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Seagram Building

January 29, 2023

"Seagram Tower" redirects here. For the structure in Ontario originally named Seagram Tower, see Tower Hotel (Niagara Falls). For the structure in Montreal, Quebec, that formerly served as Seagram's headquarters, see Seagram House.

The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Robert Allan Jacobs, the tower is 515 feet (157 m) tall with 38 stories. The International Style building with a public plaza, completed in 1958, initially served as the headquarters of the Seagram Company, a Canadian distiller.

Seagram Building
The Seagram Building as viewed from across Park Avenue
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural styleInternational Style
Location375 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York 10152, United States
Coordinates40°45′31″N 73°58′20″W / 40.75861°N 73.97222°W / 40.75861; -73.97222 (Seagram Building)Coordinates: 40°45′31″N 73°58′20″W / 40.75861°N 73.97222°W / 40.75861; -73.97222 (Seagram Building)
Completed1958; 65 years ago (1958)
OwnerAby Rosen
Height
Roof516 ft (157 m)
Technical details
Floor count38
Floor area849,014 sq ft (78,876.0 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; Philip Johnson
EngineerJaros, Baum & Bolles (MEP)
Structural engineerSeverud Associates
DesignatedFebruary 24, 2006
Reference no.06000056[1]
DesignatedOctober 3, 1989[2][3]
Reference no.1664[4]
Designated entityFacade
DesignatedOctober 3, 1989[2][3]
Reference no.1665[5]
Designated entityInterior: Lobby
DesignatedOctober 3, 1989[2][3]
Reference no.1666[6]
Designated entityInterior: Four Seasons Restaurant

Phyllis Lambert, daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, heavily influenced the Seagram Building's design, an example of the functionalist aesthetic and a prominent instance of corporate modern architecture. A glass curtain wall with vertical mullions of bronze and horizontal spandrels made of Muntz metal form the building's exterior. The pink granite plaza facing Park Avenue contains two fountains. Behind the plaza is a tall elevator lobby with a similar design to the plaza. The lowest stories originally contained the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, which were replaced respectively by the Grill and Pool restaurant and the Lobster Club. The upper stories contain office spaces of modular construction.

Seagram revealed plans for the building in July 1954, when it announced construction of its headquarters on the up-and-coming commercial strip of Park Avenue. After Lambert objected to Pereira & Luckman's original design, Mies was selected as the architect that November. The building's construction began in late 1955 and finished in 1958, although the official certificate of occupancy was not granted until 1959. The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) purchased the building in 1979, and it remained Seagram's headquarters until 2001. TIAA sold the building in 2000 to Aby Rosen's RFR Holding LLC, which has continued to operate the structure.

Upon opening, the Seagram Building was widely praised for its architecture. Described in The New York Times as one of "New York's most copied buildings",[7] the Seagram Building has inspired the designs of other structures around the world. Within New York City, the Seagram Building helped influence the 1961 Zoning Resolution, a zoning ordinance that allowed developers to construct additional floor area in exchange for including plazas outside their buildings. In 1989, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Seagram Building's exterior, lobby, and The Four Seasons Restaurant as official city landmarks. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Site

The Seagram Building is at 375 Park Avenue, on the east side of the avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.[8][9] The building was never officially named for its original anchor tenant, Canadian conglomerate Seagram, and is legally known only by its address.[10] The building is assigned its own ZIP Code, 10152; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019.[11] The land lot has a frontage of 295 feet (90 m) on 52nd Street to the south, 200 feet (61 m) on Park Avenue to the west, and 302 feet (92 m) on 53rd Street to the north.[9][12] The site slopes down to the east.[9][13][14]

The 53rd Street side contains an alley about 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, facing 100 East 53rd Street; the alley allows the Seagram Building to remain symmetrical despite the site's irregular shape.[15] Other nearby buildings include 345 Park Avenue across 52nd Street to the south; 399 Park Avenue across 53rd Street to the north; Lever House diagonally across Park Avenue and 53rd Street; and the Racquet and Tennis Club Building and Park Avenue Plaza across Park Avenue to the west.[8] In addition, 599 Lexington Avenue and the Citigroup Center, as well as the New York City Subway's Lexington Avenue/51st Street station (served by the 6, <6>​​, E, and ​M trains), are on Lexington Avenue less than one block to the east.[8][16]

During the late 19th century, the Seagram Building's site had included the original Steinway & Sons piano factory, as well as tenements made of brick or brownstone.[17] The Park Avenue railroad line had run in an open-cut in the middle of Park Avenue until the 1900s. The construction of Grand Central Terminal in the early 20th century covered the line, spurring development in the surrounding area, Terminal City.[18][19] The adjacent stretch of Park Avenue became a wealthy neighborhood with upscale apartments, including the Montana Apartments, on the site of the piano factory.[17] Largely commercial International Style skyscrapers replaced many of the residential structures on Park Avenue during the 1950s and 1960s.[20][21] These skyscrapers included the Seagram Building, Lever House, the Union Carbide Building, and the Pepsi-Cola Building.[22] When the Seagram site was assembled in the early 1950s, it contained the Montana Apartments and four smaller row houses and apartment buildings.[23][24][25]

Architecture

German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Seagram Building[26][27] in the International Style.[28] Philip Johnson was the co-architect and the partnership of Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs were the associate architects.[28] Numerous consultants were involved in the building's design, including mechanical engineers Jaros, Baum & Bolles; structural engineers Severud-Elstad Krueger; electrical engineer Clifton E. Smith; lighting consultant Richard Kelly; acoustics consultant Bolt-Beranek & Newman; graphics consultant Elaine Lustig; and landscape architects Charles Middeleer and Karl Linn.[25][29][30]

Phyllis Lambert, a Bronfman family member and the daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, whose idea it was to develop the building, did not impose a budget on Mies.[31][32] Lambert said the Seagram Building was supposed to "be the crowning glory of everyone's work, his own, the contractor's, and Mies's".[33] The architects used new or redesigned materials if they believed these innovations provided an improvement over existing products.[34] The design used costly, high-quality materials, including bronze, travertine, and marble.[32][35] The lavish interior, overseen by Johnson, was designed to ensure cohesion with the appearance of the facade.[36] The Seagram Building was the first office building in the world to use extruded bronze on a facade,[37][38] as well as the first New York City skyscraper with full-height plate glass windows.[39][40]

Form

The Seagram Building occupies half the site[25] and is recessed 90 feet (27 m) behind Park Avenue.[41][42][43][a] The building's main section is a 38-story slab topped by a mechanical story; it does not include any setbacks.[45] The slab rises 515 feet (157 m) above ground.[46][47][b] As planned, the slab measured 95 by 145 feet (29 by 44 m).[49] Along the eastern end of the slab is a narrow shaft with an emergency-exit stair, which is sometimes referred to as the "spine".[48][50] The spine, which forms part of the building's framework, contains restrooms on the sixth to tenth floor and offices above.[51]

There are two five-story wings east of the main slab, facing 52nd and 53rd Streets. The 10-story central section between the wings is sometimes characterized as a "bustle".[45][52][51] As planned, the "bustle" measured 90 by 85 feet (27 by 26 m) while the wings measured 90 by 200 feet (27 by 61 m).[49] The April 1955 edition of Architectural Forum described the relative simplicity of the building's massing as "a no-setback building but a building all set back".[29]

Plaza

 
Plaza as seen from Park Avenue, looking southeast

A pink granite plaza with pools and greenery lies on the western side of the Seagram Building.[41][53] The plaza is raised slightly above sidewalk level on Park Avenue, with three steps leading from the center of the Park Avenue frontage.[53][54] A low granite retaining wall runs on either side of the flight of steps, extending around to 52nd and 53rd Streets, where they flank the building.[54] There are marble caps atop the retaining walls on the side streets.[9] At the eastern ends of the retaining walls on 52nd and 53rd Streets are granite steps from street to lobby, above which are travertine canopies.[9][14] The parapets on the side streets each measure 3.75 feet (1.14 m) wide by 180 feet (55 m) long and are made of 40 pieces of green Italian marble.[55]

The plaza is largely symmetrical with rectangular pools placed on the northwest and southwest corners. The southern pool contains a bronze flagpole, the only deviation from the design's symmetry. The water level of the pools is just below that of the plaza.[54] The cluster of fountain jets at the center of either pool is not part of the original design.[9][56] The pools measure 46 feet (14 m) wide by 70 feet (21 m) long and each contain 60,000 U.S. gallons (230,000 l; 50,000 imp gal) of water recirculated every two-and-a-half hours.[55] The initial plan had been to place abstract sculptures in the plaza. Mies abandoned this when he could not find a sculptor he felt could produce work suited for the landscape.[57] East of both pools are three planting beds with ivy and a gingko tree.[9] These planting beds had contained weeping beeches before November 1959, when they were replaced with hardier gingko trees.[58][59] The plaza contains a heating system to prevent ice buildup.[25][60] At the building's completion, the plaza's surface required daily vacuuming with a sweeper.[61]

From its construction, the plaza was intended not only as an urban green space but as a point of interest.[43] Architecture critic Lewis Mumford said of the plaza: "In a few steps one is lifted out of the street so completely that one has almost the illusion of having climbed a long flight of stairs."[13] In its simplicity, the plaza's design was a marked contrast to the Channel Gardens in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern describes as being known for its festiveness.[42]

Facade

 
View of the columns at the lobby's northwestern corner

The northern, southern, and western ends of the slab overhang the plaza and are supported by bronze-clad columns at their perimeters, forming an arcade in front of the entrance.[9][62] Each column measures 3 by 3 feet (0.91 by 0.91 m) across and two stories tall.[63] The arcade's ceiling contains recessed light fixtures within a ceramic tile surface.[9] The first-story walls behind the arcade contain full-height glass panes. Above the arcade, on the western side of the building, is a marquee made of Muntz metal, with recessed lighting.[45] The bases of the wings on 52nd and 53rd Streets, beneath the first story, are clad in granite and contain entrances to the restaurant and bar spaces inside.[48] The eastern portions of both wings contain garage doors, while the eastern wall of the 53rd Street wing is faced in brick.[15] The eastern section of the 52nd Street wing has an entrance that leads to the Grill and Pool restaurant while bypassing the main lobby.[64] A similar entrance exists on the 53rd Street wing to the Brasserie restaurant.[65]

The curtain wall begins above the lower stories[66] and is composed of non-structural glass walls, which are colored amber-gray.[51] The glass panels cover about 122,000 square feet (11,300 m2)[67][68] and are designed to be heat- and glare-resistant.[34][69] Because the windows are sealed permanently, and the tower rises with no setbacks, the Seagram Building's window washing team could not use standard window-washing equipment. Therefore, a custom-made pneumatic scaffold was installed, with a 27-foot-wide (8.2 m) deck that covers six columns of windows at a time.[70] Behind each window, Mies sought to avoid irregularity when window blinds were drawn. As a result, the building uses window blinds with slats angled in 45-degree positions, allowing the blinds to be set in three positions: fully open, halfway open, or fully closed.[71][72]

 
The main slab viewed from across Park Avenue and 52nd Street

The facade used 1,500 metric tons (1,500 long tons; 1,700 short tons) of bronze,[73] manufactured by General Bronze.[74][75] The glass panes are set within vertical bronze mullions made from 4.5-by-6-inch (110 by 150 mm) extrusions of I-beams.[45][69] The bronze mullions separate the facade into 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) bays, or vertical spaces between columns; each bay contains five windows per floor.[52] The tops and bottoms of the mullions are tapered, exposing their cross-sections.[51] The Seagram Building's mullions are only for aesthetics and are thus susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction.[51][76] At the building's completion, General Bronze said the facade would need to be cleaned twice a year with soap, water, and lemon oil to prevent discoloration;[77] this work could be performed using the window-washing scaffold.[61] Spandrels, made of Muntz metal, separate the windows on each story horizontally, which gives them an appearance similar to that of copper.[34][45][51] A sample facade section, tested in a wind tunnel in 1956, was resistant to winds of up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[68]

The design of the slab's facade is carried onto the wings and "bustle".[45] The "spine" on the eastern side of the slab is clad with serpentine marble panels instead of glass because of the presence of shear walls made from concrete.[48][78] The curtain-wall facade cost $18 per square foot ($190/m2), equivalent to $132 per square foot ($1,420/m2) in 2021.[34] Above the 38th story is a triple-height mechanical story with a louvered screen.[48]

Features

The superstructure is a steel frame covered with concrete and gypsum.[79] At the time, American building codes required that all structural steel be covered in a fireproof material, such as concrete, because improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires.[80] The concrete core shear walls rise to the 17th floor, while the diagonal core bracing, with shear trusses, extends to the 29th floor.[81] The structural system also includes steel columns whose centers are 27.75 feet (8.46 m) apart.[67] The Seagram Building's heating and air conditioning systems are divided into two sections: a basement unit serving the 20th story and all floors below, and a roof unit serving the 21st story and all floors above.[82] Ducts for utilities such as electric, telephone, and closed-circuit television cables were embedded into the concrete floor slabs.[79]

The Seagram Building has 849,014 square feet (78,876.0 m2) of floor space,[8] including three basement stories.[83] Two of the basement levels originally contained a 150-space parking garage,[84][85] connected to the lobby via its own elevator.[84] Starting in 2019, the garage was renovated into a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) gym known as the Seagram Playground.[86] To attract younger employees, the gym was designed in a contrasting style to the original building. It contains a multipurpose basketball, pickleball, and volleyball court with a climbing wall.[87][88] The gym could also be used as a 150-seat theater with eight tiers of wooden bleachers.[87] The basements also contain storage, loading platforms, and service areas for the first-floor occupants.[56]

Inside the building were the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, originally designed by Philip Johnson.[89] The restaurant interiors were decorated with numerous artworks. These included the Seagram murals by Mark Rothko, which he claimed were intended to sicken the patrons of the Four Seasons Restaurant,[90] as well as Pablo Picasso's painted curtain Le Tricorne, designed for the Ballets Russes in 1919.[91][92] By 2017, the building housed three restaurants owned by Major Food Group: the Pool, the Grill, and the Lobster Club.[93] The Pool was merged with the Grill in 2020, though a separate event space called the Pool Lounge continues to operate.[94]

Lobby

 
Night view of the lobby and facade

Unlike designs in Beaux-Arts office buildings, the Seagram Building's lobby lacks a central space, instead leading visitors directly from the plaza to the elevators or restaurants.[95] The lobby is designed as if it were an extension of the plaza,[34][53][96] leading Mumford to write: "Outside and inside are simply the same."[13][97] It is divided into three parts: a western section facing the plaza; a central section with elevators; and an eastern section facing the restaurant space.[98]

The western part of the lobby has three bronze revolving doors and is interrupted by two bronze columns. The central section comprises three corridors connecting the western and eastern thirds of the lobby, within four elevator and stair enclosures,[99] whose walls are clad with travertine.[34][41][53] There are three elevators on each corridor's north and south walls—a total of eighteen elevators.[99] The elevators abutting the northern corridor serve floors 25–38; those in the center corridor serve floors 2–10; and those in the southern corridor serve floors 10–25.[100] The northernmost and southernmost elevator enclosures have fire stairs exiting to the plaza, and all enclosures have mechanical spaces and service closets.[101] The interiors of the elevator cabs contain stainless steel and bronze mesh panels, while the ceilings contain white panels that illuminate each cab.[72][102][103] Above the elevator doors are fluorescent lights installed in the doorway soffits. The central third of the lobby contains mailboxes, a standpipe alarm box, and service doors made of bronze.[102]

The eastern section has two additional revolving doors within the northern and southern glass walls.[99] A cross-passage connects the two sets of doors.[51][99] There are service doors on the eastern wall of the cross-passage, as well as an elevator control panel, a fire station panel, and directories on the western wall.[102] From the cross-passage, a set of travertine steps connects to the restaurant spaces that originally comprised the Four Seasons Restaurant.[101][104]

Throughout the entire lobby, the 24-foot (7.3 m)-tall ceiling is made of black cement and 1-by-1-inch (25 mm × 25 mm) gray glass mosaic tiles.[41][98][105] Recessed within the lobby ceiling are lights with dimmers.[101][105] The floors, walls, and columns are also clad with travertine.[105] The exterior walls of the lobby contain bronze mullions within which the exterior glass panes are set. A horizontal bronze bar, about 42 inches (110 cm) above the floor level, surrounds the exterior walls.[98] The horizontal bronze bar was installed in the 1970s per New York state building regulations.[95] Signs in the lobby were originally designed in a square serif font custom-made for the Seagram Building.[95]

The Grill and Pool

For the original design of the Four Seasons Restaurant prior to reconfiguration, see The Four Seasons Restaurant § Design.
 
