![]() ![]() Completed in 1984 as the headquarters of telecommunications company AT&T, it subsequently served as the American headquarters of media conglomerate Sony. Architecture ĥ50 Madison Avenue, also known as the AT&T Building and later the Sony Tower, was designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee of Johnson/Burgee. Nevertheless, until the 1970s, the current site of 550 Madison Avenue was described by New York magazine as "unusually human" compared to Midtown's other office developments. The stretch of Madison Avenue in Midtown was a prominent retail corridor during the 20th century, but new office buildings were developed on the avenue in the two decades after World War II ended. These residences had become commercial stores by the middle of the 20th century. The current building directly replaced fifteen smaller structures, including several 4- and 5-story residences dating from the late 19th century. Prior to 19th-century development, the site had been occupied by a stream. Looking west from 56th Street, with the atrium at center Young House to the south, the New York Friars Club and Park Avenue Tower to the east, 432 Park Avenue to the northeast, 590 Madison Avenue to the north, and Trump Tower and the Tiffany & Co. Regis New York and 689 Fifth Avenue to the southwest, the Minnie E. The building is on the same city block as the Corning Glass Building to the west. The land lot covers approximately 36,800 square feet (3,420 m 2), with a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on Madison Avenue and 189 feet (58 m) on both 55th and 56th Streets. The rectangular land lot is bounded by Madison Avenue to the east, 56th Street to the north, and 55th Street to the south. 550 Madison Avenue was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2018.ĥ50 Madison Avenue is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. In 2016, the Olayan Group purchased 550 Madison Avenue with plans to renovate it. Sony sold the building to the Chetrit Group in 2013 and leased back its offices there for three years. Sony leased the building in 1991, substantially renovated the base and interior, and acquired the structure from AT&T in 2002. ![]() As a result, AT&T never occupied the entire building as it had originally intended. Following the breakup of the Bell System in 1982, near the building's completion, AT&T spun off its subsidiary companies. The AT&T Building at 550 Madison Avenue was intended to replace 195 Broadway, the company's previous headquarters in Lower Manhattan. The building has received much attention ever since its design was first announced in March 1978. Atop the building is a broken pediment with a circular opening. The office stories are accessed from a sky lobby above the base. The ground-level lobby is surrounded by retail shops, which were originally an open arcade. A pedestrian atrium, connecting 55th and 56th Streets midblock, was also included in the design, which enabled the building to rise higher without the use of setbacks. It originally had a four-story granite annex to the west, which was demolished and replaced with a shorter annex in the early 2020s.Īt the base of the building is a large entrance arch facing east toward Madison Avenue, flanked by arcades with smaller flat arches. The building consists of a 647-foot-tall (197-meter), 37-story office tower with a facade made of pink granite. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee with associate architect Simmons Architects, the building was completed in 1984 as the headquarters of AT&T and later became the American headquarters of Sony. 550 Madison (formerly known as the Sony Tower, Sony Plaza, and AT&T Building) is a postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. ![]()
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