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229 West 43rd Street (formerly The New York Times Building, The New York Times Annex, and the Times Square Building) is an 18-story office building in the Theater District of
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913 and expanded in three stages, it was the headquarters of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' newspaper until 2007. The original building by Mortimer J. Fox of Buchman & Fox, as well as a 1920s addition by Ludlow & Peabody and a 1930s addition by Albert Kahn, are on 43rd Street.
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, founded as Shreve & Lamb, was an architect, architectural firm best known for designing the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion in 1931. The firm was prominent in the pr ...
designed a wing on 44th Street in the 1940s. Columbia Property Trust owns most of the structure as an office building while Kushner Companies owns the lowest four floors as a retail and entertainment complex. The 43rd Street sections of the building are designed in the French Gothic,
French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...
, and
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
styles and are a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
. The original building and its additions rise 11 stories from the street, except for a four-story wing on the eastern end of the site. The 43rd Street sections of the building are topped by a set back five-story attic, interrupted by a seven-story tower with a pyramidal
hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...
. The facade is constructed of light-colored Indiana limestone, brick, and terracotta and is divided horizontally into a two-story base, a nine-story midsection, and the attic and tower stories. The
elevations The elevation of a geographic ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
are divided into vertical bays with a mixture of single windows, double windows, and arches. The building contains of office space and of retail space. Originally, each floor was devoted to a different division of the ''Times''. Due to overcrowding at the previous ''Times'' headquarters at
One Times Square One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of ...
, the Times Annex was constructed to supplement the paper's printing plant and other mechanical divisions. The annex became the ''Times'' headquarters shortly after opening. As the ''Times'' circulation expanded and its issues grew longer, the building was expanded in 1922–1924, 1931–1932, and 1944–1947. The ''Times'' relocated its printing plant from the building in 1997 and announced plans for new headquarters two years later, relocating in June 2007. A partnership led by
Tishman Speyer Tishman Speyer is an American multinational corporation based at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The conglomerate invests in high-profile real estate properties, has developed multiple buildings around the world, and has owned famou ...
bought the building in 2004 and sold it three years later to AFI USA, which had trouble finding office tenants and sold the upper floors to
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
in 2011. AFI USA operated the retail portion of the building until 2015, when Columbia acquired the offices and Kushner bought the retail.


Site

The former New York Times Building is at 229 West 43rd Street, on the north sidewalk between Eighth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, near
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
in the Theater District of
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York, U.S. The
land lot In real estate, a land lot or plot of land is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the sam ...
is L-shaped, extending northward to 44th Street on the eastern half of the block. The lot covers , with a
frontage Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
of on 43rd Street and a depth of . In 1996, the city renamed the block of 43rd Street outside the building in honor of
Adolph Ochs Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of ''The New York Times'' and ''The Chattanooga Times'', which is now the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press''. Through his only child, Iphigene ...
, a former publisher of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', the building's longtime occupant. The surrounding area is part of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's Theater District and contains many
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
s. 229 West 43rd Street shares the city block with St. James Theatre, the Hayes Theater, and
Sardi's Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caric ...
restaurant to the northwest on 44th Street;
1501 Broadway 1501 Broadway, also known as the Paramount Building, is a 33-story office building on Times Square between West 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was ere ...
to the east; and 255 West 43rd Street to the west on 43rd Street. Across 44th Street are the Majestic, Broadhurst,
John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four film ...
, Bernard B. Jacobs, and Gerald Schoenfeld theaters to the northwest; the Shubert and Booth theaters to the north; and
One Astor Plaza One Astor Plaza, also known as 1515 Broadway and formerly the W. T. Grant Building, is a 54-story office building on Times Square in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designe ...
to the northeast. The Times Square Theater,
New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theatre (building), theater at 209 42nd Street (Manhattan), West 42nd Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republ ...
, and
3 Times Square 3 Times Square, also known as the Thomson Reuters Building, is a 30-story skyscraper at Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Located on Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue between 42nd Stre ...
are directly across 43rd Street to the southeast, while the former Hotel Carter, American Airlines Theatre, and Lyric Theatre are to the south. The building was developed as an annex structure for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Prior to the New York Times Annex's development, the site was part of the
Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...
estate and contained several
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...
townhouses. The easternmost section of the building was built on two
land lot In real estate, a land lot or plot of land is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the sam ...
s owned by the Astors: a lot that had been leased by the
Shubert family The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theatre, Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the The Shubert Org ...
, as well a lot. The central section was acquired in 1915 and replaced five buildings of five stories each, taking up a square site measuring 100 by 100 feet. The westernmost section, measuring , was acquired in 1928 and formerly contained a six-story apartment hotel named Yandis Court.


