CitySpire Center
Encyclopedia
The CitySpire Center is the tallest mixed-use
skyscraper
in New York City
, located on the south side of West 56th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Finished in 1987, it is 248 meters (814 ft) tall and has 73 floors, with a total area of 359000 square feet (33,352.2 m²). The building is owned by Tishman Speyer Properties
.
Designed by Helmut Jahn
, it is the eleventh-tallest building in New York City and the 42nd tallest in the United States. The bottom 23 floors of the tower are for commercial use and above it are luxury apartments, which increase in size the higher they are.
Soon after the building's completion, residents of nearby buildings complained of hearing a loud whistling noise which, it later turned out, came from the wind blowing through the decorative dome at the building's top. The city threatened daily fines for the noise, which lasted for more than a year. Developers silenced the whistle by removing every other louver in the cooling tower, thereby widening the narrow channels through which the wind whistled.
The Moorish-inspired dome, which is an homage to the adjacent New York City Center
on West 55th Street
, is illuminated at night with a white light. The building has an unusual octagonal shape.
CitySpire Center is very close to two skyscrapers on 57th Street, Carnegie Hall Tower
(which mimics the design of its famous namesake concert hall) and Metropolitan Tower
.
Some time around completion, it was revealed that the building exceeded its height limit by around 14 feet (4 m). The developers compensated for this violation by agreeing to build dance studio space for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs on an adjacent site.
When completed, the CitySpire Center was the second tallest concrete
tower in the world.
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, located on the south side of West 56th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Finished in 1987, it is 248 meters (814 ft) tall and has 73 floors, with a total area of 359000 square feet (33,352.2 m²). The building is owned by Tishman Speyer Properties
Tishman Speyer Properties
Tishman Speyer Properties is a real estate building and operating company set up in 1978 by two founding partners, Jerry Speyer and Robert Tishman.-Overview:...
.
Designed by Helmut Jahn
Helmut Jahn
Helmut Jahn is a German-American architect, well known for designs such as the US$800 million Sony Center on the Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, the Messeturm in Frankfurt and the One Liberty Place, formerly the tallest building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Suvarnabhumi Airport, an international...
, it is the eleventh-tallest building in New York City and the 42nd tallest in the United States. The bottom 23 floors of the tower are for commercial use and above it are luxury apartments, which increase in size the higher they are.
Soon after the building's completion, residents of nearby buildings complained of hearing a loud whistling noise which, it later turned out, came from the wind blowing through the decorative dome at the building's top. The city threatened daily fines for the noise, which lasted for more than a year. Developers silenced the whistle by removing every other louver in the cooling tower, thereby widening the narrow channels through which the wind whistled.
The Moorish-inspired dome, which is an homage to the adjacent New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
on West 55th Street
55th Street (Manhattan)
55th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-Sutton Place South:*The route officially begins at Sutton Place South which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive....
, is illuminated at night with a white light. The building has an unusual octagonal shape.
CitySpire Center is very close to two skyscrapers on 57th Street, Carnegie Hall Tower
Carnegie Hall Tower
Carnegie Hall Tower is a 60-story skyscraper located on 57th Street in New York City. Part of a cluster of three very tall buildings , the tower was built in an architectural style in harmony with its western neighbor Carnegie Hall, a New York landmark.The tower is 231 meters tall and was...
(which mimics the design of its famous namesake concert hall) and Metropolitan Tower
Metropolitan Tower
The Metropolitan Tower is a 77-story, 716 ft residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City, standing at 146 West 57th Street...
.
Some time around completion, it was revealed that the building exceeded its height limit by around 14 feet (4 m). The developers compensated for this violation by agreeing to build dance studio space for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs on an adjacent site.
When completed, the CitySpire Center was the second tallest concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
tower in the world.