not only to a rezoning of the surrounding area, allowing developers to erect higher buildings there, but also to a strong office market.[233] The sale price amounted to $177 per square foot ($1,910/m2), more than any other office building in Manhattan.[231] MetLife did not plan to move any offices to the building, and Pan Am planned to keep its headquarters there.[205][233] As a condition of the sale, the building would retain Pan Am's name until the airline ceased to be the building's anchor tenant.[231]

The sale was finalized in 1981 when Pan Am transferred stock in the building to MetLife, a move that let the airline avoid paying most of the estate transfer tax.[96][235] Pan Am normally would have paid a $4 million tax, but it ultimately paid only $125.[96] Cross & Brown assumed the responsibility of leasing the building's space.[236] At the time, leases for much of the interior space were set to expire all at once during the early 1980s.[93][237] Starting in 1984, MetLife renovated about half of the space as the original tenants' leases expanded. The deteriorating lobby, used by 100,000 pedestrians a day, was extensively reconfigured by Warren Platner. In addition, some mechanical systems were upgraded to comply with building codes, and retail spaces were added.[93][237][238] Asbestos fireproofing on the office stories was removed in advance of an anti-asbestos regulation passed by the city government in 1985.[239][240] The lobby renovation had been completed by 1987[241] at a cost of $15 million.[96]

By 1991, Pan Am's presence had dwindled to four floors.[34][78] MetLife preferred to refer to the building as 200 Park Avenue, its address. At the time, the Pan Am Building was 95 percent occupied, and the public variously referred to the building by the names of its large tenants, such as Mitsui, Dreyfus, and Rogers & Wells.[78] Pan Am moved its headquarters to Miami that year[242] and closed down shortly afterward.[45] In September 1992, MetLife announced that it would remove Pan Am signage from 200 Park Avenue and add letters bearing its own name.[41][42] According to a MetLife spokesperson, the sign change was taking place because the airline had become defunct.[41][243] The signs were changed in January 1993.[42][244] Though 200 Park Avenue subsequently became known as the MetLife Building, its namesake was then headquartered in the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower.[45] As a result, the Park Avenue structure was known specifically as the "MetLife Building 200 Park Avenue".[34]

21st century edit

Further renovations to 200 Park Avenue's exterior and lobby were undertaken during 2001 and 2002.[87] Low-pressure compressed air was used to clean the facade, while Kohn Pedersen Fox renovated the lobby.[42] In 2005, MetLife moved its board room from the Metropolitan Life Tower to 200 Park Avenue.[245][246] The same year, the company considered selling 200 Park Avenue to pay for its acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity.[245] Ultimately, MetLife sold the building that April for $1.72 billion, to a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Properties, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, and the New York City Teachers' Retirement System.[247][248] At the time, the sale was the largest ever transaction involving an office building.[249] The company still retained a boardroom and corporate suite at 200 Park Avenue.[250]

MetLife announced in 2015 that it was consolidating its operations at 200 Park Avenue, with 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of space in the building.[246][251] At the time, the media reported that Donald Bren, the billionaire owner of the real estate firm Irvine Company, held a 97.3 percent ownership stake in the building. While Tishman Speyer remained the managing partner of the property, the company's stake in the MetLife Building had been reduced to less than 3 percent.[252][253] Plans to renovate the lobby were devised in 2016.[109] The next year, the neon light sources for the signs atop the building were swapped with LED light sources to conserve energy.[43][44] A renovation of 200 Park Avenue's lobby started in late 2018. The work was to simplify the lobby's layout by removing storefronts and restoring direct connections to some of Grand Central's platforms.[97][254] Three restaurant owners leased space in the building in mid-2022.[255][256]

Critical reception edit

Response to original design edit

 
View from the south, with Grand Central Terminal in front

When the octagonal design for 200 Park Avenue was first announced in 1959, it was controversial.[27] Architectural historian Sibyl Moholy-Nagy wrote in Progressive Architecture magazine that the original tower plans "provided human scale and architectural personality", which were "lost" in the revision.[257] Walter McQuade, writing for The Nation, found even the drawings for the building to be dissatisfying.[27][258] Grand Central City was lambasted internationally by Italian critic Gillo Dorfles and Romanian architect Martin Pinchis.[259] Architect Victor Gruen questioned the parking garage's necessity given the site's proximity to a major railroad terminal,[260] while Progressive Architecture editor Thomas H. Creighton suggested the space would be better left as an open plaza.[260][261] Critics also expressed concerns that the building would burden existing transit infrastructure.[174] The plan also had its defenders, such as Natalie Parry, who wrote in rebuttal to Moholy-Nagy that the plans preserved Grand Central's "star-studded" Main Concourse, "together with the precious air space above it".[262] Historian Paul Zucker defended the building's urbanism, and urban planner Charles Abrams and Architectural Record editor Emerson Goble also defended the plan as an addition to the cityscape.[260]

Upon its completion, the Pan Am Building received largely negative feedback,[263] in large part because of its central location.[200][201] Most critics deprecated the building's bulk, which was exacerbated by the design of the facade and its horizontal alignment.[14][29] Gropius said the 1916 Zoning Resolution justified the building's large size, telling television presenter Dave Garroway that "every citizen has the right to use the law as far as he can";[264][265] this only prompted further negative reviews.[264] James T. Burns Jr. wrote in Progressive Architecture that the placement of the base, tower, parking garage, and Grand Central Terminal were "occasionally inexcusably jarring" and considered the lobby to be a continuation of the exterior's "monolithism".[266] Ada Louise Huxtable called the building "a colossal collection of minimums", with the lobby artwork being a "face-saving gimmick".[267] Many observers viewed the monolithic design as obstructing vistas down Park Avenue.[263][268] Art historian Vincent Scully, speaking in 1961, expressed his belief that the Pan Am Building was a "fatal blow" to Park Avenue's continuity,[269] while Claes Oldenburg mocked the building's positioning on Park Avenue with his 1965 artwork Proposed Colossal Monument for Park Avenue, NYC: Good Humor Bar.[270] The building's own engineers had not expected any praise for the building, which had been developed solely for the purpose of making money.[88]

Goble, a close friend of Gropius and Belluschi, defended the building in a 1960 New York Times article in which he praised the pedestrian passageways in and around the building.[32][88] Goble was one of the few people speaking in favor of the Pan Am Building in its early years, and he wrote another article praising the building in 1962.[271] Gropius himself wrote a speech in which he praised the building but provided few specific details.[272] This speech was published in the June 1960 version of Architectural Record with no modifications.[272][273] Gropius had asked Paul Zucker of the New School to write an article that responded to criticism of the building on "an objective and professional level", although there is no evidence that Zucker ended up writing such an article.[274]

Later commentary edit

The Pan Am Building was also highly criticized after its 1980s lobby renovation. Carter Wiseman compared the new decorations as being gaudy in a similar manner to performer Liberace, except that "even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity".[34][275] Paul Goldberger of The New York Times said that even though the previous design was "stark and unwelcoming", the new decorations created "a space that is so forced in its joy, so false and so disingenuous, that they make one yearn for some good old-fashioned coldness".[94] In 1987, New York magazine conducted a poll of "more than 100 prominent New Yorkers", asking which buildings they preferred to see demolished, and the Pan Am Building ranked at the top of that list.[276] Architect Robert A. M. Stern said in 1988 that the building, a "wrong-headed dream badly realized", warranted preservation from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission,[277] although he rhetorically suggested tearing down the building when the Pan Am sign was replaced several years later.[87][278]

By the beginning of the 21st century, some onetime critics expressed ambivalence toward the building's presence, while preservationists advocated the protection of mid-20th century buildings such as the MetLife Building.[87] ArchDaily magazine described it in 2016 as "commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces, as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it".[28] Furthermore, the building's reputation and presence made it the setting of several films or TV shows during its history.[279]

See also edit

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ However, according to The Skyscraper Center, there are 315 parking spaces.[13]
  2. ^ New York Central's income was guaranteed to be $1.1 million or 8 percent of the gross rental, whichever was larger.[174]
  3. ^ Additional firms were invited to bid on the property, though some chose not to bid, while the others were eliminated in the first round of consideration. The other bidders included the Prudential Life Insurance Company; Corporate Property Investors; the Fisher Brothers; the Aetna Life Insurance Company; the Rreef Corporation; and an investment group which included Bernard H. Mendik, Robert Tishman, and Jerry Speyer.[234]

Citations edit

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Sources edit

  • Clausen, Meredith (2005). The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262033244. OCLC 803843211.
  • Schlichting, Kurt C. (2001). Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Architecture and Engineering in New York. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-6510-7.
  • "Six Offices From New York's Pan Am Building" (PDF). Architectural Forum. Vol. 120. pp. 102–109.
  • Stern, Robert A. M.; Fishman, David; Tilove, Jacob (2006). New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium. New York: Monacelli Press. ISBN 978-1-58093-177-9. OCLC 70267065. OL 22741487M.
  • Stern, Robert A. M.; Mellins, Thomas; Fishman, David (1995). New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial. New York: Monacelli Press. ISBN 1-885254-02-4. OCLC 32159240. OL 1130718M.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to MetLife Building.
  • Official website

