275 Madison Avenue
[2] In the mid-19th century, the surrounding section of Murray Hill was developed as an upscale residential district, with the estates of many prominent families.[20] 275 Madison Avenue is designed with a three-story base of black granite, above which is a 40-story tower clad with white brick and dark terracotta.Above the entryway and slightly in front of the building's outer wall, there is a translucent glass panel with the metal characters "275".The first and third bays from north, respectively to the left and right of the Madison Avenue banking entrance, contain a large window pane at ground level and three spandrel–windows above.[20][38] Architectural writer Christopher Gray wrote that the motifs "could be kissing owls, or hooded figures, or the face cards in a deck from another planet".[20] Walker & Gillette designed a bank branch for the New York Trust Company in the first floor, mezzanine, and basement.[42] The main banking walls were made of English oak and embedded nickel bronze, as well as Byzantine and Belgian black marble.[23][24] A three-story suite at the top of the building had a private elevator and staircases, as well as executive offices and a greenhouse area.[50][51] Kenneth Franzheim was involved in designing several of Houston Properties' developments;[36][52] he was part of a relatively small "business family" from which Jesse Jones tended to hire.[50][53] In July 1929, the New York Trust Company acquired the property at 275 Madison Avenue, abutting its branch office at number 277.In April 1930, Jesse Jones approached both the New York Trust Company and the owner of 273 Madison Avenue with the intent of acquiring a site large enough for "a tall office building".[11][58] This was part of Jones's frequent practice of creating different companies to operate his building so issues with one property would not affect the others.[11][59] In preparation for the skyscraper's construction, New York Trust received authorization in May 1930 to open a temporary branch across the street at 274 Madison Avenue.[62][63] The Title Guarantee and Trust Company gave the 277 Madison Avenue Corporation a seven-year, $440,000 mortgage,[64][65] and the project also received a $3.2 million loan.[42][67] The renting agents, Cross & Brown, ran advertisements proclaiming that the building was being developed in "Uptown Wall Street" and promising "superior floor arrangements".[11] Among the earliest office tenants were the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce,[68] the American Bankers Association,[69] the American Safety Razor Company,[70] the Radio Manufacturers Association,[71] accounting firm Haskins & Sells,[72] paper distributor Gottesman & Co.,[73] and Swedish royal family relative Folke Bernadotte.[25][81] After the Johns Manville Corporation leased six floors at 22 East 40th Street for its general headquarters in January 1933, the building also became known for the company.When the Marine Midland Bank extended a $3.2 million mortgage on the building in 1934, the tax, water, and amortization fees were in arrears due to missed payments.[11] 275 Madison Avenue was sold in March 1943 to a group of businessmen, and Brown Wheelock Harris Stevens Inc. took over the leasing.American Home Products simultaneously leased most of the building's top 23 stories as headquarters offices for the main company and nine subsidiaries.[25][89] The sale was finalized in January 1952, and Tishman secured a first mortgage of $3.2 million from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.[97][98] The stories being vacated were relatively small, ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 square feet (190 to 650 m2), so the space was marketed to smaller tenants as cheap offices near Grand Central.[101] In 1962, Madison Park Associates acquired the leasehold from the 22 East 40th Street Equity Corporation; both companies were headed by Stanley and Max Stahl.[21] Johns-Manville, the building's major tenant, announced in 1971 that it would move its corporate headquarters to a suburb of Denver, Colorado.This led to large losses when office spaces in comparable buildings began to rise, and the first mortgage holder, CNA Financial, had begun foreclosure proceedings by 1976.[103] The buyer was acting on behalf of foreign syndication firm Gestam Inc., which leased space to ten tenants within months of the purchase.The owners decided to create an expanded lobby and a new entrance within part of the Madison Avenue storefront after the expiration of a lease there.[106] Two years later, in 1998, Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs of RFR Realty bought the lease on 275 Madison Avenue for $42 million.[110] The RPW Group, headed by Robert Weisz, offered over $270 million for the building less than two months after the sale was announced.[111][112] That August, the Blackstone Group and SL Green Realty gave RPW a $240 million loan to finance the purchase.
Art DecoManhattanCoordinatesKenneth FranzheimNew York City LandmarkMurray HillNew York CityMadison Avenue40th StreetGrand Central TerminalInternationalfacadepilastersspandrelssetbacks1916 Zoning ResolutionJesse H. JonesGreat DepressionNew York Trust CompanyJohns ManvilleAmerican Home ProductsNew York City Landmarks Preservation CommissionMidtownfrontageStavros Niarchos Foundation Library10 East 40th Street461 Fifth AvenueLefcourt Colonial Building101 Park AvenueThe New York TimesInternational StyleBerenice Abbottelevationlight courtRobert A. M. SternChanin BuildingFuller Building57th StreetBloomingdale'sfenestrationterracottamullionssash windowsstate nicknamelouverChristopher GraycornicesentablaturespedimentsRaymond HoodDaily News BuildinglintelsparapetchevronchamferedWalker & Gillettegross floor areaHoustontopped outReconstruction Finance CorporationAeronautical Chamber of CommerceAmerican Bankers AssociationAmerican Safety Razor CompanyRadio Manufacturers AssociationHaskins & SellsFolke Bernadottesecond mortgagereceiversNew York Supreme CourtMarine Midland BankamortizationarrearsTishman Realty & ConstructionProcter & GambleBabcock & WilcoxMetropolitan Life Insurance CompanyMassachusetts Mutual Life Insurance CompanyLawrence WienHarry HelmsleyEquity FundingDenverleverageCNA FinancialsyndicationMutual Life Insurance Company of New YorkAby Rosenthe Blackstone GroupSL Green RealtyUllicoLord & TaylorArt Deco architecture of New York CityList of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th StreetsHorace PorterNew York City Department of City PlanningWhite, NorvalAIA Guide to New York CityJackson, Kenneth T.The Encyclopedia of New York CityYale University PressProQuestDiamonstein-Spielvogel, BarbaraleeState University of New York PressMidtown (30th–42nd Sts)Midtown SouthOne Penn Plaza5 Times Sq11 Times Sq15 Penn Plaza130 W 30th St350 5th Av452 5th Av (HSBC Tower)1065 6th Av1095 6th AvAmerican Radiator BuildingThe BryantBryant Park StudiosBush TowerCandler BuildingThe Continental NYCEmpire State BuildingEngineering Societies' BuildingEngineers' Club BuildingThe EpicGreenwich Savings Bank BuildingJames A. Farley BuildingLord & Taylor Building