32 Avenue of the Americas
32 Avenue of the Americas | |
---|---|
Fox & Fowle Architects P.C. | |
Website | |
https://www.32-aofa.com/ | |
New York City Landmark | |
Designated | October 1, 1991 |
Reference no. | 1747 (exterior) 1748 (interior) |
References | |
[1] |
32 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the AT&T Long Lines Building, AT&T Building, or 32 Sixth Avenue) is a 27-story, 549-foot-tall (167 m) telecommunications building in the
32 Avenue of the Americas was the last skyscraper designed by Walker in
32 Avenue of the Americas's design features a complex
Architecture
32 Avenue of the Americas is 27 stories and 549 feet (167 m) tall; this height includes two 120-foot-tall (37 m) spires added to the original 429-foot (131 m) height.[1] It is located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. It occupies a trapezoidal city block bounded by Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas) to the west, Walker Street to the south, Church Street to the east, and Lispenard Street to the north. The Walker and Lispenard Street sides are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the Church Street side. The Sixth Avenue side runs diagonally, intersecting both Lispenard and Walker Streets.[2]
The building was designed by Ralph Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker in the Art Deco style.[3][4] 32 Avenue of the Americas was one of several Art Deco buildings in the New York City area that Walker designed, after the Barclay–Vesey Building (1927), New Jersey Bell Headquarters Building (1929), 60 Hudson Street (1930), and 1 Wall Street and 101 Willoughby Street (1931).[5][6] It was also the last major skyscraper Walker designed in Lower Manhattan.[4] Within the New York City area, McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin designed numerous other buildings for AT&T or its affiliates during the same time span,[4] and the firm had also previously built structures for AT&T elsewhere in New York state.[7] 32 Avenue of the Americas was one of several technologically advanced headquarters erected in the mid-20th century for communications and utility companies in the U.S.[4] Its design program was mainly composed of woven motifs, because AT&T had described long-distance switchboard operators as "Weavers of Speech".[8]
Form
32 Avenue of the Americas contains numerous setbacks on its exterior.[4][9] Though setbacks in New York City skyscrapers were mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution in order to allow light and air to reach the streets below, they later became a defining feature of the Art Deco style.[10] The setbacks have been characterized as looking like a "brick mountain" or a "steel skeleton draped with a finely crafted brick curtain".[11] According to architectural historian Anthony W. Robins, 32 Avenue of the Americas is more geometrically organized than 60 Hudson Street and the Barclay–Vesey Building, as it was the last of the group to be completed.[9]
32 Avenue of the Americas includes portions of two structures: the original Lispenard Building, completed in 1914, and the AT&T Long Distance Building, an expansion completed in 1932. The bulky 24-story
The western elevation, along Sixth Avenue, consisted of a "screen" with 15-story wings on either side of a central portion rising 16 stories.[8] Behind the 15-story sections rise two 21-story wings, followed by the original structure and the "spine".[12] The other three elevations were designed around the paired window layouts of the original building's north and south elevations.[8] The northeastern corner of the building contains setbacks at the 15th, 21st, and 22nd stories. The northwestern corner contains a diagonal chamfer.[12]
Facade
A brick
The remainder of the facade is emphasized by piers with a V-shaped texture, as well as spandrels with ornamental patterns.[11] The walls are designed with undulating patterns that generally run at an angle to the adjacent streets.[11][14] The bottom of the facade contains a water table made of pink granite. The original building mainly consists of a red-and-brown brick facade. On the original facade, each vertical bay includes a pair of six-over-six sash windows made of wood, or a pair of ventilation louvers.[11] The newer portions of the facade are made of bricks tinted in different shades of red, orange, brown, and gray; these primarily have a rough texture with thick mortar joints between each brick. On the newer sections, each bay contains single or paired six-over-six sash windows made of steel.[12]
Features