The Pool

The Grill and Pool (formerly the Four Seasons Restaurant) occupy two stories in the Seagram Building's "bustle", east of the lobby and main shaft. The upper story is just above the lobby, while the lower story is at ground level near 52nd and 53rd Streets.[106] When they opened as separate restaurants in 2017, the Grill served mid-20th-century cuisine while the Pool largely served seafood.[107][108] The Grill and Pool, named after the rooms of the same name in the former Four Seasons, contains similar design features to the lobby. It has travertine walls and floors, cement ceilings with gray-glass mosaic tiles, and bronze engaged piers.[104] The original Four Seasons had five dining rooms, preserved in the modern-day Grill and Pool restaurant.[109][110][c] The Pool is on the north side of the first floor; the Grill is on the south side. There are two dining areas on a balcony above the Grill, as well as a balcony above the Pool.[112] A staircase leads down from the Grill Room to a separate entrance lobby and foyer on 52nd Street.[64]

The Grill and Pool are discrete 60-by-90-foot (18 by 27 m) rooms.[111] Both major rooms and their auxiliary spaces have 20-foot-high (6.1 m) ceilings with gridded off-white aluminum panels and recessed lighting. The outer walls are glass curtain walls, containing metal curtains that ripple from air released by hidden ventilating ducts.[113] Running north–south between them is a corridor, which is at the top of the stairs leading from the eastern lobby. A glass wall and bronze double doors separate the corridor from the main lobby.[112] The corridor's north and south walls contain doors leading to vestibules outside either room.[114] The Pool is centered around a 20-by-20-foot (6.1 by 6.1 m) white marble pool.[115] On the eastern side of the Pool, a staircase connects to a mezzanine on a podium slightly above the main floor.[110][116] The Grill had a lounge in its northwest corner and a bar at its southwest corner.[117] The two private dining rooms are on a balcony raised above the main Grill, accessed by separate staircases and separated from the main Grill by walnut paneled doors.[118]

The Lobster Club

The Lobster Club is at ground level on 53rd Street, immediately below the Pool room, within the space formerly occupied by Brasserie. It serves Japanese seafood.[119][120] Philip Johnson had designed the original interior, which was damaged in a fire and redesigned by Diller + Scofidio from 1995 to 1999.[121][122] During a 2017 renovation, the Lobster Club was redesigned by Peter Marino.[119][120]

The entrance connects to a lobby with restrooms to the east, a coat check to the west, and the dining room to the south. The main dining room is slightly above the 53rd Street lobby, reached by a set of stairs.[65] The lobby is on the north wall of the main dining room, while kitchens and waiters' stations are on the south wall. A second dining room is reached through a doorway at the center of the west wall. A door on the south wall leads to a fire stair to the lobby.[103] The Lobster Club's main dining room has brightly colored furniture and upholstery, 150 drip-painted concrete floor tiles by artist Laura Bergman, and three bronze-partitioned booths on the south wall. There is a bar on the eastern side of the dining room.[120][123] The second dining room is a private suite with white partition walls, red terrazzo flooring, and metal sculptures.[119][120]

When used by Brasserie, the foyer had contained a stone wall, and a video camera displayed images of patrons entering from the street, with an LCD sign announcing every customer's entry.[124] The main dining room had a "U"-shaped counter surrounded by circular tables and glass-partitioned dining alcoves.[125] The main dining room had wooden panels on its walls.[124][126][127] A set of plates designed by Picasso was mounted onto the wooden paneling.[127] The west wall contained a bar on its northern section and a dining alcove on its southern section. The bar, alcove, and second dining room had carpeted floors; the main dining room had wooden floors. The ceiling was made of flat plaster with recessed lighting fixtures.[126] The Brasserie could seat 150 patrons.[111]

Office stories

The office stories were intended to contain executive suites.[105] The office floors generally have a flexible plan, arranged in modules around the elevator core.[103] The flexibility of the office stories derives from the superstructures' wide bays.[128] In general, each of the second through fourth stories has about 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2) of rentable office space; the fifth through tenth stories, around 18,600 square feet (1,730 m2); and the upper stories, around 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2).[128][129][130][d] Johnson mainly oversaw the interior design;[36] all the materials were custom-designed for the Seagram Building.[7]

The elevator landings have green terrazzo floors, travertine walls, gray elevator-door surrounds, and gypsum ceilings.[103] The remaining office stories used 55.5-by-55.5-inch (141 by 141 cm) modules.[53][131] The elevator doors, suite doors, and partitions were designed to rise from floor to ceiling, which made the openings appear as though they were part of the paneling.[53][72][131] Partition panels were designed with washable materials, which became standard after they were used in the Seagram Building.[72][131] Doorknobs were made of lever handles instead of round knobs.[132] The ceilings are acoustically tiled dropped ceilings.[103] Each story's ceiling is surrounded by luminous tiled panels, activated by a timer,[133] which are arranged in a consistent band measuring about 11.5 feet (3.5 m) wide.[134][135] The luminous panels, in turn, contain vinyl diffuser panels measuring 4 feet 3 inches (1.30 m) wide.[134] The rest of each story uses indirect lighting.[135] Air conditioning fixtures are placed only 11 inches (280 mm) above the floor slab, enabling the windows to be full-height glass walls.[131][136]

The Seagram Company occupied the second through eighth stories when the building was completed.[100] Philip Johnson, Phyllis Lambert, and J. Gordon Carr collaborated in the design of the Seagram offices.[137] The offices had a reception room, containing tapestries and a travertine wall with Seagram's seal.[100][105] There was also an executive office with furniture designed by Mies.[105][138] The executive suites contained an oak-paneled dining room and kitchen, which could double as a conference room.[138] On three sides of the fifth floor were offices with oak paneling, luminous ceilings, and ocher carpeting. The outer offices on the fifth story were wider than on other floors, signifying that story's function as an "important" floor.[139] The fourth floor contained several large spaces for meetings and receptions, including a 69-by-36-foot (21 by 11 m) assembly room that could be partitioned into three sections.[140] Floor-to-ceiling travertine partitions walled off the restrooms in the Seagram suites.[72] Another feature of the Seagram suites was display lights that could retract into the ceiling when they were not being used.[135] Architectural Forum described Seagram's offices as setting "a high standard" for subsequent tenants.[105]

History

After the 1933 repeal of Prohibition in the United States, Seagram Distiller's CEO Samuel Bronfman began planning a large Manhattan headquarters, though this plan was not executed for almost two decades.[29][141] Bronfman decided the headquarters should be situated somewhere on Park Avenue between 50th and 59th Streets, which was becoming a commercial area.[50][142]

Development

Initial plans

 
Fountain in front of the northwest corner of the building

In 1951, the company bought a 50,950-square-foot (4,733 m2) lot on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street, across from Lever House, for $4 million (equivalent to $34 million in 2021[e]).[23][143] Bronfman sought to develop a structure that would be considered an "important building".[37] He wanted the building to be completed by 1957, coinciding with the company's centenary.[144][145][146] According to Philip Johnson, the earlier Lever House had set an example for the construction of what became the Seagram Building.[147] Ely Jacques Kahn sent a letter and a brochure to Bronfman in July 1951, requesting an interview with him. The next month, prominent lawyer Alfred L. Rose wrote a letter to Bronfman endorsing Kahn and Jacob's work.[148] Kahn, working with several rental agents, sketched numerous diagrams for the massing of a hypothetical tower on the site, which they called "Operation Skytop".[146] The only extant diagram, labeled as "scheme 2", depicted a bulky tower rising from several shallow setbacks.[146]

Bronfman met with Charles Luckman, the former president of Lever Brothers soap company, in June 1954. Bronfman told Luckman that he intended to build a 35-story office tower topped by an imported English castle.[146] In July 1954, Seagram announced it would build a 34-story tower designed by Luckman and William Pereira, his partner in the firm Pereira & Luckman.[149][145] The structure was projected to cost $15 million (equivalent to $122 million in 2021[e]).[149][145] Luckman, who had overseen the development of Lever House, said he was "very happy to come back to Park Avenue for a repeat performance".[23][150] Seagram's building, as originally planned, would have contained a four-story base of marble and bronze topped by a 30-story metal-and-glass shaft.[149][151][152] The design would have provided for an auditorium, film screening room, display rooms, and executive offices,[149][151] as well as interior garden courts.[149] Pereira & Luckman filed plans for the tower with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) the same month.[153]

Pereira & Luckman's design attracted negative criticism when it was announced. According to the August 1954 edition of Architectural Forum, critics likened the building's appearance to an "enormous cigarette lighter" and "big trophy".[154][155] Lambert, Bronfman's 27-year-old daughter, was living in Paris when she saw a rendering of Pereira & Luckman's plan in the New York Herald Tribune's Paris edition.[23][29][144] Recounting the incident, Lambert said she had been "boiling with fury" at the proposal.[23][144][156] Lambert wrote a letter to her father that August, arguing that any new headquarters should be a "contribution" to the city in addition to serving as a symbol of Seagram.[157] In a 2013 book recalling the building's development, Lambert wrote, "This letter starts with one word repeated very emphatically [...] NO NO NO NO NO."[90]

Modified plans

At his friend Lou Crandall's suggestion,[144] Bronfman relented, allowing his daughter to find an alternate architect.[144][155] Pereira & Luckman's design was still publicly marketed as a "preliminary model" but, as Interiors's managing editor Olga Gueft said, media reports suggested the original plan "had been dumped overboard".[23][158] Lambert became acquainted with Johnson, then the departmental director of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art. Following his recommendation, Lambert examined several leading modernist architects and conducted several interviews.[159][f] Lambert selected Mies van der Rohe to design the building in November 1954;[12][157] she described Mies's buildings, such as 860–880 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, as "sublimely urban".[160] Bronfman, having approved Mies's selection, designated his daughter as the building's planning director.[143][160] Lambert received an annual salary of $20,000 from this position.[90] Because Mies was not a licensed architect in New York state, Johnson was selected as a co-architect.[42][160] At the time, Johnson had never designed a skyscraper before, so Crandall convinced Bronfman to hire Kahn and Jacobs as associate architects.[146]

Mies, who had never designed a project in New York City, wished to design a simple slab. He was dissatisfied with the setbacks in most skyscrapers designed after the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution.[29][35][42] Mies considered three alternatives for a slab behind a large plaza, with a facade divided into multiple bays. One plan called for a square tower; the second plan called for a 3-by-7-bay rectangle with three bays on Park Avenue; and the third plan called for a 5-by-3-bay rectangle with five bays facing Park Avenue.[160][161] He created several scale models for the proposed structure.[161] Ultimately, Mies selected the third plan, which Lambert praised.[42][159] After the architects were selected, Seagram purchased some 9,000 square feet (840 m2) of adjacent land for $900,000 (equivalent to $7 million in 2021[e]).[142] The land acquisition allowed the building to be set back from Park Avenue while complying with the 1916 Zoning Resolution.[160]

Construction

 
Seen from across Park Avenue

Mies filed updated plans with the DOB in March 1955; the structure was projected to cost $20 million (equivalent to $160 million in 2021[e]).[24][42][49] The DOB records listed Mies's plans as a modification to Pereira & Luckman's original plans, rather than completely new ones.[162] At the time, 20 of 250 existing tenants on the site had left.[24][42] The April 1955 issue of The New York Times described the proposed tower as one of several on Park Avenue that "add up in sum to a boom".[163] Upon Bronfman's suggestion,[63] the architects specified that the tower would be made of bronze and glass.[42] Kahn had sketched an alternative design for the Seagram Building, which called for a significantly different massing than the one Mies had proposed. Lambert disapproved of the alternative plan, saying that Kahn was "undermining Mies's decisions", and Kahn ultimately acquiesced to using Mies's design.[164]

Demolition of existing buildings on the site began in September 1955[165][166][167] and was completed in March 1956.[25] Mies moved to a nearby apartment to oversee the Seagram Building's development, and he applied for membership in the American Institute of Architects (AIA)'s New York division, but was rejected in December 1955. He took the AIA rejection as an affront and moved back to Chicago, placing Johnson in full control of the building's design.[160] Kahn wrote in his diary that the project had encountered delays in April 1956.[167] When Mies received a license to practice architecture in New York, he rejoined the project that June.[160]