January 01, 1970
metlife, building, this, article, about, building, park, avenue, midtown, manhattan, buildings, near, madison, square, park, metropolitan, life, insurance, company, tower, metropolitan, life, north, building, building, park, avenue, south, everett, building, m. This article is about the building at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan For the buildings near Madison Square Park see Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower and Metropolitan Life North Building For the building at 200 Park Avenue South see Everett Building Manhattan The MetLife Building also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street north of Grand Central Terminal in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City Designed in the International style by Richard Roth Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi and completed in 1962 the MetLife Building is 808 feet 246 m tall with 59 stories It was advertised as the world s largest commercial office space by square footage at its opening with 2 4 million square feet 220 000 m2 of usable office space As of November 2022 update the MetLife Building remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the United States MetLife BuildingSeen from the south in 2005Former namesPan Am BuildingGeneral informationTypeOfficeArchitectural styleInternationalLocation200 Park AvenueManhattan New York 10166Coordinates40 45 12 N 73 58 36 W 40 75333 N 73 97667 W 40 75333 73 97667Construction startedNovember 26 1959Topped outMay 9 1962Completed1963OpeningMarch 7 1963OwnerTishman Speyer The Irvine CompanyHeightRoof808 ft 246 3 m Technical detailsFloor count59Floor area2 841 511 square feet 263 985 0 m2 Lifts elevators85Design and constructionArchitect s Emery Roth amp Sons Pietro Belluschi and Walter Gropius 1 EngineerJaros Baum amp Bolles MEP Structural engineerJames RudermanReferences 2 3 The MetLife Building contains an elongated octagonal massing with the longer axis perpendicular to Park Avenue The building sits atop two levels of railroad tracks leading into Grand Central Terminal The facade is one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City In the lobby is a pedestrian passage to Grand Central s Main Concourse a lobby with artwork and a parking garage at the building s base The roof also contained a heliport that operated briefly during the 1960s and 1970s The MetLife Building s design has been widely criticized since it was proposed largely due to its location next to Grand Central Terminal Proposals for a skyscraper to replace Grand Central Terminal were announced in 1954 to raise money for the New York Central Railroad and New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad the financially struggling railroads that operated the terminal Subsequently plans were announced for what later became the MetLife Building to be built behind the terminal rather than in place of it Work on the project initially known as Grand Central City started in 1959 and the building was formally opened on March 7 1963 At its opening the building was named for Pan American World Airways for which it served as headquarters The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife bought the Pan Am Building in 1981 and used it as their headquarters before selling the building in 2005 The MetLife Building has been renovated several times including in the mid 1980s early 2000s and late 2010s Contents 1 Site 2 Architecture 2 1 Form 2 2 Facade 2 3 Structural features 2 3 1 Helipad 2 4 Interior 2 4 1 Structural and mechanical features 2 4 2 Lobby 2 4 2 1 Renovations 2 4 2 2 Artwork 2 4 3 Other interior spaces 3 History 3 1 Planning 3 1 1 Early plans 3 1 2 Revival of plans 3 2 Construction 3 2 1 Initial work 3 2 2 Pan Am lease and completion 3 3 Opening and Pan Am ownership 3 4 Sale to MetLife and renovations 3 5 21st century 4 Critical reception 4 1 Response to original design 4 2 Later commentary 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Citations 6 3 Sources 7 External linksSite editThe MetLife Building is at 200 Park Avenue between the two roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct to the west and east in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City The building faces the Helmsley Building across 45th Street to the north and Grand Central Terminal to the south Other nearby buildings include One Vanderbilt and 335 Madison Avenue to the southwest the Yale Club of New York City clubhouse to the west The Roosevelt Hotel to the northwest 450 Lexington Avenue to the east and the Graybar Building to the southeast 4 The building is assigned its own ZIP Code 10166 and is one of 41 such buildings in Manhattan as of 2019 update 5 In 1871 the New York Central Railroad built the Grand Central Depot a ground level depot at the intersection of Park Avenue and 42nd Street it was succeeded in 1900 by Grand Central Station also at ground level 6 The completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of the areas around Grand Central which became known as Terminal City 7 The Grand Central Terminal complex included a six story building for baggage handling just north of the main station building on what is now the site of the MetLife Building 8 The baggage handling building was converted to an office building late in its history 9 The surrounding stretch of Park Avenue was developed with International Style skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s 10 11 Architecture editDesigned in the International style by Richard Roth Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi the MetLife Building was developed by Erwin S Wolfson and completed in 1963 as the Pan Am Building 1 It is 808 feet 246 m tall with 59 stories 12 13 14 containing both commercial and office space 4 As of November 2022 update the MetLife Building is the 35th tallest building in New York City and 79th tallest in the United States 13 The Diesel Construction Company was the general contractor for the building 15 16 at the time of construction Wolfson had owned that company 15 Numerous other engineers and contractors were involved in the building s construction including Hideo Sasaki as site planning consultant and landscape architect 17 18 Jaros Baum amp Bolles as MEP engineers 13 19 and James Ruderman as structural engineer 19 From the beginning the building was intended for large firms with 2 4 million square feet 220 000 m2 in office floor area 20 21 In total it has 2 841 511 square feet 263 985 0 m2 of gross floor area according to The Skyscraper Center 13 Form edit nbsp West facade from 44th Street The massing consists of a base and an octagonal tower Contemporary sources describe the base as measuring nine stories tall atop which rises 50 tower stories 22 23 However the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat gives a conflicting measurement of 10 base stories and 49 tower stories 24 Exterior planted areas were planned for the sidewalks and above the roof of the base 18 The tower stories floor plates are designed in an elongated octagonal lozenge with the longer axis running parallel to 45th Street 25 26 The north and south facades are divided into three broad segments while the west and east facades are one segment each The building s form may have been influenced by the 1961 Zoning Resolution a major change to New York City zoning code that was proposed just before construction started The massing is similar to Le Corbusier s unbuilt tower in Algiers proposed between 1938 and 1942 27 28 as well as the nearly contemporary Pirelli Tower in Milan completed in 1958 27 29 30 The architects intended for the octagonal shape and exterior curtain wall to reduce the building s perceived sense of scale 31 Facade edit The facade of the first two stories and mezzanines is clad with granite aluminum marble and stainless steel with glass windows 22 On Depew Place an alley running below the eastern leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct fifteen loading docks were constructed for trucks to conduct deliveries and loading 32 33 On the Vanderbilt Avenue side a marquee was installed over the entrance in the 1980s 34 The third through seventh stories are exclusively sheathed in granite with window inserts 22 35 The eighth and ninth floors which are slightly set back are clad in aluminum 22 35 36 The 10th through 59th stories of the MetLife Building contain one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City 1 35 The building includes about nine thousand light tan precast concrete Mo Sai panels each of which surrounds a window measuring 4 feet 1 2 m wide by 8 feet 2 4 m high 22 37 The panels themselves measure 6 feet 1 8 m wide by 13 67 feet 4 m high and weigh 3 500 pounds 1 600 kg 22 Each panel is coated with a quartz aggregate to give texture to the facade 22 36 37 Vertical concrete mullions project about 13 inches 330 mm from the facade separating the panels on every story 37 Flat concrete spandrels separate the windows between stories 22 Though Walter Gropius had considered a precast concrete facade to be more solid than a glass curtain wall this only made the building appear bulkier 14 Furthermore the appearance of concrete degraded over time this effect could be seen in structures such as the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum but was more pronounced on the MetLife Building s facade 29 During the building s construction the manufacturer of the Mo Sai panels declared bankruptcy forcing Diesel Construction to buy out that company to prevent delays in construction 38 The facade is recessed at the 21st and 46th stories where there is mechanical space 22 27 These recesses create the impression of deep shadows 29 Both mechanical stories are surrounded by a colonnade of columns which are spaced 16 feet 4 9 m apart on centers The precast concrete curtain wall is recessed behind the columns 39 The MetLife Building originally bore 15 foot tall 4 6 m Pan Am displays on its north and south facades and 25 foot tall 7 6 m globe logos on the east and west facades 40 This was swapped with neon MetLife displays to the north and south in 1992 41 42 These displays were changed again in 2017 being replaced with LED letters to conserve energy 43 44 The Pan Am Building was the last tall tower erected in New York City before laws were enacted preventing corporate logos and names on the tops of buildings 45 Modern New York City building code prohibits logos from being more than 25 feet 7 6 m above the curb or occupying over 200 square feet 19 m2 on a blockfront 46 The sign replacements had been permitted because the city government considered the new signs to be an uninterrupted continuation of a use that was allowed before the zoning laws were changed 45 Structural features edit 200 Park Avenue was built atop two levels of railroad tracks underground which feed directly into Grand Central Terminal The substructure of