Architecture

229 West 43rd Street was originally known as the New York Times Annex and was built in four stages. The 43rd Street sections of the building are designed in the French Gothic,
French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...
, and
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
styles. The eastern third of the site was designed in 1912 by Mortimer J. Fox of Buchman & Fox. From 1922 to 1924, Ludlow and Peabody designed the central section as well as the attic stories. Albert Kahn designed the western section in 1931, including a second lobby and rooftop studio. A fourth section to the north was designed in 1947 by
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, founded as Shreve & Lamb, was an architect, architectural firm best known for designing the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion in 1931. The firm was prominent in the pr ...
. The George A. Fuller Company was the
general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...
for the original section of the building, as well as for the central section on 43rd Street. The Cauldwell Wingate Company built the westernmost section on 43rd Street. Several other contractors were involved in the construction, including ironwork contractor Sexauer and Lemke.


Form

The
massing Massing is the architecture, architectural term for general Shape and form (visual arts), shape, form and size of a structure. Characteristics Massing is three-dimensional, a matter of form, not just an outline from a single perspective, a s ...
of 229 West 43rd Street is composed of several sections. The extreme eastern end of the site is only four stories high and is part of Fox's original design. Most of the building is 11 stories tall and was developed during all three periods of the building's construction. The 11-story section is topped by a five-story attic designed by Ludlow and Peabody, which is set back on all sides. A seven-story tower, also designed by Ludlow and Peabody, rises above the 11th floor between the central and eastern parts of the building. This gave the building the appearance of a chateau with a tower. After the first expansion in 1924, an account by
the New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes ''The New York Times'' and its associated publications such as ''The New York Times International Edition'' and other media properties. The New York Times Company's ...
described the building as measuring from the lowest basement to the pinnacle of the rooftop flagpole. However, according to
Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...
, the building's pinnacle is tall. Shreve, Lamb & Harmon's wing along 44th Street is 11 stories tall. The portion of the building on 43rd Street is a
New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
, but the 44th Street section is not protected by a landmark designation.


Facade

The facade is constructed of light-colored Indiana limestone, brick, and terracotta. The southern and eastern
elevations The elevation of a geographic ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
were decorated elaborately, since they could readily be seen from Broadway. The original section of the building contains one-over-one
sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...
s, while the expansions contain three-over-three or six-over-six sash windows. In all three sections, the windows originally had steel frames. Some of the original windows remain, while others have been replaced with those containing aluminum or steel frames.


Base

On 43rd Street, the first two stories are made of rusticated blocks of limestone. The ground level is divided into sixteen vertical bays, twelve of which contain segmental arches with rusticated
voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
s. The arches formerly contained loading docks, most of which were converted to storefronts in a 2006 renovation. The piers between each bay, which also date to the 2006 renovation, contain globe-shaped lamps. The second story has thirteen bays of windows, mostly corresponding with the ground-story arches; the easternmost bay corresponds to a doorway rather than an arch. Seven of these bays contain two windows with a shared window sill, while the other six bays have one window with a sill. A
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
with a shell design, as well as a
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
, run above the second-story windows. The bays containing the building's main entrance (the 8th to 11th bays from west) are designed in a different manner at the ground and second stories. The main entrance is off center and was previously three bays wide; the leftmost (8th) bay was added in 2006. The 9th and 10th bays contain doorways recessed into stone
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
s. The 11th bay contains a revolving door surrounded by six windows at the ground level. The 8th bay is designed in a similar manner to the 11th bay. All four bays are separated by vertical
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s and are flanked by elongated lamps. Within all the entrance bays, there are stone
spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
panels between the ground and second floors, as well as three triple-hung windows at the second floor. Two flagpoles hang from either of the 9th and 10th bays at the second floor. A sculpted gargoyle is placed between these two bays near the top of the second floor. Above this story is a frieze with reliefs, which contain a motif of two griffins flanking a shield. At the extreme east end of the building, the four-story wing has a brick facade and three single-hung windows on either of the third and fourth stories. The
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
s above each of the fourth-story windows have
ogee An ogee ( ) is an object, element, or curve—often seen in architecture and building trades—that has a serpentine- or extended S-shape (Sigmoid curve, sigmoid). Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircle, semicircula ...
moldings with
finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...
s at the center. There is a
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
cornice and parapet above the fourth story; the cornice is held up by four
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s.