32 Avenue of the Americas contains 1.17 million square feet (109,000 m2) of office space.[15] The heights of each floor were based around the original building's floor heights.[8] The top three floors were built atop a 90-foot-long (27 m), 450-foot-high (140 m) steel truss, which rested on the roofs of the two new wings, above the height of the original building. The loads on the truss were mitigated by the usage of lightweight concrete.[11]
Lobby
The building's ground-level lobby is composed of a corridor from Sixth Avenue to Church Street.[14][16] Both ends of the lobby are approached by entrance vestibules with two bronze revolving doors flanked by two bronze hinged doors. The Sixth Avenue side contains an alcove in its vestibule, which leads to an auditorium.[16] Three elevator-lobby corridors branch off from the main corridor at a 90-degree angle: the two corridors on the north side of the lobby each have a bank of elevators, while the corridor on the south side leads to a bank of four elevators.[17] The Church Street side of the lobby is supported by a series of piers along the center of the corridor, and contains two perpendicular bends.[16] An elevator bank with two elevators is located on the southern wall of the lobby near the Church Street entrance.[17]
A white terrazzo floor with gray stripes extends through much of the lobby. The walls contain pink marble at their bottoms, above which are vertical ceramic tiles separated by red-tile pilasters.[16] The ceiling has a surface of mauve stucco.[18] The lobby also contains features such as bronze ventilation louvers and indirect-lighting fixtures.[16] Minor alterations have been made in the lobby over the years. On the Church Street side, the elevator bank used to contain two additional openings; throughout the lobby, signs and lighting have also been changed.[18] The lobby also contains an allegorical mosaic designed by Hildreth Meière, who also designed the interior of 1 Wall Street.[1][19][14] On the southern wall of the Sixth Avenue section is a tiled map of the world, measuring 16 by 23 feet (4.9 by 7.0 m).[16] The map contains the caption "Telephone Wires and Radio Unite to Make Neighbors of Nations".[14][20]
The ceiling mosaic contains allegorical representations of Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa, connected by stylized telephone lines radiating from two female messengers in the center of the ceiling.[14][18] Asia is depicted as an empress with an elephant and tiger beside her, with a pagoda in the background. The representation of Europe wears a crown and holds a spear and orb while leaning on an Ionic-style capital; there is a Roman aqueduct, St. Peter's Basilica, and Notre-Dame de Paris in the background. The representation of Australia is shown holding a sheaf of wheat, beside a sheep and a kangaroo. An Egyptian queen, depicting Africa, is shown holding a fan, with two lions and the Egyptian pyramids behind her.[18] The messengers in the center are flanked by an eagle and a condor, representing North and South America.[14][18] As a cost-cutting measure during the Depression, the ceiling mosaics were executed in a silhouette mosaic style, in which the outlines and details are made of traditional mosaic tile, and the interior areas are filled in with colored plaster. Meière had originally planned to decorate the ceiling with images of female telephone operators, but AT&T rejected those plans.[14] One of the female messengers in the center of the ceiling is wearing a stiletto heel, which may be a reference to Meière's original design.[21]
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World map detail
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Eagle ceiling mosaic detail
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Condor ceiling mosaic detail
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Asia mosaic detail
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Europe mosaic detail
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Australia mosaic detail
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Africa mosaic detail
Telecommunications
At the building's peak operation, every
The operations at 32 Avenue of the Americas were described as a "small city" operating 24/7, with 32 elevators to accommodate the building's 5,500 employees. There was 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of rentable space when the building opened, though the toll and long lines offices occupied about 85% of that area. The first floor contained classes and recreation for employees, as well as a 500-seat theater. A kitchen, three cafeterias, and dormitories were located on the 7th through 9th floors. There were executive offices on the 26th floor as well as legal, human relations, and media offices on the 27th floor.[11][23]
History
Context
The block containing 32 Avenue of the Americas was part of the
The
Construction and expansion
Plans for the Walker-Lispenard Building at 24 Walker Street were announced in 1911.