the building uses foundational columns that extend into the track levels descending some 55 feet 17 m below street level into the underlying bedrock 16 23 The substructure includes more than 300 columns each 18 5 inches 470 mm across and clad with 2 inches 51 mm of concrete Ninety nine columns were built specifically for the Pan Am Building these columns were installed within several inches of existing steel members such as third rails but had to be isolated from the other steel 23 47 The new columns weighed between 22 and 44 short tons 20 and 39 long tons 20 and 40 t 47 48 Approximately two hundred existing columns which supported the former baggage building on the site were reinforced 23 47 The work involved abridging the tops of many existing columns and installing horizontal beams weighing up to 36 short tons 32 long tons 33 t 23 A triple decker sandwich made of lead asbestos and sheet steel was installed under each level of tracks to provide insulation 16 23 nbsp Rooftop view from One Vanderbilt The superstructure was constructed similarly to bridge spans To fabricate the floor slabs builders used a process called composite action in which concrete was bonded with structural steel panels to create a stronger structure 49 Steel panels were fabricated rather than concrete floors because steel panels were lighter and could be constructed regardless of unfavorable weather Over 56 acres 230 000 m2 of steel panels are used in the floor plates each of which contains wire and cable ducts 50 A standard floor slab could handle loads of 50 pounds per square foot 240 kg m2 51 The building s steel frame weighs over 45 000 short tons 40 000 long tons 41 000 t in total 47 The roof of the building contains NOAA Weather Radio Station KWO35 a National Weather Service radio station 52 Helipad edit The initial plans for the Pan Am Building were altered in March 1961 to provide for a helipad on the east side of the roof 53 54 The helipad garnered controversy immediately after it was announced and opponents of the plan cited noise and safety concerns 54 The heliport s opening required approval from the Federal Aviation Administration FAA the city government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 55 56 Lawyers for the building s owners applied for permission to operate the heliport in August 1963 57 and the New York City Planning Commission confirmed in early 1964 that the owners had sought a permit for the heliport 58 59 The New York City Board of Estimate gave final approval to the heliport in January 1965 60 61 and test flights began that March 60 62 amid continued opposition to the heliport 60 63 Helicopter service started on December 22 1965 64 The service was operated by New York Airways which flew Vertol 107 helicopters from the rooftop helipad to Pan Am s terminal at John F Kennedy International Airport JFK 65 66 There was a ticket office for the heliport at the base of the building Passengers would check in at the ticket office then take an express elevator to the 57th floor an escalator to the heliport lounge then another elevator to the roof The flight to JFK lasted an average of six minutes and twenty seconds 66 The New York City government renewed the heliport s operating license in 1966 despite continued opposition to the heliport 67 For a short period starting in March 1967 the company also offered service to Teterboro Airport 68 All helicopter service stopped on February 18 1968 because of insufficient ridership 69 as well as disagreements over funding 67 70 71 Though discussions to restart helicopter service were held in 1969 72 approval was not given until early 1977 73 54 Service to JFK resumed that February using Sikorsky S 61s 65 74 On May 16 1977 about one minute after an S 61L landed and its 20 passengers disembarked the right front landing gear collapsed causing the aircraft to topple onto its side with the rotors still turning One of the blades detached killing four men who were waiting to board and a fifth person at ground level two other people were seriously injured 75 76 Helicopter service was suspended that day and never resumed 65 77 The already controversial building received further negative attention as a result of the incident and both New York Airways and Pan Am suffered financially in subsequent years 77 During its short periods of operation the heliport was largely perceived as a nuisance and danger but its presence was also seen as satisfying what David W Dunlap described as the consummate technological fantasy of airborne travel through skyscraping pinnacles 78 Interior edit Structural and mechanical features edit nbsp Vanderbilt Avenue entrance arcade A central telephone office was installed on the 20th and 21st stories 79 serving 30 000 telephones within the building 51 80 The system costing 11 million was the first of its kind in an office building in the United States 80 The central office operated by New York Telephone eliminated the need for tenants to have individual telephone offices and equipment rooms To avoid interfering with the subterranean railroad tracks the telephone conduits were routed through the roof of the railroad tunnel 51 On the two floors where the telephone office was installed the floor slabs were strengthened to handle loads of 150 to 300 pounds per square foot 730 to 1 460 kg m2 and floor heights were increased to provide clearance of at least 13 5 feet 4 1 m 51 79 A refrigeration plant described at the time of construction as the world s largest such plant 81 was installed on the roof with three steam powered units each weighing 3 333 short tons 2 976 long tons 3 024 t 82 The plant was placed on the roof because the building has no usable basement as all the subterranean space is part of Grand Central Terminal The plant could melt up to 20 million pounds 9 1 kt of ice each day and could use 200 000 pounds of steam every hour Large fan rooms were placed on the mechanical stories at the 21st and 46th floors dispersing air to the other floors and two individual air supply systems were placed on each story 81 The ventilation systems could deliver 5 000 000 cubic feet 140 000 m3 every minute The pipes and ducts had to serve all the building s floors with an electrical system and water pressure system capable of serving all the building s stories 19 At ground level was a room where wastepaper could be baled on site to make easier to dispose of paper 83 Westinghouse Electric Corporation also manufactured 65 elevators and 21 escalators for 200 Park Avenue which at the time of construction was the largest ever order for elevators 84 85 One bank of six elevators was able to travel 1 600 feet per minute 490 m min the fastest elevators in the world at the time of their installation 84 85 86 Five elevators were reserved for freight 35 The elevators rise from the second story lobby because the elevator pits could not descend below the first story due to the presence of the tracks 35 87 The upper stories were served by 59 elevators 24 According to the Skyscraper Center as of 2021 update the building has 85 elevators 13 Lobby edit nbsp Southern end of the lobby The MetLife Building s base contains a lobby across its lowest two stories At ground level is a 76 foot wide 23 m pedestrian passageway enabling traffic flow between the Helmsley Building s pedestrian arcades and Grand Central Terminal The 45th Street entrance to the passageway is set back 65 feet 20 m from the sidewalk A 103 foot wide 31 m entrance arcade is placed on Vanderbilt Avenue with the doorways set about 81 feet 25 m back from the sidewalk there The building s main office lobby is placed at the second story at the level of the viaduct 32 33 88 The lobby was also designed with plantings and a 40 foot high 12 m enclosed plaza 18 The lobby contains 18 escalators in total 24 Four escalators lead to the Main Concourse at the southern end of the passageway 35 89 while fourteen more lead from the passageway to the office lobby 29 35 Gropius was responsible for the original design of the lobby which was largely austere 90 The building s original anchor tenant Pan Am had a ticket office under a 25 foot wide 7 6 m niche off the main lobby measuring 135 feet 41 m long and 11 feet 3 4 m high with circular counters and a wall with a relief map of the world It was the world s largest airline ticket office at the time of its opening covering 10 000 square feet 930 m2 91 Renovations edit During a 1980s renovation by Warren Platner some 15 000 square feet 1 400 m2 of retail space were constructed in the lobby 92 93 Also installed was a staircase at the center of the lobby on 45th Street which consisted of alternating travertine and gray granite risers 34 94 The staircase ranged from 10 feet 3 0 m wide at the ground floor to 20 feet 6 1 m at an intermediate landing where it split into two flights and reached a width of 30 feet 9 1 m at the mezzanine There were four triangular planters at the bottom of the staircase which complemented an orange carpet with flower motifs at the mezzanine 34 95 96 The lobby also contained unusual semicircular discs that were either mounted atop poles or suspended from the ceiling 34 94 96 In addition a security desk was added and the storefronts were expanded 90 In an early 2000s renovation by Kohn Pedersen Fox the lobby received tile and black travertine floors the storefronts were moved to the side and the central staircase was removed 42 The storefronts were removed in the late 2010s when the lobby was re clad in light colored travertine 97 The renovated lobby has an oak floored reception lounge overlooking the entrance 98 Artwork edit The Pan Am Building s lobby was planned with several works of art 35 99 which comprised most of the original lobby s decoration 90 One such artwork is Flight a triple story wire sculpture by Richard Lippold 100 101 The sculpture contains a sphere representing the earth a seven pointed star representing the seven continents and seas and gold wires representing aircraft flight patterns 101 102 It measures 80 feet 24 m wide and 40 feet 12 m deep 103 The composer John Cage a friend of Lippold s had initially proposed a musical program to complement Flight 100 104 consisting of ten loudspeakers which would have played works by Muzak whenever people walked in and out of the lobby 103 Lippold canceled the idea and management instead agreed to play classical music in the lobby 35 105 At the Pan Am Building s opening the entrance from the Main Concourse was topped by Manhattan a 28 by 55 foot 8 5 by 16 8 m mosaic mural of red white and black panels by Josef Albers 35 106 That work was removed in a 2001 renovation 42 107 though Albers had left exact specifications for reproducing the work 42 108 and a replica was installed in 2019 109 110 Suspended over the 45th Street entrance was a mural by Gyorgy Kepes consisting of two aluminum screens 111 with concentric squares 35 99 Kepes s