Midsection

Across the south and east elevations, the third to ninth floors are clad in brick, while the 10th and 11th floors are faced in terracotta. The south and east elevations contain vertical pilasters with decorative capitals at the ninth story. There are 14 bays across the south elevation and five bays across the east elevation. The east elevation and the five easternmost bays of the south elevation are part of Fox's original design. The four westernmost bays of the south elevation are part of Kahn's 1932 addition, while the five bays in the center are part of Ludlow and Peabody's 1924 addition. On the south elevation, most of the bays are separated by single pilasters. The 9th and 10th bays from west are separated by double pilasters; a sign hangs from the fourth floor in the space between the two pilasters. Originally, there was a clock in the space occupied by this sign, which was destroyed by fire and replaced in 1963 with a digital clock. In a 2008 renovation, the tower received a sign measuring , as well as an analog clock face. On each story are five single windows with ogee moldings above them, as well as nine double windows without any moldings. On the east elevation, the outer two bays are single openings while the inner three bays are double openings. These windows are similar to their counterparts on the south elevation and are all separated by single pilasters. Below the 11th story on the west elevation are blind openings and double- and triple-hung windows surrounded by dark brick. On the north elevation, the windows are grouped in threes and surrounded by light brick, with ogee moldings above the eleventh-story windows. At the 10th and 11th floors, the south elevation contains nine arches and five bays of plain windows (corresponding to the bays with double and single windows respectively). The east elevation contains three arches in the center and two bays of plain windows on the outside. On both elevations, the arches are flanked by pilasters with tablet flowers. Each arch contains metal columns that divide it into thirds, as well as horizontal metal spandrels between the 10th and 11th stories. The plain bays have an unornamented window on the 10th story and a window with a balcony, ogee-molding lintel, and finial on the 11th story. Above the south and east elevations runs a frieze with shell motifs, as well as a terracotta cornice with
brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...
. The cornice is topped by a parapet, which contains relief panels alternating with pedestals. When the building was completed in 1913, there had been large signs on the facade.


Attic

The attic is five stories high and is set back from the 11th story. On the north, south, and east elevations, there are single and double windows on the 12th and 13th floors. The western elevation only has single windows. At the top of the 14th floor are panels with diagonal bands and
fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
reliefs. These are topped by frieze and a terracotta cornice with brackets. Above the cornice is a parapet, which contains obelisks on pedestals. Part of the parapet's western section has been replaced with a small addition, containing a glass wall that faces north. Windows are also installed on the eastern end of the parapet. The 15th floor of the attic has dormer windows within a
hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...
. There is a terracotta chimney on the eastern end of the roof as well. The attic is interrupted by a seven-story tower, which separates the western two-thirds and the eastern third of the building. The tower is three bays wide and corresponds to the 9th and 10th bays on the southern elevation. At the 14th and 15th stories, the tower's center bay contained an arched opening, which has been closed up. The facade of the 15th and 16th stories contains diagonal bands and fleur-de-lis reliefs, and the 16th-story windows contain balconies, ogee moldings, and finials. The tower sets back on all sides at the 17th story, with a terracotta parapet surrounding it, as well as three arched windows on each side. Above this is a pyramidal roof that is designed to appear as though it is covered in metal. From 1951 to the 1970s, the tower's elevations contained neon letters with the name of ''The New York Times'', which measured high. At the 18th story, each elevation has a single dormer window, which contains scrolls and finials on either side and a triangular pediment on the top. Above the 18th story are round-arched dormer windows on each elevation, as well as a lantern with a railing at the pinnacle of the roof. The lantern initially contained a flagpole with the ''Times'' flag on it, which contained blue text on a white background.