Construction of the superstructure began in May 1956, with the first major steel column installed at the beginning of the next month.[168] Seven hundred workers fitted over 5,000 individual pieces of steelwork together, which weighed in aggregate 25 million pounds (11 kt).[169] Because of a no-idling rule implemented in Midtown Manhattan, some truckers were ticketed while delivering steel beams to the work site, prompting them to strike temporarily until the rule was changed to allow deliveries.[170][171][172] The steelwork's construction involved bolting steel beams, rather than riveting them, to reduce noise; this work received an official "Quiet City Award" from the city.[169] During construction, Lambert convinced the builders to carry through Mies's original design, including minor details such as the brick bonding, which was hidden from view.[90] The superstructure was topped out during December 1956,[169][173] The building's bronze and glass facade was installed starting in September 1956 and was completed in April 1957.[174] According to Kahn's diary, the architects discussed "violent changes" to the building's cost and design in July 1957, though these changes were not implemented.[167]

The Seagram Company moved into its offices in December 1957,[175] and the Department of Buildings granted a temporary certificate of occupancy the next year.[176] The Seagram Building officially opened on May 22, 1958, with the Seagram Company leasing the office space that it did not occupy.[175] The Department of Buildings granted a permanent occupancy certificate in 1959.[176] Including the $5 million land purchases, the project was estimated to cost $43 million, or about $50 per square foot ($540/m2).[177] The construction cost per square foot was about twice that of similar buildings in the city.[67][177] Seagram vice president Arthur S. Margolin said in a 1989 interview that the building had cost approximately $40 million.[83]

20th century

Seagram ownership

 
52nd Street entrance to the Four Seasons, which occupied the first floor shortly after the building's opening

By July 1958, ninety percent of the Seagram Building's space was rented.[129] Tenants were willing to pay $7 to $8.30 per square foot ($75.3 to $89.3/m2) for space on the upper floors, compared to an average of about $5 to $5.25 per square foot ($53.8 to $56.5/m2) for ordinary new buildings.[129][130] In the building's first year of operation, the office space was expected to earn about a 13 percent return on investment.[176][178] Cushman & Wakefield was hired as the rental agency.[29] Among the initial occupants were "a number of industrial and service corporations" involved in manufacturing,[179] as well as Bethlehem Steel[180] and Maruzen Oil.[181] The building also housed Goodson-Todman Productions;[182] the sales headquarters of Eagle Pencil;[183] an industrial designer;[184] a property manager; an art producer;[185] a direct-mail advertising company;[186] and various other commercial tenants.[187] Restaurant Associates took ground-level space for the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants, which opened in 1959.[110] Ultimately, the Seagram Building's luxuriously designed spaces had 115 tenants, which were drawn partly because of Mies's international stature.[188] By 1961, there was a waiting list for space in the Seagram Building.[189]

In its early years, the Seagram Building and its plaza were used for displays and exhibitions. For instance, in 1958, the building held an art show to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the United Nations.[190][191] A sculptured head from the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization was displayed in the plaza in 1965.[192] The World Monuments Fund displayed a moai head in the Seagram Building's plaza in 1968[193] to draw attention to the artifacts on Easter Island, which were seen as endangered.[194][195] Atmospheres and Environment XII, an environmental steel sculpture by Louise Nevelson, was installed at the Seagram Building's plaza in 1971.[196] Other sculptures or artworks erected in the Seagram Building and plaza included Barnett Newman's sculpture Broken Obelisk, displayed in 1967, as well as Jean Dubuffet's sculpture Milord la Chimarre, displayed in 1974.[195]

In 1963, the New York City government gave the Seagram Company an award for the building's "notable contribution" to the city and raised the company's property taxes.[197] The recalculated tax assessment of $21 million was based on the potential value if the building were to be demolished, whereas Seagram fought to keep the assessment at $17 million, based on the rental income it earned.[198][199][200] The higher tax assessment was upheld by the New York Court of Appeals,[201] a decision the Regional Plan Association criticized as potentially destroying "the hope of great commercial architecture in New York State".[202][203] Architectural writer Ada Louise Huxtable called the tax a beginning of the city's "architectural annihilation", saying the higher tax assessment was a "special method of taxing architectural excellence".[203][204]

There was still high demand for office space in Midtown Manhattan, despite a myriad of new development in the area. For example, when real estate investment firm Realty Equities moved its headquarters to the Seagram Building in 1968, another company immediately offered to sublet Realty's space at a much higher price.[205] Even the Seagram Company found its own headquarters' rent to be too high, giving up half of its 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) in the building and moving approximately 600 of its 983 employees elsewhere in 1972.[206][207][208] In a letter to mayor John Lindsay, Seagram officials attributed the relocation in part because of the high tax assessment on the Seagram Building.[198][206] In 1971, building management conducted what city officials believed was the first voluntary fire drill at a New York City office building.[209][210]

Sale

 
Colorized view of the building from the Library of Congress's collection

During the 1970s, Seagram received several offers for the building from potential buyers, and the company contemplated selling it and leasing back its own space.[7] However, Seagram had decided to retain ownership of the building by 1976, as it brought publicity to the company.[7][211] The same year, Bronfman's son and Seagram's president Edgar Bronfman Sr. asked the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to grant city-landmark status to the building.[7][198][212] The move surprised mayor Abraham Beame, since the city's landlords typically attempted to prevent their buildings from being listed as landmarks.[7] The LPC ultimately did not hold a hearing for the Seagram Building. LPC rules specified that individual New York City landmarks be at least 30 years old at the time of their designation; the building had been completed only 18 years earlier.[203][213] Bronfman proposed that the LPC allow designations of buildings less than 30 years old if their owners supported landmark status, but no action was taken on the proposal.[213][214]

In February 1979, Seagram offered the tower for sale at $75 million. In the absence of official landmark status, the company mandated that the new owner preserve the exterior and public spaces in their original condition. The new owner was obligated to keep the building for at least fifteen years, and would have to take over the high land-assessment taxes.[215] Seagram sold the building to the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) for $85.5 million in June 1979, leasing some space back from them.[213][214][216] This fee included $70.5 million for the structure and $15 million for the underlying land.[217] As part of the sale, the building retained the "Seagram" name, although it was only identified on signage by its address.[214] For decades after the sale, Lambert continued to be involved with the Seagram Building's operation.[90]

The TIAA, like the Seagram Company, supported landmark status for the building. In early 1988, just over thirty years after the Seagram Building had been completed, the TIAA filed documentation with the LPC requesting that the Seagram Building's exterior, lobby, and plaza be considered for landmark status.[3][217][218] The Four Seasons' operators also separately endorsed landmark designation for their restaurant's interior in the Seagram Building.[218][219] On October 3, 1989, the LPC designated the Seagram Building's exterior, the lobby, and the Four Seasons Restaurant as landmarks. The Four Seasons was only the second restaurant interior in the city to be designated a landmark, after Gage and Tollner in Brooklyn.[2][3] The New York City Board of Estimate ratified all three designations in January 1990.[220] While the TIAA had strongly supported the exterior and lobby landmark designations, it sued the LPC in 1990 to have the designation for the Four Seasons removed. The TIAA argued that the restaurant was personal property and that the designation would force the restaurant to continue operating even if the owners wished to close it.[221] The state's Court of Appeals upheld the designation in 1993.[222] The Brasserie, not covered in any of the landmark designations, was renovated in 1999 after being damaged by a fire in 1995.[121][122]

21st century

Real estate investor Aby Rosen entered a contract in October 2000 to purchase a majority ownership stake in the building for $375 million,[32][223] completing his purchase that December.[224] At the time, 99.5 percent of the building's space was occupied, but only six original tenants remained.[224] The following year, the Seagram Company moved its headquarters out of the building.[203] Rosen's RFR Holding retained ownership of the Seagram Building.[225] Meanwhile, French media conglomerate Vivendi, which acquired the Seagram Company in 2000, started selling off the building's art in 2003 to raise money.[226][227] RFR received the LPC's permission in 2005 to transfer unused development rights at the Seagram Building site to a neighboring building. In exchange, the Seagram Building's owners would be required to keep the facade in near-original condition.[228] The Seagram Building was nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on January 12, 2006,[229] and was added to the NRHP on February 24, 2006.[1] RFR did not have full ownership of the Seagram Building until 2013, when it purchased a 14 percent stake from Harry Lis.[230][231]

In 2015, RFR decided to terminate Four Seasons' and the Brasserie's leases ahead of schedule, and the restaurants were closed.[89][232] RFR proposed changes to the Four Seasons' interior, including removing the glass wall between the Grill Room and Pool Room, as well as converting the wine cellar to restrooms.[233] The LPC rejected RFR's proposal to change the interior of The Four Seasons Restaurant, except for a carpet replacement, which the commission allowed.[234] Annabelle Selldorf restored the physical structure while William Georgis oversaw the interior design.[107] The Grill and the Pool were opened within the former Four Seasons space in mid-2017.[235] That year, architect Peter Marino designed the Lobster Club within the former Brasserie space in the basement.[123][119][120] In addition, the facade was restored in 2016, and RFR spent $400,000 to install waterproofing on the fountains and $250,000 to renovate the plaza benches. RFR was also planning to change the underground garage, which did not have landmark status.[236] Initially, RFR did not seek the LPC's permission to change the landmark-designated Four Seasons interior, only requesting permission in late 2017 after the renovations were completed.[237][238] The LPC retroactively approved the renovations nearly two years later, with some modifications.[239] To conform to the plans that the LPC had approved, the Pool's lounge room was closed in December 2019 for a one-month renovation.[240] The next month, the Grill took over the Pool because of higher demand for cuisine in the Grill.[94]

Rosen announced in mid-2020 that he would renovate much of the garage into the Seagram Playground, a communal workers' space and gym, over the following one and a half years.[86][241] The communal space was announced as a way to attract tenants in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, as well as the departure of Wells Fargo, a major tenant.[242] The Seagram Playground was completed in August 2022 for $25 million;[87][88] at the time, 80 percent of the space in the building was occupied.[88] Curbed wrote that the Seagram Playground was one of several large investments that Rosen had made in "prime midtown real estate at a time when it hasn't exactly bounced back" from the pandemic.[243] The building was almost fully occupied by the end of 2022, after firms such as Blue Owl Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice signed or renewed their leases.[244]

Impact

Reception

 
The building as seen from the ground on 53rd Street

When the Seagram Building was completed, Lewis Mumford described the structure as a "Rolls-Royce" of buildings[245][246] and wrote that "it has the aesthetic impact that only a unified work of art carried through without paltry compromises can have".[52][245] In 1957, Thomas W. Ennis of The New York Times wrote the building was "one of the most notable of Manhattan's post-war buildings" and characterized its design as the high point of Mies's career.[39][247] Similarly, Progressive Architecture described the Seagram Building as "probably the most heralded new building in the U.S." in 1958.[248] According to Architectural Forum in 1958, "Seagram challenges accepted skyscraper practice all the way down the line."[245][249] At a meeting of the Italian Cultural Institute the following year, architect Gino Pollini said the Seagram Building was "a masterpiece of functional and esthetic architecture".[250]

Critical acclaim for the Seagram Building continued. Eight years after the building opened, Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that it was "dignified, sumptuous, severe, sophisticated, cool, consummately elegant architecture".[251] The New York Times Magazine described the lobby in 1975 as one of "The Ten Best Lobbies in New York".[252] In 1981, architectural writer G. E. Kidder Smith found the building and its features to be "in toto incomparable".[253] According to Jerold Kayden, who wrote about the building in 2000, the Seagram Building "remains the city's quintessential International Style masterpiece of 'tower in the park' architecture".[254][255] Ricardo Scofidio of Diller Scofidio + Renfro said the construction of the Seagram Building "was the first time you really realized that architecture brought something to the city that didn't exist".[90] In 2001, architecture critic Herbert Muschamp referred to it as "the Building of Two Millenniums," writing that it encompassed "everything essential in Western architecture".[256]

While the public and architectural critics generally appreciated the Seagram Building, there were also comments about the design's drawbacks. Stern stated that there were negative remarks about the plaza's "austerity" and the exterior's lack of purity.[42] Stern cited architect Louis Kahn, who believed the rear "spine" took away from the purity of the slab, though Kahn also said the hidden wind bracing made the building appear like "a beautiful bronze lady in hidden corsets".[42][257] While Mumford largely praised the design, he found the plaza's pools and fountains to be a "gross defect" in what was otherwise a "masterpiece".[59] Italian architecture writers Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co, in their 1976 book Modern Architecture, wrote that the Seagram Building stood "aloof from the city" and saw the juxtaposition as a symbol of absence.[258][259] Architect Frank Lloyd Wright dismissed the building as "a whisky bottle on a playing card."[256]

Architectural recognition

The Fifth Avenue Association called the Seagram Building the best edifice constructed on Park Avenue between 1956 and 1957.[260] The city government gave the Seagram Company an award in 1963 for the building's positive impact on the city's beauty.[197] The Board of Trade awarded its 1965 architecture prize to the building, citing its plaza, form, and material.[261][262] The following year, the Municipal Art Society (MAS) gave a bronze plaque to the building, recognizing it as a "modern landmark".[261][263] Philip Johnson received the city's Bronze Medallion for the Seagram Building's design in 1979. Simultaneously, the AIA's New York division gave the Seagram Company a special citation recognizing the company's "most elegant contribution to the art of architecture and the care with which it is maintained".[264] The AIA further recognized the Seagram Building in 1984 with a Twenty-five Year Award for its "ability to stand to the test of time".[265]

Design influence

 
The former Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Avenue, which was inspired by the design of the Seagram Building

The Seagram Building's plaza was popular immediately when the building opened, being frequented by both office workers and tourists.[44] In 1971, the plaza was the setting of a planning study by sociologist William H. Whyte, whose film Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, produced with the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), records the daily patterns of people socializing around the plaza.[195][266] Whyte praised the plaza as allowing a sense of choice, in that patrons could lie down or sit on the ledges or steps, despite their relatively plain design.[266][267]

The plaza's presence helped influence the 1961 Zoning Resolution,[7][37][50] a zoning ordinance that allowed New York City developers to increase their edifices' maximum floor areas in exchange for adding open space in front of their buildings. This was in sharp contrast to the "wedding cake" model of the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which had required setbacks at intervals of several stories, similar to a wedding cake.[268][269] Even before the 1961 zoning codes had been implemented, some New York City buildings followed the Seagram's model of a slab behind a plaza, such as the Time–Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, the former Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Avenue, and the One Chase Manhattan Plaza building at 28 Liberty Street.[261] Twenty acres (8.1 ha) of plazas were built in New York City in the decade after the zoning-code revision.[50]

Paul Goldberger wrote in The New York Times in 1976 that the Seagram Building was one of "New York's most copied buildings", its design having been copied in several structures internationally.[7] According to William H. Jordy, these structures included 270 Park Avenue and the Inland Steel Building.[245][270] Mies reused the building's design for towers in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Toronto,[271] and a replica of the Seagram Building was constructed at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada.[272][273] According to writer E. C. Relph, the design was "widely plagiarised in various colours and shapes by other architects", though Relph considered some of the other towers to be "devoid of interesting copies".[271]

