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The Grand Central Terminal (1913)

Designers: Reed and Stem, Whitney Warren The terminal has 44 platforms and 67 tracks ​The main concourse has the height of a 13 story building 750,000 visitors pass through daily The celestial ceiling of the main concourse depicts the zodiac, it's backwards and has 2,500 stars The first all-electric station, architects filled it with light bulbs (a novelty at the time) That information booth clock has four faces made of opal, estimated at a value of $10-20 million. The outside clock on the 42nd St. facade, is the world's largest example of Tiffany glass The clock is embellished by the sculptural group "Transportation" personified with Mercury (commerce) flanked by Hercules (strength) and Minerva (wisdom) There is a secret underground platform at the Waldorf Astoria. FDR used this platform to enter the hotel in his wheelchair unseen The departures are always listed as one minute earlier than their actual time Th oldest restaurant in the station is the Oyster Bar famous for oysters and Guastavino tile ceiling

The Chrysler Building (1930)

Architect: William Van Alen Height: 925′, 1,046′  Style: Art Deco The design reflects the aesthetic of Chrysler automobiles Decorations on the 31st floor are the cap of the God Mercury. These caps were used as radiator caps on Chrysler automobiles The gargoyles are replicas of eagle hoods ornaments from a 1920’s Chrysler Plymouth  When the building opened in 1930, there was an observation deck called “Celestial” on the 71st floor. It was closed to the public in 1945 The "vertex" was assembled secretly inside the building and set in place in 1 and 1/2 hours. The spire is 185 ft tall  and made of steel ​The Chrysler was 60 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower, becoming the tallest man-made structure ever built

The Empire State Building (1931)

Architecture firm: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Height: 1,250′ (381 m)  Total Height: 1,454 feet or 443.2m to top of lightning rod Floors: 102/103 Steps: 1,872 from street level to the 103rd floor Windows: 6,514 Elevators: 73, including six freight elevators The Empire State Building took only one year and 45 days to build (410 days) There are observatories on both the 86th and 102nd floors. They attract around four million visitors annually. Visitors can see 80 miles into New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts on a clear day. The Empire State Building Run-Up is an annual race up the stairs to the 86th floor (1,576 steps) Cost to build: $40 million - below budget of $50 million It rose with the average speed 1 floor a day Height: The base of building rises five floors above the street. The entrance is four floors high. The lobby is three floors high. From the 60-foot setback on the fifth floor, the building soars without a break to the 86th floor. The mooring mast was supposed to be used by transatlantic dirigibles In reality there was just one accomplished dirigible mooring delivering newspapers from Wall Street  One of the biggest office buildings in the world (the biggest in time of construction),  it could fit both the Chrysler Building offices combined with offices of the 40 Wall Street (2 tallest in the world!), and still have room to spare   Due to bad economy the Empire State office space was not filled, they call it "Empty Building", however the observatory was profitable form the get-go and became quite a money-maker after being climbed by King Kong in 1933

The Waldorf=Astoria Hotel (1931)

Built as one of the poshest in the world Designed by Schultze and Weaver Takes entire city block It was the largest hotel in the world - 2,200 rooms 4-story ballroom could accommodate 6,000 people One of the first Art Deco hotels It's a presidential hotel - every American president since Hebert Hoover had stayed in the hotel The Waldorf=Astoria Hotel stands on the land owned by the Grand Central. Special car was leading from the Terminal to the 50th Street next to the hotel which was used by FDR The Waldorf Astoria New York is currently closed while undergoing a complete renovation and restoration. It is planned to reopen in two to three years. The Waldorf Astoria’s reopening, originally planned for 2020, is now “targeting completion in 2021.” China-based Anbang, bought the hotel for $1.95 billion two years ago, began converting about 1,000 rooms to luxury condos shortly after the purchase.

The United Nations (1948)

Architects: Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, Wallace Harrison ​After the WWII allies formed the United Nation The US requested that it'd be located in the United States John D. Rockefeller Jr donated 8 million to buy land on Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan To reflect the collaborative spirit of the UN, it was decided that the complex would be designed not by competition but by collaborative efforts of international architects lead by Wallace Harrison The main building, the Secretariat, was designed by the world's leading proponent of International Style - Le Corbusier The Secretariat has 39 stories, it's the first modernist building in the city. It's also the first to have a glass wall The low curving building is the General Assembly There 193 countries in the UN, the flags are arranged in alphabetical order

The Lever House

Completed in 1952 One of the forerunners of of New York's modern skyscraper No more set-backs, instead a recessed plaza Lever is one one of the biggest soap manufacturers The building serves as advertisement, also it actually housed just the offices of Lever Lever was designed so that employees could drive up to the building, spend time inside and leave without interracting with the city

The Seagram Building

Architect: Mies van der Rohe Year: 1958 The building constructed to commemorate the centennial of the distillery The building works well with the grid reflected in the windows First time the window designed floor to ceiling, no sills, no ledges  Window blinds designed to be closed, opened or half way to keep geometric appearance  The most important part of the design was the plaza

​The Time Warner Center (2004)

Architect: David Childs Main tenant was Time Warner The building is mixed-use: office building, condos, shopping mall, concert venue Time Warner Center will be renamed the Deutsche Bank Center which had signed a 25 year lease The complex’s south tower at 25 Columbus Circle, features luxury condominiums, and the north tower, at 80 Columbus Circle, contains apartments from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The building is home to CNN’s New York City headquarters, five-star restaurants, and high-end retail. Time Warner moved to Hudson Yards  In 2006 the property had the highest-listed market value in New York City

Hearst Tower (2004)

Architect: Sir Norman Foster Design has no vertical columns First New York's green building: built from recycled steel, energy saving features, dimming lights Built over already existing six-story structure by Joseph Urban commissioned by Hearst

Hudson Yards (2019)

​It is the largest private real estate development in the United States  The $25 billion megaproject is bringing new skyscrapers, a huge shopping mall, and a splashy performing arts center to the city And at the center of it all is Vessel, a 150-foot-tall, shiny sculptural bauble designed by Thomas Heatherwick One will have to get a free ticket in order to climb the Vessel The Shed, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is covered in ETFE panels, which are lightweight, durable, and weatherproof. It also has a retractable outer shell that expands to transform the space, and helps the venue accommodate many different types of performances Former mayor Bloomberg made a $75 million contribution

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