Mechanical features

Following the 1924 expansion, the building was served by two
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...
feeders on 43rd Street and a third feeder from 44th Street. These provided power for the building's normal operation and all originated from different power stations, so the ''Times'' could continue printing in case one feeder was interrupted. Two switchboards were provided: a primary switchboard with a capacity of 5,000 amperes and a secondary one with a capacity of 1,500 amperes. The Times Annex had extensive heating and ventilation systems when it was expanded in 1924. The heat was provided by four boilers, which could be powered either by coal bunkers with a capacity of or oil tanks with a capacity of 20,000 barrels. The heat was then distributed to the upper stories through 576
radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...
s. Thirteen indirect ventilation systems were installed, with a capacity of of air per minute for both intake and exhaust. There was also an ice-making plant in the basement, with a capacity of 7 tons, which served the building's drinking fountains, as well as a refrigeration plant on the eleventh floor for the employee dining rooms. The building was served directly by the
New York City water supply system The New York City water supply system is a combination of Aqueduct (water supply), aqueducts, reservoirs, and tunnels which supplies fresh water to New York City. With three major water systems (New Croton Aqueduct, Croton, Catskill Aqueduct, Ca ...
. When the Annex was first completed in 1913, the municipal water supply could provide a minute; following the 1924 expansion, this was increased to per minute. Water from these pipes was collected in the sub-basement level, then pumped to a house supply tank. When the Times Annex was completed in 1913, the original fire-protection system had tanks with a capacity of . After the 1924 expansion, the building's sprinkler system was expanded to four tanks with each, as well as a reserve tank of . The building's drainage system had two
sump pump A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a water-collecting sump basin, commonly found in the basements of homes and other buildings, and in other locations where water must be removed, such as construction sites. Th ...
s and two sewage ejectors; they could collectively drain up to per minute.


Interior

The building originally covered either or . The four lowest floors each had and the top seven floors had . After it was expanded in 1924, the building had about . When the third expansion was completed in 1947, the building had a floor area of , excluding mezzanines. Following all of its expansions, 229 West 43rd Street has had of office space, with on a typical floor below the attic. The
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
of the building includes densely spaced structural columns, which made it hard to lease after the ''Times'' moved out. There were seven passenger elevators following the 1924 expansion. This count remained largely unchanged in later years; the ''Times'' reported in 1973 that its building had eight passenger elevators. A freight elevator was at the eastern end of the building and traveled between the ground-floor loading dock and the sub-basement; it was used exclusively to transport paper. An additional freight elevator, at the western end of the central section, traveled between the fourth floor and sub-basement. There were various lifts and conveyor belts to carry plates and prints throughout the building. Twenty conveyors also transported papers from the presses to the mail room or its mezzanine.