mural measured 40 feet 12 m wide and was placed on the balcony 103 it was removed in the 1980s 34 At Vanderbilt Avenue Robert Berks sculpted a bronze bust depicting the building s developer Erwin S Wolfson 35 99 103 Other interior spaces edit The MetLife Building was designed with a six level parking garage with room for 400 cars The garage contains entrances and exits from both roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct 112 113 According to owner Tishman Speyer as of 2021 update the building s garage contains 248 spots across four levels 114 a A variety of commercial and office spaces were included in the Pan Am Building when it opened Pan Am the airline for which the building was originally named contained a ticketing office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue similar in design to Eero Saarinen s TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport 35 Office stories in the octagonal slab typically have between 32 000 to 36 000 square feet 3 000 to 3 300 m2 of usable space with elevators and stairs at the center as well as uneven column spacing 21 This arrangement allows a large amount of window office space for tenants as each story contains 780 feet 240 m of outer perimeter walls 115 Different companies with full floor leases designed their spaces in various manners Some tenants placed private offices along the perimeter with important executive offices at the far corners of the story 116 Other tenants placed open spaces at the west and east ends of the floor 117 or in the center 118 The Sky Club a private luncheon club had been on the 56th floor of the Pan Am Building 119 120 For several years the Sky Club had contained a private restaurant 28 Aircraft pioneer Juan Trippe founder of Pan Am was a member of this club 121 Trippe had commissioned a mural of clipper ships for the walls of the Sky Club it was sent to Tucker s Point resort in Bermuda after the club shuttered 122 123 On the 57th and 58th stories was the Copter Club which was used by passengers of the short lived helicopter service 78 History editPlanning edit By the 1950s passenger volumes at Grand Central Terminal had declined dramatically from the early 20th century and there were proposals to demolish and replace the station 124 125 The New York Central Railroad was losing money partially on paying taxes on the building s air rights New York Central wanted to sell the property or its air rights to allow the construction of a skyscraper above or on the terminal s site 126 At the same time the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad retained a partial interest in the terminal s operation 127 128 Early plans edit nbsp View from the north with the New York Central Building now Helmsley Building in front Initially New York Central s chairman Robert R Young had been negotiating with developer Erwin S Wolfson and their mutual friends Herbert and Stuart Scheftel to determine how the Grand Central site could be redeveloped 129 After these discussions broke down two competing plans for the replacement of Grand Central Terminal were proposed in 1954 125 127 130 One design by I M Pei was suggested by Young along with developer William Zeckendorf The proposal called for an 80 story 5 million square foot 460 000 m2 tower that would have succeeded the Empire State Building as the world s tallest building 130 131 132 The other by Fellheimer amp Wagner was put forth by New Haven s chairman Patrick B McGinnis along with Wolfson The plan envisioned a 55 story building the largest office building in the world with 4 to 6 million square feet 370 000 to 560 000 m2 130 133 134 Both proposals were poorly received with 235 architects cosigning a letter imploring Young and McGinnis to reject the plans 124 135 Neither plan was ultimately ever carried out 124 127 Though the New Haven and New York Central continued to struggle financially both railroads agreed to work with Wolfson the New Haven s developer 127 In February 1955 Wolfson the Scheftels and Alfred G Burger proposed a 65 story tower called Grand Central City which would replace a six story baggage structure north of the terminal 136 137 138 Richard Roth of Emery Roth and Sons who created the design had agreed to participate only if the office building would not result in the passenger concourse s demolition 135 136 The plans were widely circulated in the New York Herald Tribune The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal 138 The proposal garnered significant opposition after architect Giorgio Cavaglieri expressed concerns about the effects of the proposed building on traffic congestion in the area 139 Roth and Wolfson s plan was effectively forgotten in March 1955 when Zeckendorf was named the partner for any new development in the vicinity of Grand Central 140 141 Zeckendorf and Pei modified the blueprints for their 80 story tower but never publicly announced the revised plans 140 Unpublished drawings indicate that Pei s second design was supposed to be a hyperboloid shaped tower 142 143 For various reasons the hyperboloid tower never progressed past the planning stage The building had faced extensive criticism from both professionals and the general public the railroads faced significant financial shortfalls and the economy as a whole had started to decline leaving Zeckendorf unable to finance the project Meanwhile traffic around Grand Central Terminal worsened in the late 1950s 144 Revival of plans edit In January 1958 representatives of an unnamed large company who were unaware of Grand Central City s cancellation notified Stuart Scheftel that they were interested in leasing space in the new building 145 146 Upon learning of the news Young placed Scheftel in contact with his real estate agent Although Young died by suicide shortly afterward the remaining partners continued working on the project 145 A revised version of Roth s plan was announced in May 1958 The plan called for a 50 story aluminum and glass tower parallel to Park Avenue with 3 million square feet 280 000 m2 of floor area three theaters with a total capacity of 5 000 an open air restaurant on the seventh floor and a 2 000 spot parking garage 147 148 149 The New York Central and New Haven railroads were guaranteed at least 1 million a year from the agreement 145 150 Despite the presence of tracks under the building site Wolfson said a survey of the site had no insurmountable problems 151 James Ruderman the building s structural engineer had drawn up preliminary plans for a steel framework spanning the tracks 152 Wolfson hired James D Landauer Associates Inc to handle leasing at the proposed building negotiating directly with tenants brokers 153 154 Wolfson found Roth s revised plan to be unsatisfactorily modest for such a prominent site 28 127 153 He said in the New York Herald Tribune that he wanted to avoid adding just another massive shape to an already developed midtown business community 155 In July 1958 architects Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi were announced as co designers for Grand Central City 156 157 158 Wolfson expressed his hope that Gropius and Belluschi both prominent architects in the Modern style would be able to help devise an esthetic and functional design 127 157 Initially Gropius and Belluschi were to serve a relatively minor advisory role 159 A week after being hired Gropius suggested that the slab be oriented east west with a large plaza or courtyard in front of the tower similar to the design of Lever House Gropius also recommended that the building include a textured facade rather than the metal and glass curtain walls commonly used by the Roth firm in its previous buildings 158 Gropius modified the plans in mid 1958 the facade would use simulated stone the large plaza was dropped from the plans and the tower was moved northward to 45th Street 160 That October Wolfson traveled to Europe to study buildings and gain inspiration for the building s design 161 Gropius and the Roth firm continued to modify their design through early 1959 37 The revised final plans were announced in February 1959 While Wolfson had promised a modest redesign 127 the new plans were a radical change from Roth s 1958 plan calling for a 55 story octagonal tower parallel to 45th Street with 2 4 million square feet 220 000 m2 of space 26 162 163 The Roth firm said the octagonal massing could absorb different planes of light as on a diamond while Gropius said the new alignment was easier for air conditioning 26 27 The octagonal building was smaller than the original plans but Gropius s team reasoned that a 3 million square foot 280 000 m2 edifice would have been too large to rent out The Roth firm expressed its concerns over the east west orientation of the tower since it would raise the cost of the superstructure by 50 percent compared to a slab oriented north south 30 A model of the redesigned tower was exhibited publicly in November 1959 37 164 165 Construction edit Initial work edit Five leases for a collective 600 000 square feet 56 000 m2 in Grand Central City were announced immediately after the final design was announced in February 1959 166 A contract for 40 000 short tons 36 000 long tons 36 000 t of structural steel was awarded to U S Steel s American Bridge division that May at the time the contract was reportedly the most expensive ever awarded for an office building 167 168 169 Ruderman finalized his plans for the framework in September 1959 86 The next month British firm City Centre Properties invested 25 million and took a half interest in Grand Central City s development covering part of the project s 100 million cost 170 146 171 It was the first British American joint venture for a real estate development in the United States 171 Gordon I Kyle an appraiser who had calculated the valuations of more than two thirds of Manhattan s skyscrapers 172 concluded that the building would be worth twice as much as the Empire State Building 173 Wolfson and City Centre paid Kyle 50 000 which at the time was the highest single appraiser s fee ever recorded 173 172 The New York Central Railroad granted an 80 year lease for the air rights above the building in exchange for a portion of the building s gross revenue 174 b This agreement added about 6 million to the construction cost 175 Final plans were filed with the New York City Department of Buildings on November 24 1959 176 177 Construction on the structure officially started two days afterward on November 26 178 and Cushman amp Wakefield were named as leasing agents for Grand Central City the following month 179 This was followed by contracts for the building s soundproofing and elevators in February 1960 86 James Ruderman had devised engineering plans for five other structures above the Park Avenue railroad tracks As the Grand Central City site was impossible to excavate the substructure had to be erected while the baggage building