General Motors Building
New York, USA

HEIGHT: 215m/707 feet
FLOORS: 50fl
COMPLETION: 1968
ARCHITECT: Emery Roth & Sons, Edward Durell Stone & Associates

was built in 1965-1968 for the General Motors automotive company.
The site was previously occupied by the Savoy-Plaza Hotel (1927) by McKim, Mead & White, the southernmost in a row of luxury hotel buildings around the south-eastern corner of Central Park.

The facade of the 50-storey building is formed by piers of white marble with glass bays between, and the vertically soaring mass with a slightly protruding center rises to the height of 215 m.

The ground floor main lobby is extensively clad in Greek white marble. The display space for General Motors cars at the north end was doubled as a toy showroom after the FAO Schwartz toy store moved to the south wing of the lobby, and finally GM removed its articles altogether.

The building's base was to originally span the whole plot -- with a 48-storey slab rising from it -- but in order to increase the tower's bulk, a plaza was incorporated into the scheme. The large, 1,860 m² plaza was sunken below grade and faces Grand Army Plaza across Fifth Avenue. The space was used by an outdoor café, and shops lining the plaza under street level.

The building changed hands in 1998 for the notable sum of $878 million to Donald Trump and the insurance firm Conseco, resulting in, for example, a remodeling of the plaza to a more accessible design as well as redecorating the lobby with Vermont Verdi marble and brass trim. After its remodelling, the plaza has, however, not succeeded in attracting retail tenants. The original plans for converting the top of the building into either luxury condominiums or a hotel, as well as the later office condo building plan, were discarded early on.

In the renovation the ground-floor car showroom was converted into the studio for CBS's "Early Show"; in a deal that has spawned a lawsuit from the neighbouring residents, the outside plaza has been occasionally rented out for the outdoor activities connected to the show, despite the need for a city permit for such commercial activities.

After a defeat in court, Trump parted company with the bankrupt-ridden Conseco, which consequently auctioned off the building; in August 2003, Macklowe Properties bid $1.4 billion for the building, a US record sum.

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/gm04.jpeg

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http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v156/AtlanticaC5/gm.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/gm01.jpeg

http://www.greatgridlock.net/NYC_Images/030.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics02/gm02.jpeg

Discrete and tall.

6.5/10

7/10

Stern and distinguished. I like it for the power it projects on its broad side.

8/10...The building is very dominating, and soars proudly. I like the vertical black and white combo too.

7.5/10

7/10 Massive.

6.5 massive indeed. not to my liking though

I was inside it when I visited New York, I bought a Puzz3D-Chrysler Building in the FAO Schwarz-store.

7/10

a bit boxy, but a nice box. 6/10

The big ass boss.....;)
7.0/10

7.5/10 nice box scraper

7. Close up, you can also see veins in the stone facade...very nice.

i like boxes but this one doesn't do for me--6/10

7

6.5 I've seen way better boxes. But it's not that bad.

no, gives me a headache. 4.5

New York Classic, 8/10.

7
Isn't CBS This Morning taped there?

4.5

6.5 for the giant zebra building

i like the base and other simple features of this building. nice style. 8/10

6

So-so. :)

4.5/10

ugliest box ever -3

I couldn't care less about this building......

3.5/10

5.0 Burp.

3 ugly!

One of the worst buildings in New York City. Terribly hideous! Too bad it wastes such a beautiful site......

its ok. Its pretty much just a boring box.

5.5/10

Powerful

6.5

Supersleek mofo representing gotham with a vengence.

10/10

7/10


nice, but nothing special.

7.5/10 I'd give it a higher ranking, but I think it sucks up some of the beauty from the other buildings surrounding it.

It looks OK

7/10

6/10

6/10.

7.5/10 :cool:

I hate this. It doesn't belong in that location and it completely disregards the other buildings around it. < 3.5 for me.

it always amazed me about how the small twin protrusions in this building helped it a lot from becoming one of those boring boxes. without them, it would've look really wide and monotoned. but somehow with them, the building looked friendlier to its surroundings.

it's definitely a sucessful departure from the lame box architecture. and it's my fave among the int'l style boxes.

8.5

Elegant giant. 7.5/10

This building is a disgrace. 3.5.

4/10 Very big and ugly

It's okay, 7.0

7.5. Nice but kinda too bulky for where it is (shit! I sound like a nimby!) and disorganized. Once again, savethewtc, thanks for liking my pic and overall dedication to Emporis.

Ehh...I dont like it, it doesnt look natural. Very cold and strikingly ghastly. 4/10

Nice vertical lines, and the 3 'sections' work well, but it lacks any other features.

7/10

6/10

7/10

I'll give it a 7.5/10.

7.5/10

not bad. wish the windows were more shiny:D

6.5/10

6/10

Nice deminsions, but the facade is slightly off and the windows are bleak. I give it a 7/10.

nice, 7

4.5/10

Kinda boring. 6.

the building looks o.k., nothing special though. i like how the columns give it a more massive look
8/10

uugly, i hate tall buildings that have vertical stripes i rate it a 0

6.5/10.

I love the marble's facades 9/10

7/10

6/10

6.5/10

Quite boring box, but looks impressive. 7,5/10

wow, imppresive!!! 9/10

5/10

9/10.... box towers are awesome. so cool to look straight up at. lol

6/10

The name seems appropriate.

massive but not my type...7/10

7/10

7/10.

Didn't know the building was so tall, white marble goes nice with it. 7/10

6/10

8.5/10 This is a NYC landmark. Massive, overpowering almost. Like a bouncer standing over Central Park. The plot is huge. an entire rectangular city block. The vertical lines offset the bulk a bit and make it look slimmer. is there anything more NYC than that? Great building

8.5 I like the way it looks from Central Park.

3,5/10

7/10

elegant and simple 7.5/10

not nice 7/10

7.5/10

7/10

7/10

7/10 looks so massive

6.5/10 very powerful, but plain

5/10

6 / 10

7/10, normal, okay

4/10. Yet another box.

7. really old. :eek:

4/10 Bad box

6/10

Looks very dull but considering it's built in the 1960's and it's clad in white marble, a 6 is probably fair.

6/10

7/10

7/10 love this building FAO as a kid was the best and building is simple and yet elegent

8.5/10.

The building changed hands in 1998 for the notable sum of $878 million to Donald Trump and the insurance firm Conseco :eek:

8.5/10

4/10

7/10

1/10

7/10

7/10

2/10

5/10.

8,5/10

ugoooly. misproportioned 6/10

This is one box that in my opinion didn't age too well. It didn't indulge into much fanciness, granted, but by doing so it lost the simplicity that prevented many well-executed international-style buildings from becoming old-fashioned.
4/10.

6.5/10.

I would imagine, as I've never seen this building that it has a bit of quality about it. So hmm.. 7.5/10

5/10

Massive.

no good 5

8/10 Massive icon.

Fuck it 3/10
:puke:

5/10

:(

6/10

4/10

6.5/10

7/10

5/

7/10

7/10

7/10

5/10

8/10 very nice vertical lines...and looks imposing!

5/10

Ugly corporate box. Points for tallness only.

3/10 looks boring

5/10

8/10

9.5/10 looks huge!

There is no photos...

8/10

7/10

Ok...

6.5/10

7/10

8/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Building_(New_York)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Sherry_Netherland_Hotel_jeh.JPG/427px-Sherry_Netherland_Hotel_jeh.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/639902532_668cd1f97a.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Apple_store_fifth_avenue.jpg/796px-Apple_store_fifth_avenue.jpg

9/10

9/10

7/10

nice 9/10