Sony Building (New York)
Encyclopedia
The Sony Tower, formerly the AT&T Building, is a 647 feet (197 m) tall, 37-story highrise skyscraper
located at 550 Madison Avenue between 55th Street
and 56th Street in the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. It was designed by architect
Philip Johnson
and partner John Burgee
, and was completed in 1984. It became immediately controversial for its ornamental top (sometimes mocked as "Chippendale
", after the open pediments
characteristic of the famous English designer's bookcases and other cabinetry), but enjoyed for its spectacular arched entranceway, measuring about seven stories in height. With these ornamental additions, the building challenged architectural modernism's demand for stark functionalism and purely efficient design. The effect the building had on the public at large has been described as legitimizing the postmodern architecture
movement on the world stage.
In 1982, with the Bell System divestiture
set to take effect on January 1, 1984, AT&T decided to seek a tenant to lease 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) of space on the 7th through 25th floors, nearly half the space in the building, and was seeking rents of as much as $60 per square foot. The company had expected to relocate as many as 1,500 employees, most who had been located at the company's old headquarters at 195 Broadway, but the impending divestiture meant it would only be moving 600 employees into 550 Madison, with others being moved to another facility in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
.
Spirit of Communication, a 20000 pounds (9,071.8 kg) bronze statue that had stood for 64 years on the top of AT&T's previous headquarters building at 195
Broadway
, was disassembled and relocated to the lobby of 550 Madison in 1983. The 22 feet (6.7 m) tall figure, modeled in 1916 by American sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman
, is holding bolts of electricity clutched in one arm reaching towards the sky and has coils of cable wound around the statue's torso. After AT&T moved out of the building, the statue was relocated to a spot outside of its Basking Ridge operational headquarters in 1992.
In 1984, the company indicated that it would not build the museum that it had originally committed to build in exchange for bonus zoning. The change of heart came as part of plans following the court-ordered divestiture of the Regional Bell Operating Companies and the reduced presence it expected to have at the building. In the face of firm opposition from the city, AT&T acquiesced to construction of a three-story exhibition space in an annex located adjoining the pedestrian walkway behind the building.
AT&T had been granted a tax break of $42 million, under the condition that the company would keep its headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue and not rent out the space to other tenants. Having decreased in size substantially, AT&T signed a 20-year lease agreement on 550 Madison with Sony and relocated its headquarters to 32 Sixth Avenue, between Walker and Lispenard Streets. Sony was granted an option to purchase the building. AT&T returned $14.5 million to New York City to compensate it for tax abatements made as part of a 1987 renegotiation.
that had been used to obtain approval for additional floors on top of the building, and convert those areas into retail space. In exchange, the company would expand the glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway with the addition of planters and public seating. Sony expected that the proposed conversion of the 8727 square feet (810.8 m²) of public space could be converted into stores that could be leased at rates that The New York Times
estimated could approach $200 per square foot. The company noted that the space was underutilized as a public amenity because it was "dark, windy and noisy" and that its conversion to commercial space would provide "retail continuity" with the remainder of Madison Avenue.
By 1996, Sony had consolidated most of the operations for its Sony Music Entertainment
division at 550 Madison Avenue, for which The New York Times
noted that "such high-profile and elaborate space is appropriate and necessary." That same year, Sony acquired additional space across the street at 555 Madison Avenue, a 445000 square feet (41,341.9 m²) building built in the 1960s that underwent renovations of its lobby, windows, bathrooms and other common spaces in conjunction with Sony's lease. Sony signed leases through 2013 on an additional 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) on the sixth through ninth floors of the building, on top of an initial rental of 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) of space on the second through fifth floors of the building that it had made in 1995. Rents on the floors had averaged about $34 per square foot at the time. Sony connected the two buildings using fiber optic cables that were run under Madison Avenue and installed microwave communications equipment on the top of the 555 building. Sony made these moves, which included early termination of leases on space in the surrounding area at 711 Fifth Avenue on the 43rd floor at 9 West 57th Street, as part of an effort to lower occupancy costs by bringing its businesses closer together.
A cash-strapped AT&T sold the building to Sony in 2002 for $236 million, or $315 per square foot.
On February 27, 2010, the ice that accumulated from the Third North American blizzard of 2010
fell from an upper floor breaking the glass ceiling of the atrium and injuring at least 15 inside who were at a Purim
celebration.
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...
located at 550 Madison Avenue between 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....
and 56th Street in the 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...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
and partner John Burgee
John Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...
, and was completed in 1984. It became immediately controversial for its ornamental top (sometimes mocked as "Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director...
", after the open pediments
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
characteristic of the famous English designer's bookcases and other cabinetry), but enjoyed for its spectacular arched entranceway, measuring about seven stories in height. With these ornamental additions, the building challenged architectural modernism's demand for stark functionalism and purely efficient design. The effect the building had on the public at large has been described as legitimizing the postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
movement on the world stage.