In mid-2005, the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan asked 100 architects, builders, critics, engineers, historians, and scholars, among others, to choose their 10 favorites among 25 of the city's towers. The Seagram Building came in second place behind the Chrysler Building, with 76 respondents placing it on their ballots.[254][274]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and The New York Times state the slab is 100 feet (30 m) from Park Avenue.[25][44]
  2. ^ SkyscraperPage and Emporis cite a height of 515 feet (157 m)[46][47] while Architectural Forum and the National Park Service give a height of 520 feet (160 m).[43][48]
  3. ^ Sources disagree on whether the rooms had a combined maximum capacity of 400[109] or 485.[111]
  4. ^ The total floor space on each story was slightly higher. The second through fourth stories had 31,955 sq ft (2,968.7 m2) each; the fifth through tenth stories, 22,225 sq ft (2,064.8 m2); and the eleventh and higher stories, 14,933 sq ft (1,387.3 m2).[42]
  5. ^ a b c d Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  6. ^ According to architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern, the architects under Lambert considered included "Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, George Howe, William Lescaze, Eero Saarinen, Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Minoru Yamasaki, I. M. Pei, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe".[159]

Citations

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  4. ^ Breiner 1989b, p. 1.
  5. ^ Breiner 1989a, p. 1.
  6. ^ Breiner & Urbanelli 1989, p. 1.
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January 29, 2023
seagram, building, seagram, tower, redirects, here, structure, ontario, originally, named, seagram, tower, tower, hotel, niagara, falls, structure, montreal, quebec, that, formerly, served, seagram, headquarters, seagram, house, skyscraper, park, avenue, betwe. Seagram Tower redirects here For the structure in Ontario originally named Seagram Tower see Tower Hotel Niagara Falls For the structure in Montreal Quebec that formerly served as Seagram s headquarters see Seagram House The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with minor assistance from Philip Johnson Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs the tower is 515 feet 157 m tall with 38 stories The International Style building with a public plaza completed in 1958 initially served as the headquarters of the Seagram Company a Canadian distiller Seagram BuildingThe Seagram Building as viewed from across Park AvenueGeneral informationTypeOfficeArchitectural styleInternational StyleLocation375 Park Avenue Manhattan New York 10152 United StatesCoordinates40 45 31 N 73 58 20 W 40 75861 N 73 97222 W 40 75861 73 97222 Seagram Building Coordinates 40 45 31 N 73 58 20 W 40 75861 N 73 97222 W 40 75861 73 97222 Seagram Building Completed1958 65 years ago 1958 OwnerAby RosenHeightRoof516 ft 157 m Technical detailsFloor count38Floor area849 014 sq ft 78 876 0 m2 Design and constructionArchitect s Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Philip JohnsonEngineerJaros Baum amp Bolles MEP Structural engineerSeverud AssociatesU S National Register of Historic PlacesDesignatedFebruary 24 2006Reference no 06000056 1 New York City LandmarkDesignatedOctober 3 1989 2 3 Reference no 1664 4 Designated entityFacadeNew York City LandmarkDesignatedOctober 3 1989 2 3 Reference no 1665 5 Designated entityInterior LobbyNew York City LandmarkDesignatedOctober 3 1989 2 3 Reference no 1666 6 Designated entityInterior Four Seasons RestaurantPhyllis Lambert daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman heavily influenced the Seagram Building s design an example of the functionalist aesthetic and a prominent instance of corporate modern architecture A glass curtain wall with vertical mullions of bronze and horizontal spandrels made of Muntz metal form the building s exterior The pink granite plaza facing Park Avenue contains two fountains Behind the plaza is a tall elevator lobby with a similar design to the plaza The lowest stories originally contained the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants which were replaced respectively by the Grill and Pool restaurant and the Lobster Club The upper stories contain office spaces of modular construction Seagram revealed plans for the building in July 1954 when it announced construction of its headquarters on the up and coming commercial strip of Park Avenue After Lambert objected to Pereira amp Luckman s original design Mies was selected as the architect that November The building s construction began in late 1955 and finished in 1958 although the official certificate of occupancy was not granted until 1959 The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America TIAA purchased the building in 1979 and it remained Seagram s headquarters until 2001 TIAA sold the building in 2000 to Aby Rosen s RFR Holding LLC which has continued to operate the structure Upon opening the Seagram Building was widely praised for its architecture Described in The New York Times as one of New York s most copied buildings 7 the Seagram Building has inspired the designs of other structures around the world Within New York City the Seagram Building helped influence the 1961 Zoning Resolution a zoning ordinance that allowed developers to construct additional floor area in exchange for including plazas outside their buildings In 1989 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Seagram Building s exterior lobby and The Four Seasons Restaurant as official city landmarks The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 Contents 1 Site 2 Architecture 2 1 Form 2 1 1 Plaza 2 2 Facade 2 3 Features 2 3 1 Lobby 2 3 2 The Grill and Pool 2 3 3 The Lobster Club 2 3 4 Office stories 3 History 3 1 Development 3 1 1 Initial plans 3 1 2 Modified plans 3 1 3 Construction 3 2 20th century 3 2 1 Seagram ownership 3 2 2 Sale 3 3 21st century 4 Impact 4 1 Reception 4 2 Architectural recognition 4 3 Design influence 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Citations 6 3 Sources 7 External linksSite EditThe Seagram Building is at 375 Park Avenue on the east side of the avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City 8 9 The building was never officially named for its original anchor tenant Canadian conglomerate Seagram and is legally known only by its address 10 The building is assigned its own ZIP Code 10152 it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019 update 11 The land lot has a frontage of 295 feet 90 m on 52nd Street to the south 200 feet 61 m on Park Avenue to the west and 302 feet 92 m on 53rd Street to the north 9 12 The site slopes down to the east 9 13 14 The 53rd Street side contains an alley about 7 feet 2 1 m wide facing 100 East 53rd Street the alley allows the Seagram Building to remain symmetrical despite the site s irregular shape 15 Other nearby buildings include 345 Park Avenue across 52nd Street to the south 399 Park Avenue across 53rd Street to the north Lever House diagonally across Park Avenue and 53rd Street and the Racquet and Tennis Club Building and Park Avenue Plaza across Park Avenue to the west 8 In addition 599 Lexington Avenue and the Citigroup Center as well as the New York City Subway s Lexington Avenue 51st Street station served by the 6 lt 6 gt E and M trains are on Lexington Avenue less than one block to the east 8 16 During the late 19th century the Seagram Building s site had included the original Steinway amp Sons piano factory as well as tenements made of brick or brownstone 17 The Park Avenue railroad line had run in an open cut in the middle of Park Avenue until the 1900s The construction of Grand Central Terminal in the early 20th century covered the line spurring development in the surrounding area Terminal City 18 19 The adjacent stretch of Park Avenue became a wealthy neighborhood with upscale apartments including the Montana Apartments on the site of the piano factory 17 Largely commercial International Style skyscrapers replaced many of the residential structures on Park Avenue during the 1950s and 1960s 20 21 These skyscrapers included the Seagram Building Lever House the Union Carbide Building and the Pepsi Cola Building 22 When the Seagram site was assembled in the early 1950s it contained the Montana Apartments and four smaller row houses and apartment buildings 23 24 25 Architecture EditGerman American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Seagram Building 26 27 in the International Style 28 Philip Johnson was the co architect and the partnership of Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs were the associate architects 28 Numerous consultants were involved in the building s design including mechanical engineers Jaros Baum amp Bolles structural engineers Severud Elstad Krueger electrical engineer Clifton E Smith lighting consultant Richard Kelly acoustics consultant Bolt Beranek amp Newman graphics consultant Elaine Lustig and landscape architects Charles Middeleer and Karl Linn 25 29 30 Phyllis Lambert a Bronfman family member and the daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman whose idea it was to develop the building did not impose a budget on Mies 31 32 Lambert said the Seagram Building was supposed to be the crowning glory of everyone s work his own the contractor s and Mies s 33 The architects used new or redesigned materials if they believed these innovations provided an improvement over existing products 34 The design used costly high quality materials including bronze travertine and marble 32 35 The lavish interior overseen by Johnson was designed to ensure cohesion with the appearance of the facade 36 The Seagram Building was the first office building in the world to use extruded bronze on a facade 37 38 as well as the first New York City skyscraper with full height plate glass windows 39 40 Form Edit The Seagram Building occupies half the site 25 and is recessed 90 feet 27 m behind Park Avenue 41 42 43 a The building s main section is a 38 story slab topped by a mechanical story it does not include any setbacks 45 The slab rises 515 feet 157 m above ground 46 47 b As planned the slab measured 95 by 145 feet 29 by 44 m 49 Along the eastern end of the slab is a narrow shaft with an emergency exit stair which is sometimes referred to as the spine 48 50 The spine which forms part of the building s framework contains restrooms on the sixth to tenth floor and offices above 51 There are two five story wings east of the main slab facing 52nd and 53rd Streets The 10 story central section between the wings is sometimes characterized as a bustle 45 52 51 As planned the bustle measured 90 by 85 feet 27 by 26 m while the wings measured 90 by 200 feet 27 by 61 m 49 The April 1955 edition of Architectural Forum described the relative simplicity of the building s massing as a no setback building but a building all set back 29 Plaza Edit Plaza as seen from Park Avenue looking southeast A pink granite plaza with pools and greenery lies on the western side of the Seagram Building 41 53 The plaza is raised slightly above sidewalk level on Park Avenue with three steps leading from the center of the Park Avenue frontage 53 54 A low granite retaining wall runs on either side of the flight of steps extending around to 52nd and 53rd Streets where they flank the building 54 There are marble caps atop the retaining walls on the side streets 9 At the eastern ends of the retaining walls on 52nd and 53rd Streets are granite steps from street to lobby above which are travertine canopies 9 14 The parapets on the side streets each measure 3 75 feet 1 14 m wide by 180 feet 55 m long and are made of 40 pieces of green Italian marble 55 The plaza is largely symmetrical with rectangular pools placed on the northwest and southwest corners The southern pool contains a bronze flagpole the only deviation from the design s symmetry The water level of the pools is just below that of the plaza 54 The cluster of fountain jets at the center of either pool is not part of the original design 9 56 The pools measure 46 feet 14 m wide by 70 feet 21 m long and each contain 60 000 U S gallons 230 000 l 50 000 imp gal of water recirculated every two and a half hours 55 The initial plan had been to place abstract sculptures in the plaza Mies abandoned this when he could not find a sculptor he felt could produce work suited for the landscape 57 East of both pools are three planting beds with ivy and a gingko tree 9 These planting beds had contained weeping beeches before November 1959 when they were replaced with hardier gingko trees 58 59 The plaza contains a heating system to prevent ice buildup 25 60 At the building s completion the plaza s surface required daily vacuuming with a sweeper 61 From its construction the plaza was intended not only as an urban green space but as a point of interest 43 Architecture critic Lewis Mumford said of the plaza In a few steps one is lifted out of the street so completely that one has almost the illusion of having climbed a long flight of stairs 13 In its simplicity the plaza s design was a marked contrast to the Channel Gardens in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza which architectural writer Robert A M Stern describes as being known for its festiveness 42 Facade Edit View of the columns at the lobby s northwestern corner The northern southern and western ends of the slab overhang the plaza and are supported by bronze clad columns at their perimeters forming an arcade in front of the entrance 9 62 Each column measures 3 by 3 feet 0 91 by 0 91 m across and two stories tall 63 The arcade s ceiling contains recessed light fixtures within a ceramic tile surface 9 The first story walls behind the arcade contain full height glass panes Above the arcade on the western side of the building is a marquee made of Muntz metal with recessed lighting 45 The bases of the wings on 52nd and 53rd Streets beneath the first story are clad in granite and contain entrances to the restaurant and bar spaces inside 48 The eastern portions of both wings contain garage doors while the eastern wall of the 53rd Street wing is faced in brick 15 The eastern section of the 52nd Street wing has an entrance that leads to the Grill and Pool restaurant while bypassing the main lobby 64 A similar entrance exists on the 53rd Street wing to the Brasserie restaurant 65 The curtain wall begins above the lower stories 66 and is composed of non structural glass walls which are colored amber gray 51 The glass panels cover about 122 000 square feet 11 300 m2 67 68 and are designed to be heat and glare resistant 34 69 Because the windows are sealed permanently and the tower rises with no setbacks the Seagram Building s window washing team could not use standard window washing equipment Therefore a custom made pneumatic scaffold was installed with a 27 foot wide 8 2 m deck that covers six columns of windows at a time 70 Behind each window Mies sought to avoid irregularity when window blinds were drawn As a result the building uses window blinds with slats angled in 45 degree positions allowing the blinds to be set in three positions fully open halfway open or fully closed 71 72 The main slab viewed from across Park Avenue and 52nd Street The facade used 1 500 metric tons 1 500 long tons 1 700 short tons of bronze 73 manufactured by General Bronze 74 75 The glass panes are set within vertical bronze mullions made from 4 5 by 6 inch 110 by 150 mm extrusions of I beams 45 69 The bronze mullions separate the facade into 30 foot wide 9 1 m bays or vertical spaces between columns each bay contains five windows per floor 52 The tops and bottoms of the mullions are tapered exposing their cross sections 51 The Seagram Building s mullions are only for aesthetics and are thus susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction 51 76 At the building s completion General Bronze said the facade would need to be cleaned twice a year with soap water and lemon oil to prevent discoloration 77 this work could be performed using the window washing scaffold 61 Spandrels made of Muntz metal separate the windows on each story horizontally which gives them an appearance similar to that of copper 34 45 51 A sample facade section tested in a wind tunnel in 1956 was resistant to winds of up to 100 miles per hour 160 km h 68 The design of the slab s facade is carried onto the wings and bustle 45 The spine on the eastern side of the slab is clad with serpentine marble panels instead of glass because of the presence of shear walls made from concrete 48 78 The curtain wall facade cost 18 per square foot 190 m2 equivalent to 132 per square foot 1 420 m2 in 2021 34 Above the 38th story is a triple height mechanical story with a louvered screen 48 Features Edit The superstructure is a steel frame covered with concrete and gypsum 79 At the time American building codes required that all structural steel be covered in a fireproof material such as concrete because improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires 80 The concrete core shear walls rise to the 17th floor while the diagonal core bracing with shear trusses extends to the 29th floor 81 The structural system also includes steel columns whose centers are 27 75 feet 8 46 m apart 67 The Seagram Building s heating and air conditioning systems are divided into two sections a basement unit serving the 20th story and all floors below and a roof unit serving the 21st story and all floors above 82 Ducts for utilities such as electric telephone and closed circuit television cables were embedded into the concrete floor slabs 79 The Seagram Building has 849 014 square feet 78 876 0 m2 of floor space 8 including three basement stories 83 Two of the basement levels originally contained