served as a staging area Furthermore as some materials would have to be delivered by railroad material deliveries would be coordinated closely to avoid delays on the commuter rail lines entering Grand Central 16 23 Construction of the substructure commenced in May 1960 during which the architects finalized plans for the entrances lobbies and facade lighting 180 Gropius was involved in all aspects of the building s design from traffic flow to minor architectural details which sometimes led to conflicts with the project s other architects and engineers For example he wanted the lobby s bronze details to contain a matte finish and he requested that the elevator penthouse be no higher than 26 feet 7 9 m above the roof so that it did not look silly 181 Work on the tower itself was held up by a steel strike that lasted through much of 1960 35 the baggage handling building was ultimately demolished starting that June 182 183 184 Foundations for the building were sunk in August 1960 185 Pan Am lease and completion edit Pan Am founder Juan Trippe signed a 25 year 115 5 million equivalent to 911 7 million in 2023 186 lease for 613 000 square feet 56 900 m2 across 15 floors plus a new main ticket office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in September 1960 187 188 189 In an indication of the widespread interest surrounding this lease the mayor and the governor of New York both congratulated Grand Central City s builders after the lease was signed 190 Following this Pan Am hired Ivan Chermayeff to design the building s signage 180 Grand Central City officially became known as the Pan Am Building in December 1960 after its major lessee Signs bearing the company s name or logo were placed atop the four major facades 35 82 Originally Trippe had wanted signs with the name Pan Am on all eight facades but this was scaled down after Gropius objected that the large number of signs would decrease the dignity of the building 190 The Pan Am Building s developers secured a 70 million mortgage loan and a 65 million construction loan during January 1961 174 191 At the time the building was more than half rented 192 193 The Pan Am Building s construction involved over 200 engineers and 7 500 workers from 75 trades 38 Three derricks were installed to erect the steel for the tower while four derricks were used for the base Five to seven steel columns were installed every day during two shifts with materials deliveries taking place mostly at night 47 The Pan Am Building s structural steel topped out during May 1962 194 195 The facade cladding was installed in two ways The facade of the base was bolted into place down to the individual spandrels and mullions The Mo Sai panels for the tower were installed via an interior hoist 22 36 Wolfson though recovering from surgery during mid 1962 continued to observe the building s progress using a helicopter 196 When Wolfson died that June James D Landauer was selected to oversee the building s completion 197 The lobby the last part of the Pan Am Building to be completed was built with cheap materials such as restroom tiles because the builders had run out of money toward the project s completion 93 Opening and Pan Am ownership edit nbsp The Pan Am Building as seen in the 1980s The as yet incomplete Pan Am Building was formally opened on March 7 1963 with a ceremony attended by British and American officials 173 198 and tenants started moving into the structure the following month 199 The building had secured tenants for 91 percent of its office space upon opening in large part to its central location 200 201 Within three months the Pan Am Building was 92 percent rented and 70 percent occupied 24 202 by the first anniversary of its opening the building was 97 percent leased with 241 tenants 203 This contrasted greatly with the smaller Empire State Building which was only 25 percent rented when it opened and did not reach full occupancy for more than a decade afterward 200 At the time of its completion the Pan Am Building was the largest commercial office development in the world by square footage 14 203 204 being surpassed nearly a decade later by 55 Water Street and the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan 204 In the 15 years prior to the Pan Am Building s opening 147 office buildings had been completed in Manhattan totaling 50 632 million square feet 4 703 900 m2 of office space 202 Initially the airline only had a 10 percent ownership stake in its namesake building 205 Besides Pan Am other early tenants included the Westinghouse Electric Corporation 206 Alcoa 207 the Hammermill Paper Company 208 National Steel Corporation 209 Kodak 210 the Reader s Digest Association 211 Mitsui 212 Chrysler 115 213 and the British Iron amp Steel Corporation 214 The shops at the Pan Am Building s base were opened in August 1963 215 The tenant selection process was rigorous as Cushman and Wakefield examining the services and goods sold by potential tenants for example the firm s vice president got haircuts from each of the six applicants for the lobby barbershop 216 Furthermore average rents in the Pan Am Building were about 6 75 per square foot 72 7 m2 slightly higher than the average of 5 25 to 6 per square foot 56 5 to 64 6 m2 in other Midtown Manhattan buildings 174 Although the Pan Am Building s completion averted the terminal s imminent destruction New York Central had experienced further decline merging with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968 to form the Penn Central Railroad 217 That year Pan Am bought a 45 percent stake in the building from the estate of Jack Cotton 205 formerly chairman and co owner of City Centre Properties 218 After Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 it sought to sell its properties including the land below the Pan Am Building 219 Among the building s tenants during this time was the United Brands Company now Chiquita Brands International whose CEO Eli M Black jumped from the 44th story to his death on February 3 1975 220 221 Pan Am was considering moving its headquarters from the building by 1978 222 That year the airline bought the remaining 45 percent stake in the building from Wolfson obtaining full ownership of the property 223 224 225 A Pan Am subsidiary Grand Central Building Inc acquired the underlying land for about 25 million equivalent to 85 million in 2023 186 the following year as part of a legal settlement with Penn Central 226 The airline sustained large financial losses during the early 1980s recession 227 228 leading it to announce in February 1980 that it was considering selling the building 228 229 230 About half the leases were scheduled to expire in three or four years 227 231 Many lessees were exempt from paying the building s operating costs which made the Pan Am Building only marginally profitable for the airline 227 Amid high fuel costs and a lack of income from airfare Pan Am decided in April 1980 that it would definitely sell the building 232 Sale to MetLife and renovations edit nbsp Seen from the south with Grand Central Terminal in the foreground and the Pershing Square Building at right When the Pan Am Building officially went on the market in May 1980 Business Week magazine predicted that it might be sold for as much as 200 million equivalent to 621 million in 2023 186 233 The sale was so complex that Landauer Associates published a 65 page brochure just to describe the terms of the sale 96 Nine bidders submitted offers five of whom were selected for further consideration the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife the Equitable Life Assurance Society Donald Trump Paul Milstein and Olympia and York 234 c In July 1980 Pan Am sold the building to MetLife for 400 million equivalent to 1 24 billion in 2023 186 205 227 233 At the time it was the highest priced sale of an office building in Manhattan This was attributed not only to a rezoning of the surrounding area allowing developers to erect higher buildings there but also to a strong office market 233 The sale price amounted to 177 per square foot 1 910 m2 more than any other office building in Manhattan 231 MetLife did not plan to move any offices to the building and Pan Am planned to keep its headquarters there 205 233 As a condition of the sale the building would retain Pan Am s name until the airline ceased to be the building s anchor tenant 231 The sale was finalized in 1981 when Pan Am transferred stock in the building to MetLife a move that let the airline avoid paying most of the estate transfer tax 96 235 Pan Am normally would have paid a 4 million tax but it ultimately paid only 125 96 Cross amp Brown assumed the responsibility of leasing the building s space 236 At the time leases for much of the interior space were set to expire all at once during the early 1980s 93 237 Starting in 1984 MetLife renovated about half of the space as the original tenants leases expanded The deteriorating lobby used by 100 000 pedestrians a day was extensively reconfigured by Warren Platner In addition some mechanical systems were upgraded to comply with building codes and retail spaces were added 93 237 238 Asbestos fireproofing on the office stories was removed in advance of an anti asbestos regulation passed by the city government in 1985 239 240 The lobby renovation had been completed by 1987 241 at a cost of 15 million 96 By 1991 Pan Am s presence had dwindled to four floors 34 78 MetLife preferred to refer to the building as 200 Park Avenue its address At the time the Pan Am Building was 95 percent occupied and the public variously referred to the building by the names of its large tenants such as Mitsui Dreyfus and Rogers amp Wells 78 Pan Am moved its headquarters to Miami that year 242 and closed down shortly afterward 45 In September 1992 MetLife announced that it would remove Pan Am signage from 200 Park Avenue and add letters bearing its own name 41 42 According to a MetLife spokesperson the sign change was taking place because the airline had become defunct 41 243 The signs were changed in January 1993 42 244 Though 200 Park Avenue subsequently became known as the MetLife Building its namesake was then headquartered in the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower 45 As a result the Park Avenue structure was known specifically as the MetLife Building 200 Park Avenue 34 21st century edit Further renovations to 200 Park Avenue s exterior and lobby were undertaken during 2001 and 2002 87 Low pressure compressed air was used to clean the facade while Kohn Pedersen Fox renovated the lobby 42 In 2005 MetLife moved its board room from the Metropolitan Life Tower to 200 Park Avenue 245 246 The same year the company considered selling 200 Park Avenue to pay for its acquisition of Travelers Life amp Annuity 245 Ultimately MetLife sold the building that April for 1 72 billion to a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Properties