24 Walker Street was completed in January 1914 and was among the world's largest structures used solely for telephone operations.[27] Western Union took up the top five floors—having moved from the Western Union Telegraph Building, which was being demolished to make way for 195 Broadway—while AT&T and New York Telephone moved into the lower 12 floors.[33] In March 1914, McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin submitted an application to the New York City Department of Buildings for a seven-story addition, which would increase the total height to 24 stories.[27][34] The addition, completed by 1919, contained a similar facade design to the original building, with cornices above the 23rd and 24th floors.[27] Following the annex's completion, New York Telephone moved two of its Manhattan telephone exchanges into the 18th through 23rd floors. The company also had the United States' largest long-distance telephone exchange, containing 2,200 intercity lines and positions for 1,470 switchboard operators, as well as a switchboard for transatlantic radio and telephone communications.[27][35] Even so, the company had used up all the space in the annex by the late 1920s.[27]
Completion
The surrounding area underwent multiple changes in the late 1920s and early 1930s that resulted in AT&T's acquisition of the entire block.[27] The first change occurred in 1926, when the extension of Sixth Avenue southward from Greenwich Village was announced as a means to provide a more direct route for traffic to and from the Holland Tunnel.[36] This occurred simultaneously with the construction of the Eighth Avenue subway under Church Street and Sixth Avenue. Starting in 1929, the entirety of Church Street was widened from 40 to 90 feet (12 to 27 m); the project necessitated the acquisition of properties on the western side of the street.[37] These projects resulted in the demolition of the six properties on the eastern side of the block containing 24 Walker Street, as well as the westernmost third of the block, which was in the path of Sixth Avenue.[27] The Sixth Avenue extension opened in 1930,[38] and both street-widening projects and the subway were completed in 1932.[39][40]
In August 1929, New York Telephone paid the city $300,000 for two lots along the eastern sidewalk of the Sixth Avenue extension.[41] Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker—renamed from McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin[42]—submitted plans for adding two 27-story annexes and a penthouse to 24 Walker Street in September 1929. The extensions would have a similar design to the existing structure and would take up the remainder of the block between Sixth Avenue and Walker, Lispenard, and Church Streets, except for a chamfer at the building's northwestern corner. The floor area would be more than doubled, from 400,000 to 812,000 square feet (37,200 to 75,400 m2).[43] The expansion was estimated to cost $6–7 million[27][44] (equivalent to $106–124 million in 2023).[45] This was part of a $600 million expansion plan that New York Telephone planned to undertake between 1930 and 1934.[46]
Work started first on the western annex.[47] The structures on that side were destroyed starting in April 1930 and the steel frame was being built by that October. The structures to the east were destroyed from February 1931, with erection of the steel structure starting that June. The facade of the original building was also modified. Workers started moving into the expanded AT&T Long Distance building in early 1932. The annexes' construction necessitated the relocation and addition of utility pipes, ventilation systems, plumbing systems, and power and telephone lines, while maintaining long-distance service throughout.[7] After the completion of 24 Walker Street's annexes, its address was changed to 32 Sixth Avenue,[48][a] and it became the world's largest long-distance communications hub.[9][51] Several of the construction workers who helped work on the expansion were later given awards for craftsmanship.[52]
Later years
For much of the 20th century, the AT&T Long Distance Building remained largely unchanged, except for upgrades to equipment, and AT&T was the sole occupant of the building.[11] The exteriors and ground-floor lobbies of 32 Avenue of the Americas and two other telecommunications buildings were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 1991.[53][54][b] An AT&T spokesperson said at the time, "We are pleased that the city has named it a landmark."[53] The following year, when AT&T sold its headquarters at 550 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan to Sony,[c] AT&T moved its head offices to 32 Avenue of the Americas.[25]
AT&T was considering selling off 32 Avenue of the Americas by 1999, and estimated that such a sale would gross $125–150 million, though it planned to lease back 30 to 40 percent of the space.[56] The privately held Rudin Management Company bought the structure from AT&T in 1999.[22][57] AT&T kept 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2), including its boardroom on the 25th floor, but the rest of the space was leased to other communications companies.[22]
Upon buying 32 Avenue of the Americas, the Rudins planned to renovate the building into a "New York Global Connectivity Center".
Following the renovations, 32 Avenue of the Americas was leased to corporate clients, and by 2006, it was almost fully occupied.