''Times'' facilities

Originally, each floor was devoted to a different purpose. Issues were printed in the basement, and the mail and delivery departments were housed on the ground floor. The second floor contained the business department; the third floor housed the news department, telegraph room, and telephone switchboard; and the fourth floor was used as a composing room. The fifth floor contained employee showers, a dining room, kitchen, and doctor's office. The sixth and eighth floors were reserved for future use, while the seventh floor was used for photoengraving. The ninth floor had the Sunday ''Times'' department; the tenth floor had an editorial division and library; and the eleventh floor had executive offices, including those of ''Times'' publisher
Adolph Ochs Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of ''The New York Times'' and ''The Chattanooga Times'', which is now the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press''. Through his only child, Iphigene ...
. After 1924, the employee room was relocated to the 5th to the 10th floor, and the executive offices were relocated from the 11th to the 14th floor. The basement of the original section of the building rests on 30 steel columns, which were designed to hold the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
es. When the building opened in 1913, it could print 372,000 sixteen-page issues per hour, compared to 54,000 per hour at the Times Tower. The basement originally had four sextuple presses, which were used to print the ''Times'' regular editions, and an octuple press, which was used for high-grade printing and
electrotype Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in ...
plates. After the first expansion in 1924, the basement had sixteen sextuple presses and four octuple presses, which could print 480,000 issues per hour, with 24 to 32 pages per issue. Also in the basement was a stereotype room; a reel room with sixty magazine reels; a machine shop; and an electricians' shop. Yet another sextuple press was installed in the second expansion in 1932, with a capacity of 50,000 issues per hour. There was also a sub-basement, which contained storage space for paper and the presses' reels, as well as a pump room and boiler room. A switchboard was placed on a mezzanine level above the basement. The ground level had a neo-Gothic entrance, three loading docks, two storefronts, and a passageway leading to Weber and Fields' Music Hall (later the 44th Street Theatre). The loading docks led to a freight hall with a brick floor, measuring . The freight hall was used by paper trucks to deliver paper to the sub-basement, as well as by the delivery department, which loaded issues onto paper trucks for distribution. The printing plant closed in 1997, and the ground floor and basement have since been converted to retail. Among the retail tenants are a two-level Bowlmor Lanes bowling alley with 50 lanes. From 1950 to 1989, the ninth and tenth floors housed the studios for radio stations WQXR and WQXR-FM. These studios were accessed by a reception area on the tenth floor, which contained the executive offices of the stations. A staircase with bronze railings led to the ninth floor, which led to the studios, recording rooms, control rooms, music department, and music library. Glass walls on the ninth floor overlooked the studios, which ranged in size from to . These studios were designed with non-parallel walls, multi-tiered ceilings, double-glass windows, and soundproof doors. There was also an auditorium on the ninth floor between the early 1950s and 1999. Other facilities included a test kitchen on the ninth floor for the food department of the ''Times''.


History

''The New York Times'', founded in 1851, was first housed in 113 Nassau Street in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
. It moved to 138 Nassau Street, the site of what is now the
Potter Building The Potter Building is a building in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building occupies a full block along Beekman Street with the addresses 38 Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row to its west ...
, in 1854. The ''Times'' moved to a neighboring five-story edifice at
41 Park Row 41 may refer to: * 41 (number) * one of the years 41 BC, AD 41, 1941, 2041 Art and entertainment * ''41'' (film), a 2007 documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire * ''41'', an Australian award-winni ...
in 1858. Partially prompted by the development of the neighboring New York Tribune Building, the ''Times'' replaced its building in 1889 with a new 13-story building at the same site, one that remains in use by
Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
with some modifications. The surrounding section of Park Row was known as New York City's " Newspaper Row" in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1905, the paper moved to
One Times Square One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of ...
, also known as the Times Tower, at 42nd Street and Broadway. The area surrounding the new headquarters was renamed from Longacre Square to Times Square.


Construction and opening

The ''Times'' had outgrown the slender Times Tower within a decade. One Times Square had a relatively small trapezoidal footprint and occupied its whole city block. There was so little space on the Times Tower site that its mechanical basements had to descend as much as . Meanwhile, the Times Square area had become densely developed with restaurants, theaters, hotels, and office buildings. Despite the dearth of space, a ''Times'' booklet said: "It did not occur to anyone to suggest that the 'Times''should desert Times Square." Accordingly, the ''Times'' bought the
fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...
for 221–229 West 43rd Street, as well as the leasehold for 217–219 West 43rd Street, from theatrical operator Lee Shubert in March 1911. This gave the paper a site measuring . The ''Times'' intended to erect a building on the site, called the "Times Annex", for its printing presses and other mechanical functions. This building would be designed by Mortimer J. Fox. Late that year, in a special issue celebrating the paper's 60th anniversary, an unnamed reporter wrote of the new building's design: "No one will be able to doubt after the most cursory glance that the Times Building and its Annex are related". Work commenced in April 1912, and the New York Times Company received a $600,000 building loan for the project. By that June, the building had
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is ofte ...
and the walls were up to the tenth floor. A flag with ''The New York Times'' name was hoisted onto the roof, above street level. The building was 11 stories tall with a four-story wing to the east, giving the impression of a "mounted tower". The ''Times'' relocated into the new building on February 2, 1913, and all work was completed that August. The Times Annex was connected to the Times Tower by a duct under 43rd Street. Most of the ''Times'' operations quickly moved to the annex, except for the publishing and subscription divisions, and the space in the Times Tower was leased out.


