Uris Buildings Corporation
Company type | Office Buildings |
---|
Uris Buildings Corporation was a
History
Percy started the business in 1920 with his father Harris H. Uris (c. 1867–1945),
They resumed apartment construction in 1937 with 2 Sutton Place and 930 Fifth Avenue in 1939. Few other prominent New York City builders of the
From 1945 to 1971, Uris Buildings and its predecessor build over 13,000,000 sq ft (1,200,000 m2) of
Percy handled most financial aspects of the business, such as buying and selling property, negotiation of loans, financing, rental pricing, and profit calculation. Management of construction activity was primarily the realm of Harold.
Projects outside of New York included the
The company was reported to be valued at over $600 million in 1972.[1]
Uris Brothers developments were not architecturally imaginative or sophisticated. The company was focused on creating large profitable spaces at low cost.[1][8] Famous real estate investor Harry Helmsley credits Uris with "having a profound effect on shaping the Park Avenue skyline above 45th Street".[4]
Park Avenue
Under Park Avenue in New York City, north of 45th Street, is the
In 1955, Uris demolished an apartment building at 300 Park and replaced it with the glass and aluminum sheathed Colgate-Palmolive Building. The building was financially successful because analysis by structural engineer James Ruderman determined that some below-grade structural columns of the old building, which threaded through the track structure to bedrock 50 feet (15 m) down, could be reused significantly reducing cost. The success of the project led Uris to purchase air rights over the tracks at 320 and 350 Park. Other developers soon followed and several more buildings were then built over the tracks.[10]
Penn Center
In 1953, drawings for the Three Penn Center building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons, were released. The design was viewed critically and called an "unremarkable twenty-story slab". Then
Three years later, while Three Penn Center was under construction, Uris released plans for Two Penn Center, its second building in the project. This building was considered as bad as the first building. The Board of Design realized Uris would not improve the aesthetics of the building unless forced and recommended changes to make the building more attractive. This building was under authority of the Art Commission due to its location near the scenic Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Art Commission, who did not want to replicate the architecture of Three Penn Center, reached agreement with Uris that steel would not be ordered until the commission approved the plans. In spite of the agreement, Uris again claimed the steel was ordered and the design could not be changed. The commission gave up trying to oppose Uris.[8]
Media
Notable projects
Uris Brothers developed the following buildings either solely or jointly with others.[3][12]
Name (original) | Address (NYC unless noted) | Alt Name | Year | Type | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Court Square Building[2] | 2 Lafayette Street | 1926 | Residential | |||
1 University Place[2] | 1 University Place | 1929 | Residential | |||
Dixie Hotel
|
250 West 43rd Street | Hotel Carter | 1930 | Hotel | ||
Hotel St. Moritz[2] | 50 Central Park South | Ritz Carlton | 1932 | Hotel | ||
2 Sutton Place[4]
|
2 Sutton Place | 1938 | Residential | |||
930 Fifth Avenue[4] | 930 Fifth Avenue | 1940 | Residential | |||
880 Fifth Avenue[4] | 880 Fifth Avenue | 1948 | Residential | Their last residential building | ||
55 Water Street[1][6] | 55 Water Street | 1972 | Office Building | Their last major building World's largest office building in 1972 | ||
American Tobacco Company Building[1] | 245 Park Avenue | American Brands Building Bear Sterns Building |
1967 | Office Building | ||
JC Penney Building[1]
|
333 W 33rd Street | Pennview Hotel | 1925 | Office Building | JC Penney purchased a different building in 1977 | |
ITT Building[1]
|
75 Broad Street | 1928 | Office Building | Millennium High School now located on 13th floor | ||
RCA Communications Building[1][6] | 60 Broad Street | 1961 | Office Building | |||
Uris Building[6] | 1633 Broadway | Paramount Plaza | 1971 | Office Building | Location of Uris Theatre, now Gershwin Theatre | |
1301 Avenue of the Americas | 1301 Avenue of the Americas
|
Calyon Building, Crédit Lyonnais Building, Crédit Agricole CIB Building, RJR Nabisco Building, JC Penney Building | 1964 | Office Building | Not to be confused with the 1925 JCPenney Building | |
New York Hilton Midtown[1] | 1335 Avenue of the Americas | 1964 | Hotel | |||
Look Building[6] | 488 Madison Avenue | 1950 | Office Building | National Register of Historic Places listed | ||
380 Madison Avenue[6][1] | 380 Madison Avenue | 1953 | Office Building | previously a Ritz-Carlton hotel
| ||
Colgate-Palmolive Building[6][1] | 300 Park Avenue | 1955 | Office Building | |||
575 Madison Avenue[6] | 575 Madison Avenue | 1950 | Office Building | |||
485 Lexington Avenue[6] | 485 Lexington Avenue | 1956 | Office Building | |||
2 Broadway[6] | 2 Broadway | 1959 | Office Building | |||
850 Third Avenue[6] | 850 Third Avenue | 1961 | Office Building | |||
Manufacturers Hanover Trust Building[6] | 350 Park Avenue | 1962 | Office Building | |||
Sperry Rand Building[6] | 1290 Avenue of the Americans | 1962 | Office Building | |||
111 Wall Street[6] | 111 Wall Street | Citibank Building | 1966 | Office Building | ||
Harper & Row Building[6] | 10 53rd Street | 1972 | Office Building | |||
Hilton Washington[1]
|
1919 Washington D.C.
|
1965 | Hotel | |||
Three Penn Center[1][7] | 1515 Market Street Philadelphia |
1958 | Office Building | |||
Two Penn Center[1][8] | 1500 JFK Boulevard Philadelphia |
1958 | Office Building | |||
Blue Hill Plaza[1] | Pearl River, New York | Office Building |
Gallery
-
Paramount Plaza
-
Blue Hill Plaza
-
55 Water Street
-
Credit Lyonnais Building
-
New York Hilton Midtown
-
Look Building
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Kihss, Peter (March 29, 1982). "Harold Uris, Skyscraper Developer and Philanthropist, is dead at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Landmarks Preservation Commission: "LOOK BUILDING, 488 Madison Avenue"" (PDF). July 27, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Uris, Percy. "Percy and Harold D. Uris papers". Columbia University Libraries. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Specter, Michael (July 19, 1981). "Harold Uris Recollects with Pride". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "Uris". Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Percy & Harold D. Uris". Columbia University Libraries. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
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(help) - ^ a b "Uris Brothers". philadelphiabuildings.org. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780812207842.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-6510-7.
- ISBN 9780262033244.
- ^ "Conde Nast Collection". condenaststore.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ "Uris Brothers buildings". Emporis.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.[dead link]
External links
- Uris Brothers buildings[dead link] at Emporis website