the New York City Employees Retirement System and the New York City Teachers Retirement System 247 248 At the time the sale was the largest ever transaction involving an office building 249 The company still retained a boardroom and corporate suite at 200 Park Avenue 250 MetLife announced in 2015 that it was consolidating its operations at 200 Park Avenue with 500 000 square feet 46 000 m2 of space in the building 246 251 At the time the media reported that Donald Bren the billionaire owner of the real estate firm Irvine Company held a 97 3 percent ownership stake in the building While Tishman Speyer remained the managing partner of the property the company s stake in the MetLife Building had been reduced to less than 3 percent 252 253 Plans to renovate the lobby were devised in 2016 109 The next year the neon light sources for the signs atop the building were swapped with LED light sources to conserve energy 43 44 A renovation of 200 Park Avenue s lobby started in late 2018 The work was to simplify the lobby s layout by removing storefronts and restoring direct connections to some of Grand Central s platforms 97 254 Three restaurant owners leased space in the building in mid 2022 255 256 Critical reception editResponse to original design edit nbsp View from the south with Grand Central Terminal in front When the octagonal design for 200 Park Avenue was first announced in 1959 it was controversial 27 Architectural historian Sibyl Moholy Nagy wrote in Progressive Architecture magazine that the original tower plans provided human scale and architectural personality which were lost in the revision 257 Walter McQuade writing for The Nation found even the drawings for the building to be dissatisfying 27 258 Grand Central City was lambasted internationally by Italian critic Gillo Dorfles and Romanian architect Martin Pinchis 259 Architect Victor Gruen questioned the parking garage s necessity given the site s proximity to a major railroad terminal 260 while Progressive Architecture editor Thomas H Creighton suggested the space would be better left as an open plaza 260 261 Critics also expressed concerns that the building would burden existing transit infrastructure 174 The plan also had its defenders such as Natalie Parry who wrote in rebuttal to Moholy Nagy that the plans preserved Grand Central s star studded Main Concourse together with the precious air space above it 262 Historian Paul Zucker defended the building s urbanism and urban planner Charles Abrams and Architectural Record editor Emerson Goble also defended the plan as an addition to the cityscape 260 Upon its completion the Pan Am Building received largely negative feedback 263 in large part because of its central location 200 201 Most critics deprecated the building s bulk which was exacerbated by the design of the facade and its horizontal alignment 14 29 Gropius said the 1916 Zoning Resolution justified the building s large size telling television presenter Dave Garroway that every citizen has the right to use the law as far as he can 264 265 this only prompted further negative reviews 264 James T Burns Jr wrote in Progressive Architecture that the placement of the base tower parking garage and Grand Central Terminal were occasionally inexcusably jarring and considered the lobby to be a continuation of the exterior s monolithism 266 Ada Louise Huxtable called the building a colossal collection of minimums with the lobby artwork being a face saving gimmick 267 Many observers viewed the monolithic design as obstructing vistas down Park Avenue 263 268 Art historian Vincent Scully speaking in 1961 expressed his belief that the Pan Am Building was a fatal blow to Park Avenue s continuity 269 while Claes Oldenburg mocked the building s positioning on Park Avenue with his 1965 artwork Proposed Colossal Monument for Park Avenue NYC Good Humor Bar 270 The building s own engineers had not expected any praise for the building which had been developed solely for the purpose of making money 88 Goble a close friend of Gropius and Belluschi defended the building in a 1960 New York Times article in which he praised the pedestrian passageways in and around the building 32 88 Goble was one of the few people speaking in favor of the Pan Am Building in its early years and he wrote another article praising the building in 1962 271 Gropius himself wrote a speech in which he praised the building but provided few specific details 272 This speech was published in the June 1960 version of Architectural Record with no modifications 272 273 Gropius had asked Paul Zucker of the New School to write an article that responded to criticism of the building on an objective and professional level although there is no evidence that Zucker ended up writing such an article 274 Later commentary edit The Pan Am Building was also highly criticized after its 1980s lobby renovation Carter Wiseman compared the new decorations as being gaudy in a similar manner to performer Liberace except that even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity 34 275 Paul Goldberger of The New York Times said that even though the previous design was stark and unwelcoming the new decorations created a space that is so forced in its joy so false and so disingenuous that they make one yearn for some good old fashioned coldness 94 In 1987 New York magazine conducted a poll of more than 100 prominent New Yorkers asking which buildings they preferred to see demolished and the Pan Am Building ranked at the top of that list 276 Architect Robert A M Stern said in 1988 that the building a wrong headed dream badly realized warranted preservation from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission 277 although he rhetorically suggested tearing down the building when the Pan Am sign was replaced several years later 87 278 By the beginning of the 21st century some onetime critics expressed ambivalence toward the building s presence while preservationists advocated the protection of mid 20th century buildings such as the MetLife Building 87 ArchDaily magazine described it in 2016 as commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it 28 Furthermore the building s reputation and presence made it the setting of several films or TV shows during its history 279 See also editArchitecture of New York City List of tallest buildings in New York CityReferences editNotes edit However according to The Skyscraper Center there are 315 parking spaces 13 New York Central s income was guaranteed to be 1 1 million or 8 percent of the gross rental whichever was larger 174 Additional firms were invited to bid on the property though some chose not to bid while the others were eliminated in the first round of consideration The other bidders included the Prudential Life Insurance Company Corporate Property Investors the Fisher Brothers the Aetna Life Insurance Company the Rreef Corporation and an investment group which included Bernard H Mendik Robert Tishman and Jerry Speyer 234 Citations edit a b c White Norval Willensky Elliot Leadon Fran 2010 AIA Guide to New York City 5th ed New York Oxford University Press p 316 ISBN 978 0 19538 386 7 MetLife Building SkyscraperPage MetLife Building Emporis Archived from the original on March 6 2016 a b 375 Park Avenue 10022 New York City Department of City Planning Archived from the original on November 27 2020 Retrieved September 7 2020 Brown Nicole March 18 2019 Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes NYCurious amNewYork Archived from the original on July 8 2022 Retrieved July 8 2022 White Norval Willensky Elliot Leadon Fran 2010 AIA Guide to New York City 5th ed New York Oxford University Press p 313 ISBN 978 0 19538 386 7 Fitch James Marston Waite Diana S 1974 Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center A Historic critical Estimate of Their Significance Albany New York The Division p 6 Schlichting 2001 pp 62 63 Belle John Leighton Maxinne Rhea 2000 Grand Central Gateway to a Million Lives Norton p 6 ISBN 978 0 393 04765 3 Schlichting 2001 pp 180 181 Gray Christopher May 14 1989 Is It Time to Redevelop Park Avenue Again The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on April 20 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 MetLife Building Emporis Archived from the original on May 12 2007 Retrieved March 9 2021 a b c d e f MetLife Building The Skyscraper Center Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat August 24 2020 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved November 19 2022 a b c d Stichweh Dirk 2016 New York Skyscrapers Prestel Publishing p 90 ISBN 978 3 7913 8226 5 OCLC 923852487 a b Clausen 2005 p 114 a b c d Skyscraper Here to Rise Like Vine Old Building Will Linger While New One Is Begun at Grand Central The New York Times September 20 1959 p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 114649780 500 000 Landscaping For Grand Central City PDF The New York Times November 2 1959 p 51 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 24 2021 a b c New Wolfson Building To Have Large Gardens New York Herald Tribune November 1 1959 p 92 ProQuest 1346191143 a b c Lyman Richard May 17 1959 New Towers Raise Role Of Engineer Expert Controls Third of Outlay New York Herald Tribune p 1C ProQuest 1323087094 Wolfson Erwin S March 20 1960 Grand Central Project Planned for Big Firms New York Herald Tribune p C4 ProQuest 1324052774 a b Architectural Forum 1964 p 102 a b c d e f g h i j Textured Masonry Sheathes New Office Buildings The New York Times October 29 1961 p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 115325278 a b c d e f g Commuters To Witness Tower Start Will Get Closcup Of E 42d St Job New York Herald Tribune May 1 1960 p 3C ProQuest 1324052003 a b c d Zaknic Ivan Smith 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Big Building Plans to Cut Congestion Wolfson Tower To Help Traffic New York Herald Tribune June 26 1960 p 1C ProQuest 1325739974 a b c d e f g h Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 p 144 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 366 a b c Concrete Curtain PDF Architectural Forum Vol 116 February 1962 p 10 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c d e Clausen 2005 p 105 a b Clausen 2005 p 119 Clausen 2005 p 109 Schneider Daniel B January 5 1997 F Y I The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 30 2019 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c Maxey Brigitte September 20 1992 Metlife to Ground Pan Am Logo in N Y Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c d e f g Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 p 145 a b Gannon Devin June 7 2017 The MetLife Building s letters are getting a makeover 6sqft Archived from the original on April 14 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b Elstein Aaron June 7 2017 MetLife Building sign gets a face lift for the first time in 24 years Crain