a 150 space parking garage 84 85 connected to the lobby via its own elevator 84 Starting in 2019 the garage was renovated into a 35 000 square foot 3 300 m2 gym known as the Seagram Playground 86 To attract younger employees the gym was designed in a contrasting style to the original building It contains a multipurpose basketball pickleball and volleyball court with a climbing wall 87 88 The gym could also be used as a 150 seat theater with eight tiers of wooden bleachers 87 The basements also contain storage loading platforms and service areas for the first floor occupants 56 Inside the building were the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants originally designed by Philip Johnson 89 The restaurant interiors were decorated with numerous artworks These included the Seagram murals by Mark Rothko which he claimed were intended to sicken the patrons of the Four Seasons Restaurant 90 as well as Pablo Picasso s painted curtain Le Tricorne designed for the Ballets Russes in 1919 91 92 By 2017 the building housed three restaurants owned by Major Food Group the Pool the Grill and the Lobster Club 93 The Pool was merged with the Grill in 2020 though a separate event space called the Pool Lounge continues to operate 94 Lobby Edit Night view of the lobby and facade Unlike designs in Beaux Arts office buildings the Seagram Building s lobby lacks a central space instead leading visitors directly from the plaza to the elevators or restaurants 95 The lobby is designed as if it were an extension of the plaza 34 53 96 leading Mumford to write Outside and inside are simply the same 13 97 It is divided into three parts a western section facing the plaza a central section with elevators and an eastern section facing the restaurant space 98 The western part of the lobby has three bronze revolving doors and is interrupted by two bronze columns The central section comprises three corridors connecting the western and eastern thirds of the lobby within four elevator and stair enclosures 99 whose walls are clad with travertine 34 41 53 There are three elevators on each corridor s north and south walls a total of eighteen elevators 99 The elevators abutting the northern corridor serve floors 25 38 those in the center corridor serve floors 2 10 and those in the southern corridor serve floors 10 25 100 The northernmost and southernmost elevator enclosures have fire stairs exiting to the plaza and all enclosures have mechanical spaces and service closets 101 The interiors of the elevator cabs contain stainless steel and bronze mesh panels while the ceilings contain white panels that illuminate each cab 72 102 103 Above the elevator doors are fluorescent lights installed in the doorway soffits The central third of the lobby contains mailboxes a standpipe alarm box and service doors made of bronze 102 The eastern section has two additional revolving doors within the northern and southern glass walls 99 A cross passage connects the two sets of doors 51 99 There are service doors on the eastern wall of the cross passage as well as an elevator control panel a fire station panel and directories on the western wall 102 From the cross passage a set of travertine steps connects to the restaurant spaces that originally comprised the Four Seasons Restaurant 101 104 Throughout the entire lobby the 24 foot 7 3 m tall ceiling is made of black cement and 1 by 1 inch 25 mm 25 mm gray glass mosaic tiles 41 98 105 Recessed within the lobby ceiling are lights with dimmers 101 105 The floors walls and columns are also clad with travertine 105 The exterior walls of the lobby contain bronze mullions within which the exterior glass panes are set A horizontal bronze bar about 42 inches 110 cm above the floor level surrounds the exterior walls 98 The horizontal bronze bar was installed in the 1970s per New York state building regulations 95 Signs in the lobby were originally designed in a square serif font custom made for the Seagram Building 95 The Grill and Pool Edit For the original design of the Four Seasons Restaurant prior to reconfiguration see The Four Seasons Restaurant Design The Pool The Grill and Pool formerly the Four Seasons Restaurant occupy two stories in the Seagram Building s bustle east of the lobby and main shaft The upper story is just above the lobby while the lower story is at ground level near 52nd and 53rd Streets 106 When they opened as separate restaurants in 2017 the Grill served mid 20th century cuisine while the Pool largely served seafood 107 108 The Grill and Pool named after the rooms of the same name in the former Four Seasons contains similar design features to the lobby It has travertine walls and floors cement ceilings with gray glass mosaic tiles and bronze engaged piers 104 The original Four Seasons had five dining rooms preserved in the modern day Grill and Pool restaurant 109 110 c The Pool is on the north side of the first floor the Grill is on the south side There are two dining areas on a balcony above the Grill as well as a balcony above the Pool 112 A staircase leads down from the Grill Room to a separate entrance lobby and foyer on 52nd Street 64 The Grill and Pool are discrete 60 by 90 foot 18 by 27 m rooms 111 Both major rooms and their auxiliary spaces have 20 foot high 6 1 m ceilings with gridded off white aluminum panels and recessed lighting The outer walls are glass curtain walls containing metal curtains that ripple from air released by hidden ventilating ducts 113 Running north south between them is a corridor which is at the top of the stairs leading from the eastern lobby A glass wall and bronze double doors separate the corridor from the main lobby 112 The corridor s north and south walls contain doors leading to vestibules outside either room 114 The Pool is centered around a 20 by 20 foot 6 1 by 6 1 m white marble pool 115 On the eastern side of the Pool a staircase connects to a mezzanine on a podium slightly above the main floor 110 116 The Grill had a lounge in its northwest corner and a bar at its southwest corner 117 The two private dining rooms are on a balcony raised above the main Grill accessed by separate staircases and separated from the main Grill by walnut paneled doors 118 The Lobster Club Edit The Lobster Club is at ground level on 53rd Street immediately below the Pool room within the space formerly occupied by Brasserie It serves Japanese seafood 119 120 Philip Johnson had designed the original interior which was damaged in a fire and redesigned by Diller Scofidio from 1995 to 1999 121 122 During a 2017 renovation the Lobster Club was redesigned by Peter Marino 119 120 The entrance connects to a lobby with restrooms to the east a coat check to the west and the dining room to the south The main dining room is slightly above the 53rd Street lobby reached by a set of stairs 65 The lobby is on the north wall of the main dining room while kitchens and waiters stations are on the south wall A second dining room is reached through a doorway at the center of the west wall A door on the south wall leads to a fire stair to the lobby 103 The Lobster Club s main dining room has brightly colored furniture and upholstery 150 drip painted concrete floor tiles by artist Laura Bergman and three bronze partitioned booths on the south wall There is a bar on the eastern side of the dining room 120 123 The second dining room is a private suite with white partition walls red terrazzo flooring and metal sculptures 119 120 When used by Brasserie the foyer had contained a stone wall and a video camera displayed images of patrons entering from the street with an LCD sign announcing every customer s entry 124 The main dining room had a U shaped counter surrounded by circular tables and glass partitioned dining alcoves 125 The main dining room had wooden panels on its walls 124 126 127 A set of plates designed by Picasso was mounted onto the wooden paneling 127 The west wall contained a bar on its northern section and a dining alcove on its southern section The bar alcove and second dining room had carpeted floors the main dining room had wooden floors The ceiling was made of flat plaster with recessed lighting fixtures 126 The Brasserie could seat 150 patrons 111 Office stories Edit The office stories were intended to contain executive suites 105 The office floors generally have a flexible plan arranged in modules around the elevator core 103 The flexibility of the office stories derives from the superstructures wide bays 128 In general each of the second through fourth stories has about 28 000 square feet 2 600 m2 of rentable office space the fifth through tenth stories around 18 600 square feet 1 730 m2 and the upper stories around 12 000 square feet 1 100 m2 128 129 130 d Johnson mainly oversaw the interior design 36 all the materials were custom designed for the Seagram Building 7 The elevator landings have green terrazzo floors travertine walls gray elevator door surrounds and gypsum ceilings 103 The remaining office stories used 55 5 by 55 5 inch 141 by 141 cm modules 53 131 The elevator doors suite doors and partitions were designed to rise from floor to ceiling which made the openings appear as though they were part of the paneling 53 72 131 Partition panels were designed with washable materials which became standard after they were used in the Seagram Building 72 131 Doorknobs were made of lever handles instead of round knobs 132 The ceilings are acoustically tiled dropped ceilings 103 Each story s ceiling is surrounded by luminous tiled panels activated by a timer 133 which are arranged in a consistent band measuring about 11 5 feet 3 5 m wide 134 135 The luminous panels in turn contain vinyl diffuser panels measuring 4 feet 3 inches 1 30 m wide 134 The rest of each story uses indirect lighting 135 Air conditioning fixtures are placed only 11 inches 280 mm above the floor slab enabling the windows to be full height glass walls 131 136 The Seagram Company occupied the second through eighth stories when the building was completed 100 Philip Johnson Phyllis Lambert and J Gordon Carr collaborated in the design of the Seagram offices 137 The offices had a reception room containing tapestries and a travertine wall with Seagram s seal 100 105 There was also an executive office with furniture designed by Mies 105 138 The executive suites contained an oak paneled dining room and kitchen which could double as a conference room 138 On three sides of the fifth floor were offices with oak paneling luminous ceilings and ocher carpeting The outer offices on the fifth story were wider than on other floors signifying that story s function as an important floor 139 The fourth floor contained several large spaces for meetings and receptions including a 69 by 36 foot 21 by 11 m assembly room that could be partitioned into three sections 140 Floor to ceiling travertine partitions walled off the restrooms in the Seagram suites 72 Another feature of the Seagram suites was display lights that could retract into the ceiling when they were not being used 135 Architectural Forum described Seagram s offices as setting a high standard for subsequent tenants 105 History EditAfter the 1933 repeal of Prohibition in the United States Seagram Distiller s CEO Samuel Bronfman began planning a large Manhattan headquarters though this plan was not executed for almost two decades 29 141 Bronfman decided the headquarters should be situated somewhere on Park Avenue between 50th and 59th Streets which was becoming a commercial area 50 142 Development Edit Initial plans Edit Fountain in front of the northwest corner of the buildingIn 1951 the company bought a 50 950 square foot 4 733 m2 lot on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street across from Lever House for 4 million equivalent to 34 million in 2021 e 23 143 Bronfman sought to develop a structure that would be considered an important building 37 He wanted the building to be completed by 1957 coinciding with the company s centenary 144 145 146 According to Philip Johnson the earlier Lever House had set an example for the construction of what became the Seagram Building 147 Ely Jacques Kahn sent a letter and a brochure to Bronfman in July 1951 requesting an interview with him The next month prominent lawyer Alfred L Rose wrote a letter to Bronfman endorsing Kahn and Jacob s work 148 Kahn working with several rental agents sketched numerous diagrams for the massing of a hypothetical tower on the site which they called Operation Skytop 146 The only extant diagram labeled as scheme 2 depicted a bulky tower rising from several shallow setbacks 146 Bronfman met with Charles Luckman the former president of Lever Brothers soap company in June 1954 Bronfman told Luckman that he intended to build a 35 story office tower topped by an imported English castle 146 In July 1954 Seagram announced it would build a 34 story tower designed by Luckman and William Pereira his partner in the firm Pereira amp Luckman 149 145 The structure was projected to cost 15 million equivalent to 122 million in 2021 e 149 145 Luckman who had overseen the development of Lever House said he was very happy to come back to Park Avenue for a repeat performance 23 150 Seagram s building as originally planned would have contained a four story base of marble and bronze topped by a 30 story metal and glass shaft 149 151 152 The design would have provided for an auditorium film screening room display rooms and executive offices 149 151 as well as interior garden courts 149 Pereira amp Luckman filed plans for the tower with the New York City Department of Buildings DOB the same month 153 Pereira amp Luckman s design attracted negative criticism when it was announced According to the August 1954 edition of Architectural Forum critics likened the building s appearance to an enormous cigarette lighter and big trophy 154 155 Lambert Bronfman s 27 year old daughter was living in Paris when she saw a rendering of Pereira amp Luckman s plan in the New York Herald Tribune s Paris edition 23 29 144 Recounting the incident Lambert said she had been boiling with fury at the proposal 23 144 156 Lambert wrote a letter to her father that August arguing that any new headquarters should be a contribution to the city in addition to serving as a symbol of Seagram 157 In a 2013 book recalling the building s development Lambert wrote This letter starts with one word repeated very emphatically NO NO NO NO NO 90 Modified plans Edit At his friend Lou Crandall s suggestion 144 Bronfman relented allowing his daughter to find an alternate architect 144 155 Pereira amp Luckman s design was still publicly marketed as a preliminary model but as Interiors s managing editor Olga Gueft said media reports suggested the original plan had been dumped overboard 23 158 Lambert became acquainted with Johnson then the departmental director of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art Following his recommendation Lambert examined several leading modernist architects and conducted several interviews 159 f Lambert selected Mies van der Rohe to design the building in November 1954 12 157 she described Mies s buildings such as 860 880 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago as sublimely urban 160 Bronfman having approved Mies s selection designated his daughter as the building s planning director 143 160 Lambert received an annual salary of 20 000 from this position 90 Because Mies was not a licensed architect in New York state Johnson was selected as a co architect 42 160 At the time Johnson had never designed a skyscraper before so Crandall convinced Bronfman to hire Kahn and Jacobs as associate architects 146 Mies who had never designed a project in New York City wished to design a simple slab He was dissatisfied with the setbacks in most skyscrapers designed after the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution 29 35 42 Mies considered three alternatives for a slab behind a large plaza with a facade divided into multiple bays One plan called for a square tower the second plan called for a 3 by 7 bay rectangle with three bays on Park Avenue and the third plan called for a 5 by 3 bay rectangle with five bays facing Park Avenue 160 161 He created several scale models for the proposed structure 161 Ultimately Mies selected the third plan which Lambert praised 42 159 After the architects were selected Seagram purchased some 9 000 square feet 840 m2 of adjacent land for 900 000 equivalent to 7 million in 2021 e 142 The land acquisition allowed the building to be set back from Park Avenue while complying with the 1916 Zoning Resolution 160 Construction Edit Seen from across Park Avenue Mies filed updated plans with the DOB in March 1955 the structure was projected to cost 20 million equivalent to 160 million in 2021 e 24 42 49 The DOB records listed Mies s plans as a modification to Pereira amp Luckman s original plans rather than completely new ones 162 At the time 20 of 250 existing tenants on the site had left 24 42 The April 1955 issue of The New York Times described the proposed tower as one of several on Park Avenue that add up in sum to a boom 163 Upon Bronfman s suggestion 63 the architects specified that the tower would be made of bronze and glass 42 Kahn had sketched an alternative design for the Seagram Building which called for a significantly different massing than the one Mies had proposed Lambert disapproved of the alternative plan saying that Kahn was undermining Mies s decisions and Kahn ultimately acquiesced to using Mies s design 164 Demolition of existing buildings on the site began in September 1955 165 166 167 and was completed in March 1956 25 Mies moved to a nearby apartment to oversee the Seagram Building s development and he applied for membership in the American Institute of Architects AIA s New York division but was rejected in December 1955 He