CitySpire Center
The CitySpire Center is the third tallest mixed-use skyscraper in New York City, located on the south side of West 56th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Finished in 1987, it is 248 meters (814 ft) tall and has 75 floors, with a total area of 359,000 square feet (33,400 m2). The building is owned by Tishman Speyer Properties.
| CitySpire Center | |
|---|---|
 CitySpire Center in June 2005. | |
  Location within Manhattan  CitySpire Center (New York)  CitySpire Center (the United States) | |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Location | 150-156 West 56th Street |
| Coordinates | 40°45′52″N 73°58′47″W |
| Completed | 1987 |
| Owner | Tishman Speyer |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 814 ft (248 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 75 |
| Floor area | 830,005 sq ft (77,110.0 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Murphy/Jahn, Inc. Architects |
| Developer | Ian Bruce Eichner |
| Structural engineer | Rosenwasser/Grossman |
| References | |
| [1] | |
Overview
Designed by Helmut Jahn, it is the twenty fifth-tallest building in New York City and the 42nd tallest in the United States. The bottom 23 floors of the tower are for commercial use and above it are luxury apartments, which increase in size the higher they are.
Soon after the building's completion, residents of nearby buildings complained of hearing a loud whistling noise which, it later turned out, came from the wind blowing through the decorative dome at the building's top. The city threatened daily fines for the noise, which lasted for more than a year. Developers silenced the whistle by removing every other louver in the cooling tower, thereby widening the narrow channels through which the wind whistled.[2]
The Moorish-inspired dome, which is a homage to the adjacent New York City Center on West 55th Street, is illuminated at night with a white light. The building has an unusual octagonal shape.
CitySpire Center is part of a cluster of four tall towers along with the Carnegie Hall Tower (which mimics the design of its famous namesake concert hall), the Metropolitan Tower and One57.
Some time around completion, it was revealed that the building exceeded its height limit by around 14 feet (4 m). The developers compensated for this violation by agreeing to build dance studio space for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs on an adjacent site.[3]
Rank
When completed, the CitySpire Center was the second tallest concrete tower in USA after the Willis Tower in Chicago.[4]
References
- CitySpire Center at Emporis
- Dunlap, David W. (June 13, 1993). "Whistle Silenced, Cityspire Sales Resume". The New York Times. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- Dunlap, David W. (April 20, 1988). "Pact Reached On Skyscraper Built Too Tall". The New York Times. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- "CitySpire, Building Review". CityRealty.com. Retrieved May 28, 2018.