AT&T Building
In October 1978, AT&T was granted permission to add 81928 square feet (7,611.4 m²), the equivalent of some four floors of space on its proposed building, in exchange for agreeing to provide open public space and a three-story communications museum. The firm was granted an additional 43000 square feet (3,994.8 m²), about two floor's worth, as a bonus for creating a 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²) covered arcade along Madison Avenue that would include seating and retail kiosks.In 1982, with the Bell System divestiture
Bell System divestiture
The Bell System divestiture, or the breakup of AT&T, was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The case, United States v...
set to take effect on January 1, 1984, AT&T decided to seek a tenant to lease 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) of space on the 7th through 25th floors, nearly half the space in the building, and was seeking rents of as much as $60 per square foot. The company had expected to relocate as many as 1,500 employees, most who had been located at the company's old headquarters at 195 Broadway, but the impending divestiture meant it would only be moving 600 employees into 550 Madison, with others being moved to another facility in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- Demographics :As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the 07920 ZIP Code...
.
Spirit of Communication, a 20000 pounds (9,071.8 kg) bronze statue that had stood for 64 years on the top of AT&T's previous headquarters building at 195
195 Broadway
195 Broadway is a 29-story building on Broadway in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was the longtime headquarters of American Telephone and Telegraph, as well as Western Union for a time. It occupies an entire block on one side of Broadway, running from Dey...
Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
, was disassembled and relocated to the lobby of 550 Madison in 1983. The 22 feet (6.7 m) tall figure, modeled in 1916 by American sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman
Evelyn Beatrice Longman
Evelyn Beatrice Longman was the first woman sculptor to be elected a full member of the National Academy of Design in 1919. Her allegorical figure works were commissioned as monuments and memorials, adornment for public buildings, and attractions at art expositions in early 20th-century America.-...
, is holding bolts of electricity clutched in one arm reaching towards the sky and has coils of cable wound around the statue's torso. After AT&T moved out of the building, the statue was relocated to a spot outside of its Basking Ridge operational headquarters in 1992.
In 1984, the company indicated that it would not build the museum that it had originally committed to build in exchange for bonus zoning. The change of heart came as part of plans following the court-ordered divestiture of the Regional Bell Operating Companies and the reduced presence it expected to have at the building. In the face of firm opposition from the city, AT&T acquiesced to construction of a three-story exhibition space in an annex located adjoining the pedestrian walkway behind the building.
AT&T had been granted a tax break of $42 million, under the condition that the company would keep its headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue and not rent out the space to other tenants. Having decreased in size substantially, AT&T signed a 20-year lease agreement on 550 Madison with Sony and relocated its headquarters to 32 Sixth Avenue, between Walker and Lispenard Streets. Sony was granted an option to purchase the building. AT&T returned $14.5 million to New York City to compensate it for tax abatements made as part of a 1987 renegotiation.
Sony Building
In 1992, Sony submitted plans that required approval by the New York City Planning Commission, in which it would take some of the open space in the building's atriumAtrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
that had been used to obtain approval for additional floors on top of the building, and convert those areas into retail space. In exchange, the company would expand the glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway with the addition of planters and public seating. Sony expected that the proposed conversion of the 8727 square feet (810.8 m²) of public space could be converted into stores that could be leased at rates that The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
estimated could approach $200 per square foot. The company noted that the space was underutilized as a public amenity because it was "dark, windy and noisy" and that its conversion to commercial space would provide "retail continuity" with the remainder of Madison Avenue.
By 1996, Sony had consolidated most of the operations for its Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
division at 550 Madison Avenue, for which The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that "such high-profile and elaborate space is appropriate and necessary." That same year, Sony acquired additional space across the street at 555 Madison Avenue, a 445000 square feet (41,341.9 m²) building built in the 1960s that underwent renovations of its lobby, windows, bathrooms and other common spaces in conjunction with Sony's lease. Sony signed leases through 2013 on an additional 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) on the sixth through ninth floors of the building, on top of an initial rental of 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) of space on the second through fifth floors of the building that it had made in 1995. Rents on the floors had averaged about $34 per square foot at the time. Sony connected the two buildings using fiber optic cables that were run under Madison Avenue and installed microwave communications equipment on the top of the 555 building. Sony made these moves, which included early termination of leases on space in the surrounding area at 711 Fifth Avenue on the 43rd floor at 9 West 57th Street, as part of an effort to lower occupancy costs by bringing its businesses closer together.
A cash-strapped AT&T sold the building to Sony in 2002 for $236 million, or $315 per square foot.
On February 27, 2010, the ice that accumulated from the Third North American blizzard of 2010
Third North American blizzard of 2010
The February 25–27, 2010 North American blizzard was a winter storm and severe weather event that occurred in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States between February 24–26, 2010...
fell from an upper floor breaking the glass ceiling of the atrium and injuring at least 15 inside who were at a Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
celebration.
Sony Wonder Technology Lab
The Sony Wonder Technology Lab is a multimedia, hands-on tour through the world of media, located in a four-story annex accessible through a glass-roofed atrium that connects 55th and 56th Streets in mid-block. Open Tuesday through Saturday, Sony bills the free exhibits as a "technology and entertainment museum for all ages". During 2008, the museum's third and fourth floors underwent renovations that were expected to be completed in fall 2008. Sony Wonder replaced Infoquest Center, a permanent telecommunications exhibition that had been built by AT&T.See also
- List of tallest buildings in New York City
- AT&T Corporate CenterAT&T Corporate CenterThe Franklin Center is a 60-story skyscraper completed in 1989 as the AT&T Corporate Center to consolidate the central region headquarters of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company . It stands at a height of and contains in the Loop neighborhood of downtown Chicago...
- Sony Building (Tokyo)
Literature
- Dirk Stichweh: New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing Company, Munich 2009, ISBN 3791340549