took the AIA rejection as an affront and moved back to Chicago placing Johnson in full control of the building s design 160 Kahn wrote in his diary that the project had encountered delays in April 1956 167 When Mies received a license to practice architecture in New York he rejoined the project that June 160 Construction of the superstructure began in May 1956 with the first major steel column installed at the beginning of the next month 168 Seven hundred workers fitted over 5 000 individual pieces of steelwork together which weighed in aggregate 25 million pounds 11 kt 169 Because of a no idling rule implemented in Midtown Manhattan some truckers were ticketed while delivering steel beams to the work site prompting them to strike temporarily until the rule was changed to allow deliveries 170 171 172 The steelwork s construction involved bolting steel beams rather than riveting them to reduce noise this work received an official Quiet City Award from the city 169 During construction Lambert convinced the builders to carry through Mies s original design including minor details such as the brick bonding which was hidden from view 90 The superstructure was topped out during December 1956 169 173 The building s bronze and glass facade was installed starting in September 1956 and was completed in April 1957 174 According to Kahn s diary the architects discussed violent changes to the building s cost and design in July 1957 though these changes were not implemented 167 The Seagram Company moved into its offices in December 1957 175 and the Department of Buildings granted a temporary certificate of occupancy the next year 176 The Seagram Building officially opened on May 22 1958 with the Seagram Company leasing the office space that it did not occupy 175 The Department of Buildings granted a permanent occupancy certificate in 1959 176 Including the 5 million land purchases the project was estimated to cost 43 million or about 50 per square foot 540 m2 177 The construction cost per square foot was about twice that of similar buildings in the city 67 177 Seagram vice president Arthur S Margolin said in a 1989 interview that the building had cost approximately 40 million 83 20th century Edit Seagram ownership Edit 52nd Street entrance to the Four Seasons which occupied the first floor shortly after the building s opening By July 1958 ninety percent of the Seagram Building s space was rented 129 Tenants were willing to pay 7 to 8 30 per square foot 75 3 to 89 3 m2 for space on the upper floors compared to an average of about 5 to 5 25 per square foot 53 8 to 56 5 m2 for ordinary new buildings 129 130 In the building s first year of operation the office space was expected to earn about a 13 percent return on investment 176 178 Cushman amp Wakefield was hired as the rental agency 29 Among the initial occupants were a number of industrial and service corporations involved in manufacturing 179 as well as Bethlehem Steel 180 and Maruzen Oil 181 The building also housed Goodson Todman Productions 182 the sales headquarters of Eagle Pencil 183 an industrial designer 184 a property manager an art producer 185 a direct mail advertising company 186 and various other commercial tenants 187 Restaurant Associates took ground level space for the Four Seasons and Brasserie restaurants which opened in 1959 110 Ultimately the Seagram Building s luxuriously designed spaces had 115 tenants which were drawn partly because of Mies s international stature 188 By 1961 there was a waiting list for space in the Seagram Building 189 In its early years the Seagram Building and its plaza were used for displays and exhibitions For instance in 1958 the building held an art show to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the United Nations 190 191 A sculptured head from the Mesoamerican Olmec civilization was displayed in the plaza in 1965 192 The World Monuments Fund displayed a moai head in the Seagram Building s plaza in 1968 193 to draw attention to the artifacts on Easter Island which were seen as endangered 194 195 Atmospheres and Environment XII an environmental steel sculpture by Louise Nevelson was installed at the Seagram Building s plaza in 1971 196 Other sculptures or artworks erected in the Seagram Building and plaza included Barnett Newman s sculpture Broken Obelisk displayed in 1967 as well as Jean Dubuffet s sculpture Milord la Chimarre displayed in 1974 195 In 1963 the New York City government gave the Seagram Company an award for the building s notable contribution to the city and raised the company s property taxes 197 The recalculated tax assessment of 21 million was based on the potential value if the building were to be demolished whereas Seagram fought to keep the assessment at 17 million based on the rental income it earned 198 199 200 The higher tax assessment was upheld by the New York Court of Appeals 201 a decision the Regional Plan Association criticized as potentially destroying the hope of great commercial architecture in New York State 202 203 Architectural writer Ada Louise Huxtable called the tax a beginning of the city s architectural annihilation saying the higher tax assessment was a special method of taxing architectural excellence 203 204 There was still high demand for office space in Midtown Manhattan despite a myriad of new development in the area For example when real estate investment firm Realty Equities moved its headquarters to the Seagram Building in 1968 another company immediately offered to sublet Realty s space at a much higher price 205 Even the Seagram Company found its own headquarters rent to be too high giving up half of its 150 000 square feet 14 000 m2 in the building and moving approximately 600 of its 983 employees elsewhere in 1972 206 207 208 In a letter to mayor John Lindsay Seagram officials attributed the relocation in part because of the high tax assessment on the Seagram Building 198 206 In 1971 building management conducted what city officials believed was the first voluntary fire drill at a New York City office building 209 210 Sale Edit Colorized view of the building from the Library of Congress s collection During the 1970s Seagram received several offers for the building from potential buyers and the company contemplated selling it and leasing back its own space 7 However Seagram had decided to retain ownership of the building by 1976 as it brought publicity to the company 7 211 The same year Bronfman s son and Seagram s president Edgar Bronfman Sr asked the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission LPC to grant city landmark status to the building 7 198 212 The move surprised mayor Abraham Beame since the city s landlords typically attempted to prevent their buildings from being listed as landmarks 7 The LPC ultimately did not hold a hearing for the Seagram Building LPC rules specified that individual New York City landmarks be at least 30 years old at the time of their designation the building had been completed only 18 years earlier 203 213 Bronfman proposed that the LPC allow designations of buildings less than 30 years old if their owners supported landmark status but no action was taken on the proposal 213 214 In February 1979 Seagram offered the tower for sale at 75 million In the absence of official landmark status the company mandated that the new owner preserve the exterior and public spaces in their original condition The new owner was obligated to keep the building for at least fifteen years and would have to take over the high land assessment taxes 215 Seagram sold the building to the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association TIAA for 85 5 million in June 1979 leasing some space back from them 213 214 216 This fee included 70 5 million for the structure and 15 million for the underlying land 217 As part of the sale the building retained the Seagram name although it was only identified on signage by its address 214 For decades after the sale Lambert continued to be involved with the Seagram Building s operation 90 The TIAA like the Seagram Company supported landmark status for the building In early 1988 just over thirty years after the Seagram Building had been completed the TIAA filed documentation with the LPC requesting that the Seagram Building s exterior lobby and plaza be considered for landmark status 3 217 218 The Four Seasons operators also separately endorsed landmark designation for their restaurant s interior in the Seagram Building 218 219 On October 3 1989 the LPC designated the Seagram Building s exterior the lobby and the Four Seasons Restaurant as landmarks The Four Seasons was only the second restaurant interior in the city to be designated a landmark after Gage and Tollner in Brooklyn 2 3 The New York City Board of Estimate ratified all three designations in January 1990 220 While the TIAA had strongly supported the exterior and lobby landmark designations it sued the LPC in 1990 to have the designation for the Four Seasons removed The TIAA argued that the restaurant was personal property and that the designation would force the restaurant to continue operating even if the owners wished to close it 221 The state s Court of Appeals upheld the designation in 1993 222 The Brasserie not covered in any of the landmark designations was renovated in 1999 after being damaged by a fire in 1995 121 122 21st century Edit Real estate investor Aby Rosen entered a contract in October 2000 to purchase a majority ownership stake in the building for 375 million 32 223 completing his purchase that December 224 At the time 99 5 percent of the building s space was occupied but only six original tenants remained 224 The following year the Seagram Company moved its headquarters out of the building 203 Rosen s RFR Holding retained ownership of the Seagram Building 225 Meanwhile French media conglomerate Vivendi which acquired the Seagram Company in 2000 started selling off the building s art in 2003 to raise money 226 227 RFR received the LPC s permission in 2005 to transfer unused development rights at the Seagram Building site to a neighboring building In exchange the Seagram Building s owners would be required to keep the facade in near original condition 228 The Seagram Building was nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places NRHP on January 12 2006 229 and was added to the NRHP on February 24 2006 1 RFR did not have full ownership of the Seagram Building until 2013 when it purchased a 14 percent stake from Harry Lis 230 231 In 2015 RFR decided to terminate Four Seasons and the Brasserie s leases ahead of schedule and the restaurants were closed 89 232 RFR proposed changes to the Four Seasons interior including removing the glass wall between the Grill Room and Pool Room as well as converting the wine cellar to restrooms 233 The LPC rejected RFR s proposal to change the interior of The Four Seasons Restaurant except for a carpet replacement which the commission allowed 234 Annabelle Selldorf restored the physical structure while William Georgis oversaw the interior design 107 The Grill and the Pool were opened within the former Four Seasons space in mid 2017 235 That year architect Peter Marino designed the Lobster Club within the former Brasserie space in the basement 123 119 120 In addition the facade was restored in 2016 and RFR spent 400 000 to install waterproofing on the fountains and 250 000 to renovate the plaza benches RFR was also planning to change the underground garage which did not have landmark status 236 Initially RFR did not seek the LPC s permission to change the landmark designated Four Seasons interior only requesting permission in late 2017 after the renovations were completed 237 238 The LPC retroactively approved the renovations nearly two years later with some modifications 239 To conform to the plans that the LPC had approved the Pool s lounge room was closed in December 2019 for a one month renovation 240 The next month the Grill took over the Pool because of higher demand for cuisine in the Grill 94 Rosen announced in mid 2020 that he would renovate much of the garage into the Seagram Playground a communal workers space and gym over the following one and a half years 86 241 The communal space was announced as a way to attract tenants in light of the COVID 19 pandemic in New York City as well as the departure of Wells Fargo a major tenant 242 The Seagram Playground was completed in August 2022 for 25 million 87 88 at the time 80 percent of the space in the building was occupied 88 Curbed wrote that the Seagram Playground was one of several large investments that Rosen had made in prime midtown real estate at a time when it hasn t exactly bounced back from the pandemic 243 The building was almost fully occupied by the end of 2022 after firms such as Blue Owl Capital and Clayton Dubilier amp Rice signed or renewed their leases 244 Impact EditReception Edit The building as seen from the ground on 53rd Street When the Seagram Building was completed Lewis Mumford described the structure as a Rolls Royce of buildings 245 246 and wrote that it has the aesthetic impact that only a unified work of art carried through without paltry compromises can have 52 245 In 1957 Thomas W Ennis of The New York Times wrote the building was one of the most notable of Manhattan s post war buildings and characterized its design as the high point of Mies s career 39 247 Similarly Progressive Architecture described the Seagram Building as probably the most heralded new building in the U S in 1958 248 According to Architectural Forum in 1958 Seagram challenges accepted skyscraper practice all the way down the line 245 249 At a meeting of the Italian Cultural Institute the following year architect Gino Pollini said the Seagram Building was a masterpiece of functional and esthetic architecture 250 Critical acclaim for the Seagram Building continued Eight years after the building opened Ada Louise Huxtable wrote that it was dignified sumptuous severe sophisticated cool consummately elegant architecture 251 The New York Times Magazine described the lobby in 1975 as one of The Ten Best Lobbies in New York 252 In 1981 architectural writer G E Kidder Smith found the building and its features to be in toto incomparable 253 According to Jerold Kayden who wrote about the building in 2000 the Seagram Building remains the city s quintessential International Style masterpiece of tower in the park architecture 254 255 Ricardo Scofidio of Diller Scofidio Renfro said the construction of the Seagram Building was the first time you really realized that architecture brought something to the city that didn t exist 90 In 2001 architecture critic Herbert Muschamp referred to it as the Building of Two Millenniums writing that it encompassed everything essential in Western architecture 256 While the public and architectural critics generally appreciated the Seagram Building there were also comments about the design s drawbacks Stern stated that there were negative remarks about the plaza s austerity and the exterior s lack of purity 42 Stern cited architect Louis Kahn who believed the rear spine took away from the purity of the slab though Kahn also said the hidden wind bracing made the building appear like a beautiful bronze lady in hidden corsets 42 257 While Mumford largely praised the design he found the plaza s pools and fountains to be a gross defect in what was otherwise a masterpiece 59 Italian architecture writers Manfredo Tafuri and Francesco Dal Co in their 1976 book Modern Architecture wrote that the Seagram Building stood aloof from the city and saw the juxtaposition as a symbol of absence 258 259 Architect Frank Lloyd Wright dismissed the building as a whisky bottle on a playing card 256 Architectural recognition Edit The Fifth Avenue Association called the Seagram Building the best edifice constructed on Park Avenue between 1956 and 1957 260 The city government gave the Seagram Company an award in 1963 for the building s positive impact on the city s beauty 197 The Board of Trade awarded its 1965 architecture prize to the building citing its plaza form and material 261 262 The following year the Municipal Art Society MAS gave a bronze plaque to the building recognizing it as a modern landmark 261 263 Philip Johnson received the city s Bronze Medallion for the Seagram Building s design in 1979 Simultaneously the AIA s New York division gave the Seagram Company a special citation recognizing the company s most elegant contribution to the art of architecture and the care with which it is maintained 264 The AIA further recognized the Seagram Building in 1984 with a Twenty five Year Award for its ability to stand to the test of time 265 Design influence Edit The former Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Avenue which was inspired by the design of the Seagram Building The Seagram Building s plaza was popular immediately when the building opened being frequented by both office workers and tourists 44 In 1971 the plaza was the setting of a planning study by sociologist William H Whyte whose film Social Life of Small Urban Spaces produced with the Municipal Art Society of New York MAS records the daily patterns of people socializing around the plaza 195 266 Whyte praised the plaza as allowing a sense of choice in that patrons could lie down or sit on the ledges or steps despite their relatively plain design 266 267 The plaza s presence helped influence the 1961 Zoning Resolution 7 37 50 a zoning ordinance that allowed New York City developers to increase their edifices maximum floor areas in exchange for adding open space in front of their buildings This was in sharp contrast to the wedding cake model of the 1916 Zoning Resolution which had required setbacks at intervals of several stories similar to a wedding cake 268 269 Even before the 1961 zoning codes had been implemented