| 1221 Avenue of the Americas | |
|---|---|
 1221 Avenue of the Americas with1251 Avenue of the Americas visible to its left | |
 Interactive map of 1221 Avenue of the Americas | |
| Former names | McGraw-Hill Building |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Office |
| Architectural style | International style |
| Location | 1221Avenue of the Americas New York,NY 10020 U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°45′34″N73°58′56″W / 40.75944°N 73.98222°W /40.75944; -73.98222 |
| Construction started | 1966 |
| Completed | 1969 |
| Opening | 1972 |
| Owner | Rockefeller Group (Mitsubishi Estate) |
| Height | |
| Roof | 674 feet (205 m) |
| Top floor | 640 feet (200 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 51 |
| Floor area | 2,199,982 sq ft (204,385 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 36 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Wallace Harrison |
| References | |
| [1] | |
1221 Avenue of the Americas (formerly also known as theMcGraw-Hill Building) is aninternational-style skyscraper at 1221Sixth Avenue (also known as theAvenue of the Americas) inMidtownManhattan,New York City. The 51-floor structure has a seven-story base and a simple, cuboidmassing. The facade has no decoration and consists of redgranite piers alternating with glass stripes to underline the tower's verticality. It served as the headquarters ofMcGraw Hill Financial from 1972 to 2015.[2]
The building is set back 115 feet (35 m) from Sixth Avenue. Itssunken courtyard formerly containedSun Triangle, an 49-foot (15 m) abstract steel sculpture byAthelstan Spilhaus. The tower's lobby is clad in dark redterrazzo and redmarble, with aphorisms byPlato andJohn F. Kennedy.[3]
The building was part of the laterRockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the"XYZ Buildings".[4] Their plans were first drawn in 1963 by theRockefeller family's architect,Wallace Harrison, of the architectural firmHarrison & Abramovitz.[5] Their letters correspond to their height.1251 Avenue of the Americas is the "X" Building as it is the tallest at 750 ft (229 m) and 54 stories, and was the first completed, in 1971. The "Y" is 1221 Avenue of the Americas, which was the second tower completed (1973) and is the second in height (674 ft and 51 stories). The "Z" Building, the shortest and the youngest, is1211 Avenue of the Americas with 45 stories (592 ft).[6]
The building houses the New York practice of professional services and accountancy firmDeloitte[7] and was previously the headquarters ofMcGraw-Hill Financial.[2] Other tenants includeSirius XM Satellite Radio, whose headquarters and broadcast facility are in the building, and the law firmsMayer Brown andWhite & Case.
In December 2016,CPPIB sold a 45% stake in the building toCIC for $1 billion, which valued it at $2.3 billion.[8][9]
In 2009, the structure earned aLEED green-building certification.[10] A renovation of the plaza and retail space was announced in 2017,[11] and the $50 million project was underway by 2022.[12]
The sunken courtyard formerly contained a 49-foot-tall (15 m) metal triangle designed byAthelstan Spilhaus and fabricated by Tyler Elevator Products, arranged so the Sun aligns with its sides atsolstices andequinoxes.[13] 1221 Avenue of the Americas' entrance plaza, on Sixth Avenue, was renovated in 2023 at a cost of $50 million.[14]
After entering an express elevator serving floors 39–50 at approximately 11:00 p.m. (EDT) Friday on October 15, 1999, Nicholas White, aBusiness Week employee whose office was in the building, became trapped in an elevator after a briefpower dip caused it to stop between the 13th and 14th floors. White was not rescued until approximately 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 17, nearly 41 hours later, after security guards spotted him in the elevator surveillance cameras.[15][16] In 2008,The New Yorker uploaded a video, originally called "Trapped in an Elevator for 41 Hours",[17] which contained surveillance-camera footage of White being trapped in the elevator.[18][19]
The buildings are featured in the title sequence ofSaturday Night Live, seen from below looking up in the street from a car. It was used for the exteriors and lobby of Elias-Clarke's headquarters in the 2006 filmThe Devil Wears Prada and the interior shots for television showSuits. It is also the headquarters ofSirius XM Radio, and many radio shows broadcast from the building includingThe Howard Stern Show. The plaza and sculpture are also featured as part of the New York City Level of the video gameTony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.[20]
Celanese Building.
