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270 Park Avenue (1960–2021)

1960 establishments in New York City2021 disestablishments in New York (state)Buildings and structures demolished in 2021Demolished buildings and structures in ManhattanFinancial services company headquarters in the United States
International style architecture in New York CityJPMorgan Chase buildingsMidtown ManhattanOffice buildings completed in 1960Park AvenueSkidmore, Owings & Merrill buildingsSkyscraper office buildings in ManhattanUse mdy dates from April 2022
270 Park Avenue
270 Park Avenue

270 Park Avenue, also the JPMorgan Chase Tower and Union Carbide Building, was a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1960 for chemical company Union Carbide, it was designed by architects Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The 52-story, 707-foot (215 m) skyscraper was the global headquarters for JPMorgan Chase prior to its demolition in 2021. The Union Carbide Building was the tallest peacefully demolished building in the world upon its destruction. A taller skyscraper with the same address, to be completed in 2025, is being constructed on the site. The building occupied a full city block bounded by Madison Avenue, 48th Street, Park Avenue, and 47th Street and was composed of two sections. The main shaft, facing east toward Park Avenue, was 52 stories tall. There was a 12-story annex facing west toward Madison Avenue. About two-thirds of 270 Park Avenue was built atop two levels of underground railroad tracks, which feed directly into Grand Central Terminal to the south. This not only prevented a basement from being built under most of the site but also required that the lobby be one story above ground level. Union Carbide's offices were designed around a grid of 5-by-5-foot (1.5 by 1.5 m) modules. The offices contained flexible furnishings and partitions, as well as a luminous ceilings. The Union Carbide Building received mixed criticism during its existence. The site had been occupied by the Hotel Marguery from 1917 to 1957. Union Carbide leased the land from New York Central Railroad (later Penn Central) and announced plans for the building in 1955. Union Carbide moved into its headquarters in 1960 and acquired the underlying land in 1976 after Penn Central went bankrupt. After three years of negotiations, Union Carbide agreed in 1978 to sell the building to Manufacturers Hanover Corporation. Manufacturers Hanover moved into 270 Park Avenue in 1980 and renovated the building. Through several mergers, Manufacturers Hanover became part of JPMorgan Chase. The bank announced plans to demolish the building in 2018. Despite preservationists' objections, the Union Carbide Building was demolished from 2019 to 2021.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article 270 Park Avenue (1960–2021) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

270 Park Avenue (1960–2021)
East Helmsley Walk, New York Manhattan

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.7558 ° E -73.9754 °
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Grand Central Terminal

East Helmsley Walk
10169 New York, Manhattan
New York, United States
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270 Park Avenue
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277 Park Avenue
277 Park Avenue

277 Park Avenue is an office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It stands on the east side of Park Avenue between East 47th and 48th Streets, and is 687 feet (209 m) tall, with 50 floors. It is tied with two other buildings, 55 Water Street and 5 Beekman Street, as the 73rd tallest building in New York. The building currently houses parts of JPMorgan Chase's Investment Bank, Commercial Bank, and other corporate functions. JP Morgan's takeover of Bear Stearns in 2008 resulted in most investment banking employees moving to 383 Madison Avenue to reduce the leased real estate footprint in Midtown. 277 Park Avenue remains under the ownership of the family-owned Stahl Organization, the building's original developer. Previous tenants have included Penthouse Magazine, Schlumberger, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and Chemical Bank (predecessor to JPMorgan Chase). The office building opened on July 13, 1964. An apartment building designed by McKim, Mead, and White previously occupied the site. One tenant of that building was the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. Prior to the construction of the McKim, Mead and White building, the block was among the landholdings of Elizabeth Goelet Kip and her son George Goelet Kip. In the 1870s, as part of the expansion of nearby Grand Central Depot, the land was subject to a protracted legal battle which resulted in Elizabeth Kip being forced by eminent domain to sell the land to the New York and Harlem Railroad for $212,500.

Waldorf Astoria New York
Waldorf Astoria New York

The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story 625 ft (191 m) Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The building was the world's tallest hotel from 1931 until 1963 when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina by 23 feet (7.0 m). An icon of glamour and luxury, the current Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best-known hotels. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts is a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world now operates under the name, including in New York City. Both the exterior and the interior of the Waldorf Astoria are designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as official landmarks. The original Waldorf–Astoria was built in two stages along Fifth Avenue and opened in 1893; it was demolished in 1929 to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building. Particularly after its relocation, the Waldorf Astoria gained international renown for its lavish dinner parties and galas, often at the center of political and business conferences and fundraising schemes involving the rich and famous. After World War II, it played a significant role in world politics and the Cold War, culminating in the controversial World Peace Conference of March 1949. Conrad Hilton acquired management rights to the hotel on October 12, 1949, and the Hilton Hotels Corporation finally bought the hotel outright in 1972. It underwent a $150 million renovation ($493 million in 2021 dollars ) by Lee Jablin in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Anbang Insurance Group of China (now Dajia Insurance Group) purchased the Waldorf Astoria New York for US$1.95 billion in 2014, making it the most expensive hotel ever sold. The Waldorf was closed in 2017 and its upper-floor hotel rooms were converted into 375 condominiums called The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria. The renovated structure will retain 375 hotel rooms on the lowest 18 floors and is expected to reopen by early 2023. The Waldorf Astoria and Towers has a total of 1,413 hotel rooms as of 2014. In 2009, when it had 1,416 rooms, the main hotel had 1,235 single and double rooms and 208 mini-suites, while the Waldorf Towers, from the 28th floor up to the 42nd, had 181 rooms, of which 115 were suites, with one to four bedrooms. Several of the luxury suites are named after celebrities who lived or stayed in them such as the Cole Porter Suite, the Royal Suite, named after the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the MacArthur Suite, and the Churchill Suite. The most expensive room, the Presidential Suite, is designed with Georgian-style furniture to emulate that of the White House. It was the residence of Herbert Hoover from his retirement for over 30 years, and Frank Sinatra kept a suite at the Waldorf from 1979 until 1988. The hotel has three main restaurants: Peacock Alley, The Bull, and Bear Steak House, and La Chine—a new Chinese restaurant that replaced Oscar's Brasserie in late 2015. Sir Harry's Bar, also located in the hotel, is named after British explorer Sir Harry Johnston.

Helmsley Building
Helmsley Building

The Helmsley Building is a 35-story building at 230 Park Avenue between East 45th and 46th streets in Midtown Manhattan, just north of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. It was built in 1929 as the New York Central Building and was designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style. It was the tallest structure in the "Terminal City" complex around Grand Central prior to the completion of what is now the MetLife Building. The Helmsley Building carries vehicular traffic through its base: traffic exits and enters the Park Avenue Viaduct through two portals passing under the building. The lobby of the building is between the vehicular portals. Flanking the viaduct's ramps are passageways connecting 45th and 46th streets, with entrances to Grand Central Terminal. Before the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the area to the north of the predecessor Grand Central Depot was occupied by an open-air rail yard; the tracks and depot were operated by the New York Central Railroad. After the terminal was completed in 1913, the tracks were buried under a series of buildings that were constructed over the tracks as part of the Terminal City development. The New York Central Building was erected for the railroad between 1927 and 1929 as the last major structure to be built within Terminal City. It was renamed the New York General Building in 1958 and the Helmsley Building in 1978, though ownership was changed several times afterward. The building's facade and lobby became New York City designated landmarks in 1987.