The W. R. Grace Building is a skyscraper in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. The building was designed principally by

Gordon Bunshaft Gordon Bunshaft, (May 9, 1909 – August 6, 1990), was an American architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the mid-twentieth century. A partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bunshaft joined the firm in 1937 and remained with ...

, and completed in 1972. The building was commissioned by the

W.R. Grace Company W. R. Grace and Co. is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes catalysts and related products and technologies ...

, and was also used by the Deloitte & Touche, LLP. The building is located at 1114

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

, but the main entrance is on

42nd Street 42nd Street most commonly refers to: *42nd Street (Manhattan), a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan It may also refer to: * ''42nd Street'' (film), a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film with lyrics by Al Dubin, and ...

, between

Fifth Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

and Sixth Avenues. It overlooks

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

and the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

's main branch. The building size has approximately that are rentable, and sits on a site approximately . The Grace Building is located on the former site of

Stern's Stern's (originally Stern Brothers) was a regional department store chain serving the U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The chain was in business for more than 130 years. In 2001, Stern's parent company Federated Departmen ...

flagship department store and headquarters. Tenants include

Bain & Company Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was fou ...

.Bain New York City
/ref> The

Michelin-starred The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

restaurant Gabriel Kreuther is located in its lobby as well as a sister chocolate store.

Architecture

West 42nd Street - Bryant Park (buildings)

One of the aesthetic attributes of the building is the concave vertical slope of its north and south facades, on 42nd and 43rd Street. The Grace Building uses the original, rejected design for the facade of the

Solow Building The Solow Building, also known as 9 West 57th Street, is a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1974 and designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it is west of Fifth Avenue between 5 ...

, another Bunshaft creation. The sloping facade is also similar to the Chase Tower in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The exterior of the building is covered in white

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

, which forms a contrast against the black windows and makes the building appear brighter than those surrounding it. Image:Grace Bldg NY from entrance.jpg, W. R. Grace Building, looking up in front of the entrance on 42nd Street File:Grace Building New York.jpg, Tower against the sky File:Manhattan New York City 2008 PD 55.JPG, View from intersection of 43rd Street and Sixth Avenue File:WR Grace Plaza-Matt Bisanz.jpg, View looking up from plaza File:Grace Bldg NY from 5th and 40th.jpg, View from 40th Street and Fifth Avenue,

in foreground

References

External links

*
in-Arch.net: building information
{{Bryant Park Bryant Park buildings Office buildings completed in 1974 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan

Building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

Architecture

See also

References

External links