some New York City buildings followed the Seagram s model of a slab behind a plaza such as the Time Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas the former Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Avenue and the One Chase Manhattan Plaza building at 28 Liberty Street 261 Twenty acres 8 1 ha of plazas were built in New York City in the decade after the zoning code revision 50 Paul Goldberger wrote in The New York Times in 1976 that the Seagram Building was one of New York s most copied buildings its design having been copied in several structures internationally 7 According to William H Jordy these structures included 270 Park Avenue and the Inland Steel Building 245 270 Mies reused the building s design for towers in Pittsburgh Chicago and Toronto 271 and a replica of the Seagram Building was constructed at the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Paradise Nevada 272 273 According to writer E C Relph the design was widely plagiarised in various colours and shapes by other architects though Relph considered some of the other towers to be devoid of interesting copies 271 In mid 2005 the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan asked 100 architects builders critics engineers historians and scholars among others to choose their 10 favorites among 25 of the city s towers The Seagram Building came in second place behind the Chrysler Building with 76 respondents placing it on their ballots 254 274 See also Edit Architecture portal New York City portal NRHP portalList of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th StreetsReferences EditNotes Edit The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and The New York Times state the slab is 100 feet 30 m from Park Avenue 25 44 SkyscraperPage and Emporis cite a height of 515 feet 157 m 46 47 while Architectural Forum and the National Park Service give a height of 520 feet 160 m 43 48 Sources disagree on whether the rooms had a combined maximum capacity of 400 109 or 485 111 The total floor space on each story was slightly higher The second through fourth stories had 31 955 sq ft 2 968 7 m2 each the fifth through tenth stories 22 225 sq ft 2 064 8 m2 and the eleventh and higher stories 14 933 sq ft 1 387 3 m2 42 a b c d Johnston Louis Williamson Samuel H 2023 What Was the U S GDP Then MeasuringWorth Retrieved January 1 2023 United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series According to architectural writer Robert A M Stern the architects under Lambert considered included Walter Gropius Marcel Breuer George Howe William Lescaze Eero Saarinen Louis Kahn Frank Lloyd Wright Minoru Yamasaki I M Pei Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 159 Citations Edit a b National Register of Historic Places 2006 Weekly Lists PDF National Register of Historic Places National Park Service 2006 p 78 Archived PDF from the original on March 25 2021 Retrieved March 8 2021 a b c d Dunlap David W October 4 1989 Four Seasons Is Designated A Landmark The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 20 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c d e Selvin Barbara W October 4 1989 Lofty Landmark Status Seagram Building And Four Seasons make historic docket Newsday pp 47 50 ProQuest 278218861 Archived from the original on July 12 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 via newspapers com Breiner 1989b p 1 Breiner 1989a p 1 Breiner amp Urbanelli 1989 p 1 a b c d e f g h Goldberger Paul November 8 1976 Seagram Building Owners Plan To Seek Landmark Designation The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c d 375 Park Avenue 10022 New York City Department of City Planning Archived from the original on November 27 2020 Retrieved September 7 2020 a b c d e f g h i Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 3 Ruhling Nancy A March 2005 What s in a Name Real Estate New York Vol 24 no 3 p 35 ProQuest 216487158 Brown Nicole March 18 2019 Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes NYCurious amNewYork Retrieved July 8 2022 a b Saarinen Aline B November 25 1954 Pioneer to Design Skyscraper Here Park Avenue Project Awarded to Van Der Rohe Leader in Contemporary Architecture PDF The New York Times p 31 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 14 2021 a b c Mumford 1959 p 21 a b Mertins 2014 p 352 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 pp 4 5 Lexington Avenue 53rd Street Neighborhood Map Metropolitan Transportation Authority April 2018 Archived from the original on December 14 2021 Retrieved December 28 2020 a b Breiner 1989b pp 1 2 Grand Central Zone Boasts Many Connected Buildings The New York Times September 14 1930 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on April 22 2020 Retrieved June 14 2020 Stern Robert A M Gilmartin Gregory Massengale John Montague 1983 New York 1900 Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism 1890 1915 New York Rizzoli pp 353 354 ISBN 0 8478 0511 5 OCLC 9829395 Schlichting Kurt C 2001 Grand Central Terminal Railroads Architecture and Engineering in New York Johns Hopkins University Press pp 180 181 ISBN 978 0801865107 OCLC 51480811 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 Penn Stanley W February 16 1964 Glass Buildings Is Fashion Over The Wall Street Journal p 14 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 132975788 a b c d e f Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 342 a b c Seagram s Plans Glass Skyscraper 38 Story Tower Set for Park Av New York Herald Tribune March 30 1955 p 6 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1335609184 a b c d e f Breiner 1989b p 5 AD Classics Seagram Building Mies van der Rohe ArchDaily Retrieved May 25 2022 White Norval Willensky Elliot Leadon Fran 2010 AIA Guide to New York City 5th ed New York Oxford University Press p 320 ISBN 978 0 19538 386 7 a b Breiner 1989b p 1 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 13 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 345 a b c d e f Seagram s Plans Plaza Tower in New York PDF Architectural Forum Vol 102 no 4 April 1954 p 9 Archived PDF from the original on August 3 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 Arts and Architecture 1960 PDF p 15 Why Green Architecture Hardly Ever Deserves the Name ArchDaily July 3 2013 Archived from the original on September 28 2020 Retrieved August 21 2020 a b c Bagli Charles V October 12 2000 On Park Avenue Another Trophy Changes Hands The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 11 2020 Retrieved August 21 2020 Breiner 1989b p 5 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 14 a b c d e f Architectural Forum 1958 p 72 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 14 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 15 a b c Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 11 Peebles Niles N June 10 1956 House of Seagram Here 1st to Get Bronze Sheath New York Herald Tribune p A10 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323870278 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 16 P A News Survey PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 37 no 7 July 1956 p 75 Archived PDF from the original on August 7 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c d Arts and Architecture 1960 PDF p 14 a b c d e f g h i j k Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 345 a b c Architectural Forum 1958 p 68 a b Footsore Here Find Oasis at Seagram Building Plaza PDF The New York Times July 26 1958 p 12 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c d e f Breiner 1989b p 7 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 4 a b Seagram Building New York City SkyscraperPage com Archived from the original on March 1 2021 Retrieved March 14 2021 a b Seagram Building Emporis Archived from the original on January 27 2021 Retrieved March 9 2021 a b c d e Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 4 a b c Seagram Offices Get Final Plan 38 story Skyscraper to Rise on Park Avenue Block at 52d and 53d Streets PDF The New York Times March 30 1955 p 50 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b c d Mertins 2014 p 344 a b c d e f g Mertins 2014 p 348 a b c Mumford 1959 p 20 a b c d e f Mertins 2014 p 349 a b c Breiner 1989b p 7 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 3 a b Seagram Park to Have Pools Pink Pavement New York Herald Tribune February 24 1957 p 1C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324063846 a b Breiner 1989b p 11 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 14 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 345 Devlin John C October 29 1959 Park Ave Plaza Gets New Trees First of 6 Gingkoes Planted at Seagram Building Woman Directs Job PDF The New York Times p 22 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 14 2021 a b Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 346 Ice Snow Doomed in Seagram Plaza Sidewalk Heating in Front of New Park Ave Building May Also Dry Up Rain PDF The New York Times December 9 1956 p 317 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b Bartnett Edmond J March 19 1961 Keeping a Skyscraper Clean Is a Job That Goes On Around the Clock The New York Times p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 115261266 Fowler Glenn September 7 1958 New Skyscrapers Are Reviving Classical Street Arcade Purpose Unchanged but Styling Reflects Modern Design The New York Times p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 114464589 a b Mertins 2014 p 345 a b Breiner amp Urbanelli 1989 p 9 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 8 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 8 Murray 2009 p 37 a b c Breiner 1989b p 6 a b Synthetic Hurricane Winds Used To Test Strength of Structure PDF The New York Times July 22 1956 pp 1 2 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b Murray 2009 p 36 Tower Gives Endless Job To Cleaners Seagram Crew Is Always Busy New York Herald Tribune June 7 1959 p 8C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323087206 Breiner 1989b p 7 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 9 a b c d e Architectural Forum 1958 p 73 New Skyscraper on Park Avenue To Be First Sheathed in Bronze 38 Story House of Seagram Will Use 3 200 000 Pounds of Alloy in Outer Walls Colored for Weathering The New York Times March 2 1956 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 22 2020 Retrieved October 18 2020 Metals From One Firm Vary 3 Tower Facades New York Herald Tribune September 15 1957 p 2C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1336066498 News Bulletins PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 37 no 7 July 1956 p 75 Archived PDF from the original on August 7 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 Murray 2009 p 31 Murray 2009 pp 36 37 Bronze Building to Get 2 Beauty Baths a Year The New York Times March 9 1958 p R4 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 114458597 Mertins 2014 pp 348 349 a b Breiner 1989b p 6 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 16 Hool George Albert Johnson Nathan Clarke 1920 Handbook of Building Construction Report McGraw Hill pp 338 OCLC 1161028617 Al Kodmany Kheir Ali Mir M 2013 The Future of the City Tall Buildings and Urban Design The Future of the City Tall Buildings and Urban Design WIT Press p 172 ISBN 978 1845644109 OCLC 783138327 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Seagram Tower to Have Dual Heating System New York Herald Tribune October 28 1956 p 2C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323882745 a b Breiner 1989a p 10 a b New Garage To Provide Ample Area Seagram lo Limit Total to 150 Cars New York Herald Tribune June 2 1957 p 1C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324039053 Seagram Building RFR Property Management October 11 2014 Archived from the original on July 7 2019 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b Karmin Craig June 30 2020 Developer Is Updating Historic Seagram Building With New Playground The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Archived from the original on August 13 2020 Retrieved March 17 2021 a b c NYC Building Adds Playground To Enhance Office Experience Facility Executive August 15 2022 Retrieved December 12 2022 a b c Margolies Jane August 10 2022 The Seagram Building s New Playground The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved August 12 2022 a b Morabito Greg June 23 2015 Everything s Falling to Pieces at The Seagram Building Brasserie Leaving Along With Four Seasons Eater NY Archived from the original on May 5 2016 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b c d e f Lamster Mark April 3 2013 A Personal Stamp on the Skyline The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on February 15 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Andrews Suzanna September 8 2014 The Battle over the Four Seasons Restaurant s Picasso Curtain Vanity Fair Archived from the original on November 2 2021 Retrieved 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g Architectural Forum 1958 p 71 Breiner amp Urbanelli 1989 p 6 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 5 a b Peasley Aaron April 27 2017 Grill power Aby Rosen s dynamic taming of the Seagram Building s restaurant space Wallpaper Archived from the original on January 24 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 Krader Kate April 20 2017 A First Look Inside New York s Most Important New Restaurant Bloomberg com Archived from the original on May 19 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 pp 5 6 a b c Claiborne Craig July 16 1959 4 5 Million Restaurant to Open Here Four Seasons Nearing Completion Said to Be World s Costliest Seagram Building Unit Is Lavishly Decorated and Landscaped PDF The New York Times p 33 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c Stephens Suzanne June 24 2016 Goodbye to All That The Four Seasons Restaurant Leaves the Seagram Building Architectural Record Archived from the original on April 11 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b Breiner amp Urbanelli 1989 p 6 Higgins amp 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Lived Brasserie Starts Over with a Diller Scofidio Redesign Architectural Record Vol 188 no 3 p 29 a b Firshein Sarah January 22 2018 Peter Marino Pens the Next Chapter For an Iconic Manhattan Restaurant Surface com Archived from the original on January 17 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b Luna Ian 2003 New New York Architecture of a City New York Rizzoli p 215 ISBN 978 0847826216 OCLC 972013228 Interiors 1960 pp 94 95 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 pp 8 9 a b Interiors 1960 p 94 a b Seagram Office Building To Offer Variety of Space New York Herald Tribune October 30 1955 p 4C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323299784 a b c Architectural Forum 1958 p 76 a b Mertins 2014 p 355 a b c d Breiner 1989b p 6 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 9 Levers to Open Seagram Doors New York Herald Tribune September 16 1956 p 1C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323542647 Breiner 1989b p 6 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 15 a b Mertins 2014 p 353 a b c Architectural Forum 1958 p 75 Architectural Forum 1958 p 74 Anderson 1958 p 76 a b Anderson 1958 p 78 Anderson 1958 p 79 Anderson 1958 p 80 Breiner 1989b p 2 a b Breiner 1989b p 4 a b Breiner 1989b p 4 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 11 a b c d e Mertins 2014 p 340 a b c Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 pp 11 12 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 342 a b c d e Stern amp Stuart 2006 p 225 La Rosa Paul February 25 1983 Jackie O beats the drum for Lever House New York Daily News p 199 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 via newspapers com Stern amp Stuart 2006 p 224 a b c d e Morahan John M July 13 1954 Seagram to Spend 15 Million For New Park Ave Building New York Herald Tribune p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1322386413 The Talk of the Town Repeat Performance The New Yorker Vol 30 August 28 1954 pp 15 17 Archived from the original on September 19 2020 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b Seagram Distillers Plans 15 Million New York Building The Wall Street Journal July 13 1954 p 6 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 132117796 Park Ave To Get New Skyscraper Seagrams Plans a Gleaming 34 story Headquarters Voisin to Lose Home PDF The New York Times July 13 1954 p 25 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 15 2021 Seagram Plan Filed Sketches Submitted for Big Building on Park Avenue PDF The New York Times July 21 1954 p 39 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 15 2021 Seagram plans a monument PDF Architectural Forum Vol 101 no 8 August 1954 p 52 Archived PDF from the original on May 7 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b Breiner 1989b p 4 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 12 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 342 Monument in Bronze Time Vol 71 no 9 March 3 1958 pp 52 53 55 Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved March 15 2021 a b Tait Jack November 25 1954 Modern Design Will Prevail In New Seagrams Building New York Herald Tribune p 17 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1322562890 Gueft Olga January 1955 The Race to Design Interiors Vol 114 no 1 p 51 a b c Mertins 2014 p 340 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 12 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 344 a b c d e f g Mertins 2014 p 341 a b Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 pp 344 345 Breiner 1989b p 10 A New 30 000 000 Building PDF The New York Times April 7 1955 p 26 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Stern amp