s New York Business Archived from the original on March 5 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c d Dunlap David W September 4 1992 Final Pan Am Departure The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 11 2020 Retrieved July 27 2017 Bagli Charles V February 14 2008 Big Selling Point for G M Tower Naming Rights The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on June 10 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c d e Fowler Glenn March 12 1961 Framing Begins for Skyscraper Columns Lowered Through Grand Central Terminal to Rest on Bedrock The New York Times p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 115226480 Frame of Pan Am Tower Avoids Train Vibration New York Herald Tribune April 23 1961 p D7 ProQuest 1325309076 Auerbach George February 3 1962 Bridge Methods Used on Floors Composite Action Adapted for Pan Am Building The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 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Heliport 25 passenger Craft Would Operate 60 Stories Up With Added Power PDF The New York Times p 31 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 25 2021 Pan Am Building Moves For Heliport Approval The New York Times August 1 1963 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Clausen 2005 p 311 Renewal is Voted in City Hall Area The New York Times March 12 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 a b c Clausen 2005 p 312 Witkin Richard January 15 1965 Pan Am Heliport is Voted by City Estimate Board Unanimous Fight by Citizens Group May Be Taken to Court City Sanctions Pan Am Heliport Civic Group Weighs Court Fight The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved August 11 2022 Copter Test Flights To Be Made Today At Pan Am Heliport The New York Times March 3 1965 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 11 2022 Retrieved 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1955 p 20 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved December 24 2018 a b Clausen 2005 pp 29 32 Clausen 2005 p 33 a b Clausen 2005 pp 44 45 Porter Russell March 2 1955 Grand Central Area Open for Rebuilding PDF The New York Times p 1 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 25 2021 Clausen 2005 pp 46 47 Belle John Leighton Maxinne Rhea 2000 Grand Central Gateway to a Million Lives Norton p 4 ISBN 978 0 393 04765 3 Clausen 2005 p 47 a b c Clausen 2005 p 49 a b Fowler Glenn October 22 1959 British Funds Back Grand Central City PDF The New York Times p 1 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 24 2021 Plan 50 Story Building Next to Grand Central New York Herald Tribune May 8 1958 p 1 ProQuest 1325125370 Fowler Glenn May 8 1958 Grand Central City Is Planned 50 Story Skyscraper Slated by 1961 for Rear of Terminal PDF The New York Times p 1 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved December 24 2018 Grand Central site for largest office building PDF Architectural Forum June 1958 p 13 Archived PDF from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 Plan Biggest Biz Bldg at Grand Central New York Daily News May 8 1958 p 275 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 24 2021 via newspapers com Planning Moves Ahead For Grand Central City New York Herald Tribune June 8 1958 p 1C ProQuest 1323060280 Clausen 2005 pp 92 93 a b Clausen 2005 p 50 Central Building Sets Rental Plan New Approach on Leases Uses Consultant Firm for Planned Skyscraper The New York Times July 6 1958 p R2 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 114352442 Wolfson Erwin S December 20 1959 New 42d St Tower Will Spare Depot Offices Planned On Separate Site New York Herald Tribune p C3 ProQuest 1326231684 2 Noted Architects to Help Map Center The New York Times July 31 1958 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 a b 3 Architects to Plan Grand Central Building New York Herald Tribune July 31 1958 p 8 ProQuest 1328101936 a b Clausen 2005 p 96 Clausen 2005 p 94 Clausen 2005 p 100 Wolfson Off For Survey In Europe The Herald Statesman October 3 1958 p 14 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 24 2021 via newspapers com Ennis Thomas W February 18 1959 Octagonal Office Skyscraper To Rise Behind Grand Central PDF The New York Times p 35 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 24 2021 Buildings in the News Gropius Belluschi Roth Design For Grand Central City PDF Architectural Forum March 1959 p 10 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 Model of Huge Office Building Grand Central City Is Unveiled Newsday November 3 1959 p 16 ProQuest 89826064 Model of Grand Central City Shown The New York Times November 3 1959 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved March 24 2021 Pacts for New Building Leases Reported for Proposed Grand Central City PDF The New York Times February 20 1959 p 41 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 24 2021 Huge Steel Award Let For New Building Here PDF The New York Times May 13 1959 p 61 Retrieved December 24 2018 Ordering Steel for Grand Central City New York Herald Tribune May 13 1959 p B6 ProQuest 1323963988 U S Steel Division Gets Record Contract The Herald Statesman May 22 1959 p 24 Retrieved March 24 2021 via newspapers com Gleason Gene October 22 1959 British Aid Grand Central City Realty Firm Invests 25 Million in Project New York Herald Tribune p 15 ProQuest 1328041816 a b Clausen 2005 p 86 a b Talese Gay May 7 1961 Expert Eye Gordon I Kyle is paid big fees to assess the value of big buildings The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 13 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 a b c Pan Am Building Dedicated in N Y World s Largest The Christian Science Monitor March 8 1963 p 2 ProQuest 510414868 a b c d e Pan Am Building Called a Huge Gamble Is Opening 91 Rented 100 Financed The Wall Street Journal March 6 1963 p 16 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 132873303 Sheehan Harold January 2 1963 Builders in Crowded Cities Are Finding No Way to Go But Up The Index Journal p 15 Retrieved March 26 2021 via newspapers com Building Plan Filed Cost of Grand Central City Is Put at 42 000 000 The New York Times November 25 1959 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Architect Files Plans For 59 Story Building New York Herald Tribune November 24 1959 p 36 ProQuest 1324107387 Skyscraper Is Begun Work Starts on 100 000 000 Grand Central City The New York Times November 27 1959 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 24 2018 Renting Agent Named Cushman amp Wakefield Gets Job for Grand Central City The New York Times December 2 1959 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 a b Clausen 2005 p 110 Clausen 2005 p 111 Lee Henry October 16 1960 Grand Old Central Sprouts a Skyscraper New York Daily News pp 52 53 Wrecking Starts at Grand Central Office Building Being Razed for Skyscraper Baggage Installation Advanced The New York Times June 28 1960 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Demolition Started at Grand Central City Site PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 41 August 1960 p 64 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 Foundation Being Sunk 55 Feet for Grand Central City The New York Times August 9 1960 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 24 2018 a b c d Johnston Louis Williamson Samuel H 2023 What Was the U S GDP Then MeasuringWorth Retrieved November 30 2023 United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series Clausen 2005 p 137 Pan Am to Occupy 15 Floors of Central Manhattan Skyscraper The Wall Street Journal September 28 1960 p 3 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 132586529 Ennis Thomas W September 28 1960 115 Million Lease Sets a Mark Here Pan Am Takes 15 Floors in New Terminal Building PDF The New York Times p 1 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b Clausen 2005 p 138 The largest construction loan ever PDF Architectural Forum Vol 115 July 1961 p 11 Archived PDF from the original on February 28 2020 Retrieved March 25 2021 Huge Loan For Pan Am Building Set Midtown Scraper Gets Financing New York Herald Tribune January 10 1961 p 40 ProQuest 1325446490 Some Financing Details Of Pan Am Building In New York Disclosed The Wall Street Journal January 10 1961 p 17 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 132711020 Flags Mark Topping Out of Pan Am Building s Steel PDF The New York Times May 10 1962 p 28 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved December 25 2018 New York City s Pan Am Building Is Topped Out The Washington Post May 13 1962 p A27 ISSN 0190 8286 ProQuest 141719551 Builder Confined by Illness Sees Projects From the Air PDF The New York Times June 23 1962 p 24 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 25 2021 Landauer Will Direct Activities of Wolfson PDF The New York Times July 5 1962 p 54 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 25 2021 Pan Am Building Dedicated in N Y 100 Million Structure 59 Stories Tall City s Biggest Other Speakers at Event The New York Times March 8 1963 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 24 2018 Pan Am Receives First of Tenants Pan Am Building Center of a Storm of Controversy Nears Completion The New York Times April 7 1963 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 24 2018 a b c Clausen 2005 p 216 a b O Donnell Laurence G March 6 1963 Pan Am Building Called a Huge Gamble Is Opening 91 Rented 100 Financed The Wall Street Journal p 16 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 133071383 a b Clausen 2005 p 217 a b Pan Am Building 97 Under Lease The New York Times March 15 1964 p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 115706173 a b Horsley Carter B The MetLife formerly the Pan Am Building The Midtown Book Archived from the original on February 28 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b c d Pace Eric July 29 1980 Metropolitan Life Plans to Acquire Pan Am Buildings for 400 Million Price Apparently a Record Airline Is Preparing to Retire Some of Debt Pan Am Agrees to Sell Building for 400 Million Equivalent to 177 a Square Foot Cost About 115 Million to Build The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Lease Expanded by Westinghouse Company Will Take 4 Floors in Grand Central City Other Rental Deals The New York Times July 28 1960 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Lease Arranged for Central City Alcoa to Take Space in Big Skyscraper at Terminal Other Rental Deals PDF The New York Times February 3 1960 p 53 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 24 2021 Space Is Leased by Hammermill Paper Company to Locate in Pan Am Building The New York Times June 7 1962 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 National Steel to Move Offices Signs at Pan Am Building Goodrich Expands Unit The New York Times May 28 1962 