One Astor Plaza
New York, USA

HEIGHT: 227m/744 feet
FLOORS: 54 floors
COMPLETION: 1972
ARCHITECT: Kahn & Jacobs

was built in 1968-1969 in Times Square, replacing Hotel Astor (Clinton & Russell, 1904), which was closed in 1967.
The development initiated the Special Theater District Zoning Amendment, introduced to lessen the detrimental effect of office tower construction to the traditionally entertainment-orientated Times Square area. In effect from Sixth to Seventh Ave. and 40th to 57th St., it offered bonuses for inclusion of theaters to the new office buildings in order to keep the area vital also in the evenings. In case of the 1 Astor Plaza, the 20 per cent increase in space resulted in a 130,100 m² building.
The 54-storey office tower is set back 41 meters from the Broadway side building line, rising behind a base of glass and concrete housing the theater and retail spaces.
The tower's curtain wall of glass is flanked by protruding corner "piers" of glass and limestone, doubling as mechanical equipment shafts. The top of the building at 222.5 m has a limestone "cap" with eccentric crownlike spikes at the roof corners, making the building easily recognisable on the skyline and an early break from the Internationalist rationale. Originally also known as the W.T. Grant Building, in the early years the text logo "Grants" was perched on the face of the top crown.
The office tower main entrance is from the Broadway side corners, with escalators leading to the second-floor lobby and elevators of the office tower. A through-building arcade leading from 44th Street to 45th doubles as an entrance to the building's Broadway theater.
The large Minskoff Theater, named after the building's developers, was designed by Scutt and has a 1,621 seat capacity. The theater lobby, accessible by escalators from the arcade, occupies the upper portion of the glass walled space facing Broadway, along with two cantilevered balconies. There is also a below-grade, 1,500-seat cinema underneath the retail spaces.
The building proved to be structurally demanding as the Minskoff Theater's stage and technical tower was housed underneath the Broadway side of the office building, necessitating the use of massive trusses to redirect the loads around the theater stage.
On the backside of the building is the old theatrical throughway of Shubert Alley, in the original designs planned to be covered as a glazed galleria, in vein of the ex-AT&T Building.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/1astor.jpeg

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/1AP.jpg

http://www.wirednewyork.com/times_square/images/times_square_esb_observatory_23march02.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/1astorbase.jpeg

5.5/10

Pretty boring, but I love that thing on the top!

2.5 What is that thing on the top?

6/10

weird top. But it's boxy

5/10

boy some of you are being harsh!...isn't this where Viacom has it's headquarters and MTV it's studios?...I've been inside this building to see a movie once....it really stands out in the midtown skyline when viewing it from the Jersey side...I actually like the top at least they did something to make it different than your average box....7.5/10

Always looks out of place - in pics and real life.

...and that late 60s/early 70s attempt at a featured roof :ohno:

...but not evil.

lol @ the last pic with that whacky 'n zany Conde Nast Building giving it a kick up the rear!

A "kind" 6

6/10

The white blades on top fail to redeem the black mass beneath.

Typical seventies building.
I like the solution for the top that the vertical elements provide. Much better than the (often) far-fetched, anecdotic roofdesigns on many buildings from a later period.

6.5 those things in the top kept it from being a simple box

definitely needs to be recladed....and absolutely not a masterpiece.......5/10

This tower wants to be intresting....
5.5/10

I think the top part is the only good thing about it. 5.5/10.

They tried to make us tink that is isnt just a box but failed.. terribly.. The top looks horrible! Good thing the cool blue glass amkes up for it! :)

7/10

5/10...not inspiring..not revolting..

interesting one, 7.5

It isn't beautiful, but it's quite tall. 7/10

strange box 4/10

i like it..do u?
8/10

facade: dark, nice
form: boxy
specials: cool top!
points: 8

7.5/10 - Nice, shiny facade, which provides a good contrast for the stone mullions and the roof. The knife-edged blades on the roof make it livlier than a plain flat top, and the indentations running up the side are another good touch.

It's still a bit boxy, though...

4.5/10


I don't like it

The top is great !!