See also
- Art Deco architecture of New York City
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
References
Notes
- ^ Unlike with the extension of Seventh Avenue, which was given a different name and address system than the rest of the avenue, the extension of Sixth Avenue retained the same name and address system as the preexisting portion of the avenue. Since the avenue's address numbering system increased sequentially from south to north, all existing address numbers were increased by 300. Therefore, the address "32 Sixth Avenue" has also applied to addresses further north.[49] Additionally, when Sixth Avenue was officially renamed Avenue of the Americas in 1945, the building's official address became 32 Avenue of the Americas.[50]
- ^ The other buildings were the Barclay–Vesey Building at 140 West Street and the Western Union Building at 60 Hudson Street five blocks south.[53]
- ^ AT&T had moved from 195 Broadway to 550 Madison Avenue in 1984.[55]
Citations
- ^ a b c "AT&T Building". EMPORIS. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Archivedfrom the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ Robins 2017, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 5.
- ^ "Western Union Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 1, 1991. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ Robins 2017, p. 214.
- ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 6.
- ^ a b c d Robins 2017, p. 43.
- from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e f g Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 8.
- ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Soho / Tribeca" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Robins 2017, p. 44.
- ^ "32 Avenue of the Americas Midtown South". Rudin Management Company. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1991, p. 7.
- ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1991, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1991, p. 8.
- ^ "Step Inside Three of New York City's Hidden Interior Landmark Jewels". Metropolis. September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1991, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 1991, p. 12.
- ^ from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c AT&T (May 9, 1932). "Long Distance Headquarters Moved". Headquarters Bulletin. Vol. 6, no. 5. pp. 1–2. (Also see the booklet "The Long Distance Building. 32 Sixth Avenue, New York").
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- ^ from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 3.
- ^ American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1915). The story of a great achievement. Telephone communication from coast to coast. Bartlett-Orr Press. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "American Telephone and Telegraph Building" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. July 25, 2006. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Manhattan's Biggest Telephone Building" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 87, no. 2238. February 4, 1911. p. 205. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ^ "Plans Filed for Alterations" (PDF). The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. Vol. 93, no. 2401. March 21, 1914. p. 532. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020 – via columbia.edu.
- ^ "Company Plans Extensive Addition to Walker Street Building". The Telephone Review. Vol. 21, no. 4. April 1930. p. 28.
- from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
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- from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ "Telephone Building Additions to Double Present Floor Space". Home Talk the Star. March 28, 1930. p. 14. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Phone Co. Plans to Spend Vast Sums in 1930". Brooklyn Standard Union. January 6, 1930. p. 8. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Phone Company Leader in Utility Building Program". New York Daily News. March 29, 1930. p. 140. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "History of the AT&T Network: Milestones in AT&T Network History: 1914". AT&T. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
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- from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1991, p. 1.
- from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
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- from the original on September 19, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ "32 Sixth Avenue | TRD Research". therealdeal.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "FXCollaborative – 32 Avenue of the Americas". www.fxcollaborative.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ "The Hub at 32 Sixth Avenue". April 17, 2011. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ "32 Avenue of Americas : New York City". 32sixthave.com. June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Staff, R. E. W. (August 30, 2013). "Verizon renews at high-tech Rudin tower". Real Estate Weekly. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- ^ "The Hub at 32 Sixth Avenue". thehubat32sixth.com. December 15, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "32 Avenue of the Americas Data Center". Baxtel-Datacenter Resource. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "iHeartRadio Theater". QRO Magazine. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nosy Neighbor: P.C. Richard & Son Theater". Tribeca Citizen. November 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "LPC Approves Renovations at 32 Avenue of the Americas in Tribeca, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. September 5, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
Sources
- Long Distance Building of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 1, 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020.
- Long Distance Building of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company Interior (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 1, 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020.
- Robins, Anthony W. (2017). New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham's Jazz Age Architecture. Excelsior Editions. State University of New York Press. OCLC 953576510.
External links
- Media related to 32 Avenue of the Americas at Wikimedia Commons