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Eastman Kodak to Moved Division Gets Space in the Pan Am Building Other Rentals The New York Times July 13 1961 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 25 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Reader s Digest to Move Offices Leases 3 Pan Am Building Floors Other Deals The New York Times September 25 1961 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Pan Am Building Leases a Floor Japanese Export Company Takes Tower Space The New York Times July 11 1962 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Chrysler to Move Offices To the Pan Am Building PDF The New York Times June 21 1963 p 44 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 British Company Gets Office Here Steel Concern Takes Space in Pan Am Building The New York Times June 14 1962 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 26 2018 Retrieved December 25 2018 Pan Am Building Opens Shops PDF The New York Times August 16 1963 p 53 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Bartnett Edimond J May 5 1963 Agent Scrutinzes Pan Am Applicants PDF The New York Times p R311 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Court Here Lets Railroads Consolidate Tomorrow The New York Times 1968 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on April 24 2022 Retrieved February 1 2018 Jack Cotton Dies Real Estate Man British Developer Helped to Finance Pan Am Building PDF The New York Times March 23 1964 p 29 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved July 23 2021 Bedingfield Robert E June 3 1971 Pennsy Will Sell 23 Valuable Sites in Mid Manhattan The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on June 11 2020 Retrieved June 11 2020 Krajicek David J May 22 2011 Going bananas Pan Am Building suicide in Chiquita scandal New York Daily News Archived from the original on October 1 2015 Retrieved September 30 2015 Kihss Peter February 4 1975 44 Story Plunge Kills Head of United Brands The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Pan Am Weighs Moving Base From New York The Wall Street Journal March 13 1978 p 34 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 134272483 Pan Am Agrees to Buy 45 of Its Building The New York Times April 25 1978 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on February 8 2018 Retrieved March 26 2021 Pan Am Agrees to Buy All of Pan Am Building The Wall Street Journal April 25 1978 p 20 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 134340369 Clausen 2005 pp 346 347 Realty News Ownership Changes In Major Buildings Downtown Move Executives Named The New York Times January 28 1979 p R6 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 121014232 a b c d Incantalupo Tom July 29 1980 Pan Am Selling Pan Am Building Newsday p 35 ProQuest 965198877 a b Clausen 2005 p 346 Pan Am Is Considering Selling New York City Headquarters Building The Wall Street Journal February 13 1980 p 16 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 134459071 Horsley Carter February 13 1980 Pan Am Weighs Sale of Its Building Pan Am Weighs Sale of Its Building The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 9 2022 Retrieved August 9 2022 a b c Clausen 2005 p 349 Clausen 2005 p 350 a b c d Clausen 2005 p 347 a b Horsley Carter B September 28 1980 400 Million Sale A Morale Booster Causes Concern Too PDF The New York Times p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Dionne E J Jr August 8 1981 New York Closes Loophole in City Realty Transfer Tax The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 26 2018 Retrieved March 26 2021 Hinds Michael Decourcy July 21 1985 Tenants Get the Edge in Office Market The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 25 2017 Retrieved March 26 2021 a b Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 p 143 Linscott Judy April 1 1984 Building born again New York Daily News pp 63 64 Retrieved March 26 2021 via newspapers com McCain Mark January 15 1989 Commercial Property Asbestos Cleanup Worries Tenants Renting Out Surplus Space The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 21 2017 Retrieved March 26 2021 McCain Mark May 12 1986 Chaos Engulfs N Y Cleanup on Asbestos Crain s New York Business Vol 2 no 9 p 1 ProQuest 219153431 McCain Mark June 7 1987 Commercial Property Office Lobbies Images of Elegance Proving a Magnet to Tenants The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 9 2017 Retrieved March 26 2021 Pulley Brett August 14 1991 Pan Am Focus Shifts to the Long Term and Away from Day to Day Survival The Wall Street Journal p A2 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 398219481 Metropolitan Life Says It Will Put Its Name On Pan Am Building The Wall Street Journal September 4 1992 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 398399929 Postings Replacing Pan Am Lighting Up MetLife at 200 Park The New York Times January 10 1993 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 17 2018 Retrieved March 25 2021 a b Sanger Elizabeth February 17 2005 MetLife mulls sale of 2 icons Deals for former Pan Am building and One Madison Avenue would help pay for purchase of Travelers Life amp Annuity Newsday p A50 ProQuest 279895445 a b Scism Leslie Morris Keiko March 19 2015 MetLife to Unify at Namesake Tower The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Archived from the original on June 3 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 Ramirez Anthony April 2 2005 MetLife Sells Second Tower in a Week The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on February 3 2015 Retrieved March 25 2021 MetLife Inc Landmark Building to Be Sold To Tishman Speyer Led Group The Wall Street Journal April 4 2005 p 1 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 398923814 Bagli Charles V December 7 2006 A Big Deal Even in Manhattan A Tower Goes for 1 8 Billion The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Bagli Charles V September 15 2006 Metlife Plans a Return to Midtown From Queens The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved March 25 2021 MetLife returning to namesake Midtown tower The Real Deal New York March 18 2015 Archived from the original on January 22 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 Mulholland Sarah de Jong David March 11 2015 Billionaire Bren Is Secret Owner of NYC s MetLife Tower Bloomberg Archived from the original on January 16 2020 Retrieved March 25 2021 Real owner of MetLife Building is a Calif billionaire Crain s New York Business March 11 2015 Archived from the original on May 17 2021 Retrieved March 25 2021 Krisel Brendan December 14 2018 MetLife Building Revamp To Restore Original Grandeur Developer Midtown Hell s Kitchen NY Patch Archived from the original on July 9 2021 Retrieved July 2 2021 MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue to Debut Exciting New Dining Options Real Estate Weekly May 23 2022 Archived from the original on May 24 2022 Retrieved May 26 2022 Capital Grille Signs With Tishman Speyer Irvine at MetLife The Real Deal New York May 23 2022 Archived from the original on May 26 2022 Retrieved May 26 2022 Moholy Nagy Sibyl May 1959 Quantity vs Quality PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 40 p 60 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 McQuade Walter January 30 1960 Architecture The Nation Vol 190 pp 104 106 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 364 a b c Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 pp 364 365 Huxtable Ada Louise January 24 1960 Marvel or Monster Grand Central City Is Mass Architecture PDF The New York Times p X13 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 25 2021 Parry Natalie August 1959 in defense of Grand Central City Building design PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 40 pp 49 54 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 a b Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 pp 366 369 a b Clausen 2005 p 193 Gropius and Garroway PDF Architectural Forum Vol 104 April 1960 p 177 Archived PDF from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved August 10 2022 Burns James T Jr April 1963 The Pan Am Building A Behemoth Is Born PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 44 pp 60 61 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 26 2021 Huxtable Ada Louise April 14 1963 Architecture Stumbles on Recent Buildings Are Nothing Much to Brag About Other Newcomers Sixth Avenue Coming Up PDF The New York Times p 119 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 26 2021 Gray Christopher December 19 2014 Park Avenue Interrupted The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on March 3 2020 Retrieved March 25 2021 Arch League Forums Find Architecture in Decline PDF Architectural Record Vol 131 no 1 January 1962 p 28 Archived PDF from the original on June 24 2021 Retrieved March 26 2021 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 369 Clausen 2005 p 190 a b Clausen 2005 p 189 Gropius Walter June 1961 True Architectural Goals Yet to be Realized PDF Architectural Record Vol 129 pp 147 152 Archived PDF from the original on July 16 2021 Retrieved August 10 2022 Clausen 2005 pp 194 195 Pan Am Building Seven Reactions Interior Design Vol 58 September 1987 p 262 Story Richard David June 15 1987 The Buildings New Yorkers Love to Hate New York Magazine pp 30 35 Archived from the original on September 1 2021 Retrieved April 4 2021 Dunlap David W October 25 1988 Landmark Is Debated By Experts The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 30 2018 Retrieved March 26 2021 Stern Fishman amp Tilove 2006 pp 144 145 Alleman Richard 2013 New York The Movie Lover s Guide The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York Crown p 53 ISBN 978 0 8041 3778 2 Sources edit Clausen Meredith 2005 The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream Cambridge MA MIT Press ISBN 9780262033244 OCLC 803843211 Schlichting Kurt C 2001 Grand Central Terminal Railroads Architecture and Engineering in New York Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0 8018 6510 7 Six Offices From New York s Pan Am Building PDF Architectural Forum Vol 120 pp 102 109 Stern Robert A M Fishman David Tilove Jacob 2006 New York 2000 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium New York Monacelli Press ISBN 978 1 58093 177 9 OCLC 70267065 OL 22741487M Stern Robert A M Mellins Thomas Fishman David 1995 New York 1960 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial New York Monacelli Press ISBN 1 885254 02 4 OCLC 32159240 OL 1130718M External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to MetLife Building Official website Portals nbsp Architecture nbsp New York City Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MetLife Building amp oldid 1219952292, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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