Nice black facade

8.5/10

6.5/10 i don't really like the top, but it's a discrete tall building

ugly... 4/10

the facade is ho-hum, but the crown totally saved this one

7

The pinwheel spiky top is interesting, but the rest of the tower is boring. 6.5/10

7.5/10

7/10

Awful. 1/10

Rubbish.

4/10

7/10 - Not bad

6/10

Nice building, but I hate the top and you can see the top on almost every NYC pic. grrrr.
8.0

6/10

the top doesn't go well with the building. worse, is it's windows

6/10

6.5/10

3/10 quite hideous

A nice building, though the facade could be better. The crown kicks ass. I give it an 8.5/10. :yes:

6!

Nothing special
5

8/10

5.

8/10

The top's design is nice and tha facade seems good too.

7.5/10.

9/10

7/10

I like the top. The rest of the building looks OK. 7,5/10

7/10

nice clean facade but very boxy
not even sure i like the top rendered

simply but nice 9.5/10

7/10. Pretty nice design.

Never really liked it aside for the top 5.5

Its not bad for a glass box and a cool little thing on top. 7.5

3,5 I feel generous today

A 10 ...and this tower actually looks better NOW, than it did in 1972... imagine HUGE red letters a top the crown with the words "GRANT"S DEPT STORE " !!!!! true!

7.5/10

5.5/10

5,5/10

i dont like this one 5/10

5/10

Too boxy, tried to get some attention with some ugly concrete thingies at the top, failed. A proof that glassy cladding on boxes can also be very ugly.
2.

6/10

Nice glass box 7.5

6/10

8/10 here

5/10

uniqe top but thats about it
6.5/10

When I was 8 years old this was my favorite building because of the crown. Now a days it still has nostaglia factor. its cool in person. Its bid but the crown rains down to street level on all 4 sides breaking up the mass. I know im totally biased here.

8.5/10

It's just a box with an ordament at the top. 6/10

6/10

8.5/10 i like it :)

3/10

7/10

It's massive, but so 70's.. should have its windows replaced. 4.5/10

8.5/10

6.5/10

7.5/10

it's a 70's building, and i don't like every 70's buildings. This one makes destroyed the times square's skyline.

Huge and amazing...9.5/10

8/10

good in it's day looks like a good effort 7/10

8.5/10

7/10.

5/10

5 / 10

7. :ohno:

4.5/10 top ruins it all

yeah. the top kinda made everything else look a little better. just a little. 7.5/10

ugly : (

... 6/10

I loathe and love this building at the same time. It really is a monster but it is a farmiliar site on the Hudson River Skyline.

7/10

Nah the roof sucks. 5 out of 10.

7.5/10

8/10

4/10.

7/10

7/10

8.5/10

6,5/10

6/10

When you see it from bottom is quite impressive... 7/10

boring 5/10

5.5

4.5/10

somehow interesting. 6/10

Fits into Times Square well.8/10

7,5/10

8/10

glassy, nice name.

It's not an exceptional tower but it suits its surroundings near perfectly
7/10

6.5 nothing special

7/10

5/10

6/10

8/10

7/10

4.5/10

8/10:)

7/10

6/

8/10

7/10

6/10

7/10

Nice crown

3/10 good proportions...but the rest is VILE!

6/10 :)

6.5/10

I've seen far worse boxes. The roof piece is not too bad, but the building itself doesn't fit its location.

7.5/10... not more..

7/10

Nice...

7.0/10

don't like the top. 7/10.

8. Good building. Regards.

7/10

7/10

Leon Uris's masterpiece. Which is to say, it's really bad. 5

One Astor Plaza
New York, USA

HEIGHT: 227m/744 feet
FLOORS: 54 floors
COMPLETION: 1972
ARCHITECT: Kahn & Jacobs
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/1astor.jpeg

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/1AP.jpg

http://www.wirednewyork.com/times_square/images/times_square_esb_observatory_23march02.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/1astorbase.jpeg

8/10

8/10

5.5

voted 9/10

9.5/10

7/10

7/10

8/10

Got quite an Asian look. 4.5/10

4.5/10 that shyt on top is just ugly

7.5

6.5/10

8.5/10

http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/1AP.jpg

7/10

8/10

7/10

8/10

6.5/10 for materials

6.5/10

8/10

8/10

Just a regular tower,6/10

6,5/10

8/10

7/10

9/10

9/10