Stuart 2006 pp 225 227 Stern amp Stuart 2006 p 227 Bradley John A September 25 1955 Wreckers Start on Seagram Site Park Avenue Blockfront Offices Scheduled to Be Ready in 1957 The New York Times p R1 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 113222330 a b c Clearing the Way for Newest Skyscraper New York Herald Tribune September 22 1955 p A2 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1325617925 New Tower on Park Ave Sets Record in Timing Big Seagram Project Meets Target Dates Precise Scheduling Is Unusual on Major Job New York Herald Tribune June 3 1956 p 1C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1323861879 a b c Workers Finish Frame For Seagram Building New York Herald Tribune December 23 1956 p 12C ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1324034198 Wiley Modifying No standing Rule Provides for Steel Delivery on 52d and 53d Streets for New Park Ave Building PDF The New York Times June 9 1956 p 19 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Lewis Milton June 9 1956 Seagram Bldg Allowed Trucks Delivering Steel Wiley Changes Traffic Test Rules In Drivers Walkout Over Tickets New York Herald Tribune p A1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327601364 Mulligan Arthur Kline Sidney June 8 1956 Wiley Speedup Slows 20 Million Skyscraper New York Daily News p 327 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 via newspapers com Berger Meyer December 10 1956 About New York Seagram Building Will Be Topped Off This Week N Y U Regains Lost Doorknobs PDF The New York Times p 45 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Complete Facade Of Seagram Bldg New York Herald Tribune April 19 1957 p A7 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327613455 a b Breiner 1989b p 7 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 15 a b c Breiner 1989b p 7 a b Architectural Forum 1958 pp 76 77 Architectural Forum 1958 p 77 Big Firms Lease Park Ave Space New York Herald Tribune June 17 1957 p B1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1327615353 Bethlehem Steel Leases 2 Floors Takes Space in the Seagram Building on Park Ave PDF The New York Times June 30 1958 p 35 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Offices Leased by Oil Company Space Is Taken in Seagram Building by Japanese PDF The New York Times August 25 1958 p 33 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Floor Is Leased in New Building Producers of TV Programs Get Space at 375 Park PDF The New York Times February 5 1958 p 45 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Office Is Leased by Eagle Pencil Seagram Building to House Sales Headquarters 57th St Space in Deal PDF The New York Times November 4 1957 p 60 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Designers Take Park Ave Lease Becker amp Becker to Move to Seagram Building Deal at 666 Fifth Avenue PDF The New York Times March 12 1958 p 53 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Space Is Leased in New Building 2 More Concerns to Move to Seagram Structure at Park Ave And 52d St PDF The New York Times August 29 1957 p 42 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Floor Lease Taken in Seagram Building PDF The New York Times December 19 1957 p 57 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Five Rent Space in 375 Park Ave Law Firm and Commercial Enterprises Are Moving to Seagram Building PDF The New York Times January 13 1958 p 41 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Breiner 1989b pp 6 7 Cuniff John November 12 1961 A New Glitter for Park Avenue The News and Observer p 44 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 via newspapers com Knox Sanka October 29 1958 Global Art Show Opens Here Today 40 Nations Represented in Tribute to U N Planned by Philanthropy Unit PDF The New York Times p 37 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 40 Nation U N Art Exhibit Opens New York Herald Tribune October 30 1958 p A4 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1326251632 Phillips McCandlish May 19 1965 Out of Mexico s Past to Park Ave Olmec Head to Be on View 2 Weeks PDF The New York Times p 49 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Glueck Grace October 22 1968 5 Ton Head From Easter Island Is Put on a Pedestal PDF The New York Times p 49 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 15 2021 Mulloy W T 1995 The Easter Island Bulletins of William Mulloy Easter Island Foundation Series World Monuments Fund p 9 ISBN 978 1880636046 OCLC 45480253 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 348 Gent George January 27 1971 Park Ave Gets a Nevelson Sculpture The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b Spiegel Irving October 3 1963 Salute to Fall Honors Seagram City Beauty Award Given Building Whose Tax Rose PDF The New York Times p 32 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 351 Breiner 1989b p 8 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 pp 17 18 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 pp 350 351 Seagram Building Denied Tax Credit By Appeals Court The New York Times June 11 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 A Blow to Beauty Seen in Tax Ruling On Seagram Tower The New York Times June 13 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 3 2019 Retrieved March 16 2021 a b c d Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 18 Huxtable Ada Louise May 26 1963 Another Chapter in How to Kill a City PDF The New York Times p 107 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 17 2021 Expansion Bottleneck New York City Office Tower Building Boom Fails to Satisfy Companies Soaring Needs The Wall Street Journal March 7 1968 p 32 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 133317144 a b The Rent Was Too High PDF Architectural Forum Vol 136 no 4 April 1972 p 22 Archived PDF from the original on July 11 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Seagram Building Rent Is Found Too Steep By a Tenant Seagram Firm Will Move 600 of Its 983 Employes From New York s Swank Park Avenue Tower The Wall Street Journal February 24 1972 p 15 ISSN 0099 9660 ProQuest 133667835 Horsley Carter B April 15 1972 Seagram Quitting Half of Space On Park Ave for a 3d Ave Site The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 Markham James M July 16 1971 2 500 Walk to the Street in the First Fire Drill in a Skyscraper Here The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 Modzelewski Joseph July 16 1971 Scraper Fire Drill Downs Them Fast New York Daily News p 234 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 via newspapers com Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 pp 351 352 News in Brief PDF Architectural Record Vol 160 no 12 December 1976 p 33 Archived PDF from the original on July 19 2020 Retrieved March 17 2021 a b c Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 352 a b c Thomas Robert McG Jr June 1 1979 Seagram to Sell Building For 85 5 Million to Fund The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 Thomas Robert McG Jr February 26 1979 Seagram Tower Offered for Sale At 75 Million The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 Seagram Building goes for 85 5M New York Daily News June 1 1979 p 14 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 via newspapers com a b Dunlap David W April 21 1988 Seagram Landmark Move Is Backed The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 31 2020 Retrieved August 21 2020 a b Shepard Joan May 13 1988 Modern Masterpiece New York Daily News p 68 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 via newspapers com Dunlap David W May 9 1988 Weighing Four Seasons as Landmark The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 24 2017 Retrieved March 16 2021 Buder Leonard January 26 1990 Approval Given To Four Seasons As a Landmark The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved July 20 2022 Dunlap David W February 4 1990 Building Owner Fights Landmark at 4 Seasons The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 25 2015 Retrieved March 16 2021 Postings The Four Seasons A Landmark Upheld The New York Times October 24 1993 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 26 2015 Retrieved March 16 2021 Croghan Lore October 23 2000 Citigroup Center goes on block Crain s New York Business Vol 16 no 43 p 1 ProQuest 219151100 a b TIAA Sells Seagram Building to RFR Holding Commercial Real Estate Direct December 15 2000 ProQuest 450266819 Williams Alex May 29 2013 Making His Life the Party The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 25 2021 Retrieved August 21 2020 Vogel Carol February 11 2003 Vivendi Picks Auction Houses To Sell Seagram Building Art The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on February 27 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Art The Seagram building collection on the block Maclean s Vol 115 no 51 December 23 2002 p 14 ProQuest 218502765 Lueck Thomas J November 25 2005 In Deal for New Tower Protection for Old One The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on May 29 2015 Retrieved March 17 2021 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 92 Plots amp Ploys Taking Seagram The Wall Street Journal May 14 2013 ISSN 0099 9660 Archived from the original on September 30 2013 Retrieved March 17 2021 Samtami Hitem May 15 2013 Aby Rosen s RFR takes full ownership of Seagram Building The Real Deal New York Archived from the original on November 25 2020 Retrieved March 17 2021 Brasserie is out at Aby Rosen s Seagram building The Real Deal New York June 23 2015 Archived from the original on November 29 2020 Retrieved March 15 2021 Pogrebin Robin May 6 2015 Proposed Design Changes to the Four Seasons Prompt an Outcry The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 10 2020 Retrieved March 14 2021 Pogrebin Robin May 20 2015 Landmarks Commission Rejects Plan to Change Interior of Four Seasons The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 26 2021 Retrieved March 14 2021 Fabricant Florence July 3 2017 The Pool a Seafood Restaurant in the Former Four Seasons to Open July 19 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved March 15 2021 Dunlap David W July 18 2016 What Stays As Seagram Building Loses Four Seasons The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on January 17 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Tuder Stefanie October 17 2017 A Look at What Was Illegally Changed at Former Four Seasons Eater NY Archived from the original on July 7 2019 Retrieved March 15 2021 Wells Pete October 17 2017 The Pool Strives to Deal With Its Famous Dining Room The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on March 16 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 Plitt Amy July 16 2019 LPC approves contested changes to the former Four Seasons restaurant Curbed NY Archived from the original on February 25 2021 Retrieved March 15 2021 Warerkar Tanay January 7 2020 Major Food Group s Pool Lounge Is Closed for Renovations to Meet Landmark Requirements Eater NY Archived from the original on January 8 2020 Retrieved March 15 2021 Aby Rosen Adding Gym to Seagram Building The Real Deal New York July 1 2020 Archived from the original on December 4 2020 Retrieved March 17 2021 Karmin Craig June 30 2020 Developer Is Updating Historic Seagram Building With New Playground Mansion Global Archived from the original on July 30 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 Read Bridget October 7 2022 What Happened to the Gramercy Park Hotel Curbed Retrieved November 3 2022 Asset manager leases 137 660 s f at Seagram Building Real Estate Weekly September 17 2022 Retrieved December 12 2022 a b c d Breiner 1989b p 8 Mumford 1959 p 19 Ennis Thomas W November 10 1957 Building Is Designer s Testament Seagram Building Marks Apex Of Mies van der Rohe s Career PDF The New York Times p 313 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Seagram House Formally Opened PDF Progressive Architecture Vol 39 no 7 July 1958 p 41 Archived PDF from the original on August 8 2020 Retrieved March 16 2021 Architectural Forum 1958 p 67 Benjamin Philip March 14 1959 City Wins Bravos on Architecture Milanese Architects Single Out the Seagram Building for Functional Design PDF The New York Times p 47 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Huxtable Ada Louise February 6 1966 Architecture Mies Lessons From the Master Popinjays Purity and Power A Genuine Vernacular PDF The New York Times p 24 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 16 2021 Breiner 1989a p 7 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 15 Breiner 1989b p 8 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 19 a b Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 19 Kayden The New York City Department of City Planning amp The Municipal Art Society of New York 2000 p 144 a b Beam 2020 pp 247 248 Scully Vincent 1962 Louis I Kahn G Braziller p 27 OCLC 518151 Tafuri Manfredo Dal Co Francesco 1976 Modern Architecture History of world architecture Vol 1 Electa Rizzoli p 340 ISBN 978 0847807611 OCLC 14002169 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Stern Mellins amp Fishman 1995 p 347 Lyman Richard B June 29 1958 Three Buildings Share 5th Av Design Awards Tishman CIT Seagram Get Two Citations New York Herald Tribune p 1C ProQuest 1323973317 a b c Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 17 Shepard Richard F May 17 1965 Board of Trade Giving Awards For Commerce s Role in Arts PDF The New York Times p 46 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 17 2021 Arts Society Honors Noted Works Here The New York Times May 27 1966 p 14 ISSN 0362 4331 ProQuest 117204444 Moritz Owen April 25 1978 Getting High on a Building New York Daily News p 300 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 16 2021 via newspapers com In Praise of the Classics The AIA Twenty five Year Award AIArchitect August 4 2003 Archived from the original on December 4 2018 Retrieved March 20 2021 a b Berg Nate October 3 2011 Classic Documentary on Public Space Now Available Online Bloomberg Retrieved March 14 2021 Whyte William H July 15 1974 The Best Street Life in the World New York p 31 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Breiner 1989b p 8 Higgins amp Quasebarth 2006 p 17 Kayden The New York City Department of City Planning amp The Municipal Art Society of New York 2000 p 10 Jordy William 1976 American Buildings and Their Architects the Impact of European Modernism in the Mid twentieth Century Vol 5 Anchor Press Doubleday pp 159 276 ISBN 978 0385057042 OCLC 15986676 a b Relph E C 1987 The Modern Urban Landscape 1880 to the Present Johns Hopkins University Press p 193 ISBN 978 0801835605 OCLC 15630880 Archived from the original on October 21 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Goldberger Paul January 15 1997 New York New York It s a Las Vegas Town The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved August 18 2022 New York Looms Large in Las Vegas Chicago Tribune January 3 1997 ISSN 1085 6706 Retrieved August 19 2022 Dunlap David W September 1 2005 In a City of Skyscrapers Which Is the Mightiest of the High Experts Say It s No Contest The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on March 5 2021 Retrieved March 17 2021 Sources Edit Anderson John December 1958 Seagram Building Interiors in Keeping With a Masterpiece Interiors Vol 118 no 5 The Brasserie in the Seagram Building New York Interiors Vol 120 no 5 December 1960 Breiner David M October 3 1989 Seagram Building First Floor Interior PDF Report New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Breiner David M October 3 1989 Seagram Building Including the Plaza PDF Report New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Breiner David M Urbanelli Elisa October 3 1989 Four Seasons Restaurant PDF Report New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Higgins amp Quasebarth February 24 2006 The Seagram Building PDF Report National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Beam Alex 2020 Broken Glass Mies van der Rohe Edith Farnsworth and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece New York Random House ISBN 978 0399592713 OCLC 1104860779 Kayden Jerold S The New York City Department of City Planning The Municipal Art Society of New York 2000 Privately Owned Public Space The New York City Experience Wiley ISBN 978 0471362579 OCLC 43657162 Lambert Phyllis 2013 Building Seagram Yale University Press ISBN 978 0300167672 OCLC 813392773 Marshall Bruce 2005 Building New York The Rise and Rise of the Greatest City on Earth Universe ISBN 978 0789313621 OCLC 61915976 Mertins Detlef 2014 Mies Phaidon Press ISBN 978 0714839622 OCLC 872051711 Mumford Lewis January 1959 The Lesson of the Master PDF Journal of the AIA Vol 31 pp 19 23 Murray Scott 2009 Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture Princeton Architectural Press ISBN 978 1568987972 OCLC 769114565 The Seagram Building PDF Arts and Architecture Vol 17 January 1960 Seagram s Bronze Tower PDF Architectural Forum Vol 109 no 7 July 1958 Stern Jewel Stuart John A 2006 Ely Jacques Kahn Architect Beaux arts to Modernism in New York Norton ISBN 978 0 393 73114 9 Stern Robert A M Mellins Thomas Fishman David 1995 New York 1960 Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial Monacelli Press ISBN 1885254024 OCLC 32159240 Stoller Ezra 1999 The Seagram Building Princeton Architectural Press ISBN 978 1568982014 OCLC 41540284 Wolfe Tom 1981 From Bauhaus to Our House Farrar Straus Giroux ISBN 978 0374158927 OCLC 7734777 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seagram Building Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Seagram Building amp oldid 1134952895, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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