Growth


1910s and 1920s

Shortly after the annex was completed, the ''Times'' recorded an average daily circulation of 230,360 in October 1913. A ''Times'' retrospective called the Times Annex "the largest, finest, and most completely equipped newspaper home in North America" when it was completed. The ''Times'' soon became Times Square's largest employer, with 600 employees at the annex by the mid-1910s. All of the building's floors were occupied by 1915. At the end of that year, the New York Times Company bought five townhouses at 231–239 West 43rd Street from A. Fillmore Hyde. The ''Times'' then relocated some offices into these houses. The paper's daily circulation increased considerably, exceeding 300,000 by 1921. The size of weekday issues also grew after World War I; whereas the average issue was 24 pages long before and during the war, issues had grown to between 28 and 40 pages afterward. Despite this, the ''Times'' wanted to continue publishing in Times Square, even as its competitors developed publishing plants on cheaper land. In January 1922, the New York Times Company submitted plans to the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) for an expansion to the annex, designed by Ludlow and Peabody; the project had an estimated cost of $865,000. The same month, the ''Times'' leased two neighboring stores at 213 and 215 West 43rd Street. The addition was to be designed in a similar style to Fox's original building, making the structures appear as though they were built at the same time. The expansion included eleven stories to the west, as well as a setback attic above the roofs of both sections. The 11th-story cornice of the addition was higher than the maximum height normally allowed under the
1916 Zoning Resolution The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide Zoning in the United States, zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both Boroughs of New York City, borough and local interests, and was adopted primar ...
, so Ludlow and Peabody applied for and received an exemption to the zoning resolution. The Louis J. Cohen Company began clearing the existing buildings at 231–239 West 43rd Street in April 1922. The work involved relocating utilities and rooms that had been on the western wall of the original building, as they now faced the addition. The expanded structure topped out during May 1923, but a bricklayers' strike subsequently delayed the rest of the work. All the construction was complete by October 1924, with the expanded structure measuring wide. The general interior layout of the original building was preserved, but some divisions were relocated. Afterward, the ''Times'' had an average weekday circulation of 400,000 and a Sunday circulation of 600,000. A public rotogravure exhibition opened on the 11th floor of the Times Annex in 1927; at the time, the paper had a separate
rotogravure Rotogravure (or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography, it u ...
facility at Twelfth Avenue. Pynson Printers also occupied some office space in the building. The ''Times'' placed new printing presses in the basement in 1928. This was done to keep up with demand; by 1929, the ''Times'' had an average daily circulation of 431,000. The surrounding area had grown considerably by then; the Times Annex was surrounded by multiple high-rise structures, including the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway.


1930s and 1940s

Adolph Ochs completed a new printing plant in Brooklyn in 1930, supplementing the plant on 43rd Street. Albert Kahn, the architect of the Brooklyn plant, was also designing an expansion to the 43rd Street building. Kahn filed plans for the second addition with the DOB in August 1930, with a projected cost of $1 million. As with the first addition, this project was 11 stories tall and was designed in a similar style to the two previous structures. The Cauldwell Wingate Company received the general contract that November. The west elevation was sparsely ornamented to allow for yet another expansion in the future. Small modifications were made to the south elevation, including the addition of a clock and light fixtures. According to ''Times'' historian
Meyer Berger Meyer "Mike" Berger (September 1, 1898 – February 8, 1959) was an American journalist, considered one of the finest newspaper reporters. He was also known for "About New York", a long-running column in ''The New York Times'', and for his cente ...
, the western section opened on August 2, 1931. The next month, ''Times'' gave craftsmanship awards to 21 construction workers who had helped build the expansion. DOB records show that the western section was completed on January 7, 1932, bringing the building's total width to . The New York Times Company bought the Little Theatre (now Hayes Theater) from
Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the eld ...
in November 1931, and '' Variety'' magazine reported that the theater would be demolished to make way for a delivery-truck exit from the Times Annex. Due to Depression-era budget cuts, the ''Times'' decided to keep the theater operating. The Times Annex remained in use as the ''Times'' headquarters, and the Museum of the Printed Word, an exhibit about the history of printing, opened inside the building in 1938. The building also hosted several public exhibitions, including a display of employee art and an annual flower show with employees' plants. In late 1941 or early 1942, the Times Annex was renamed the Times Building, while the old building at One Times Square became the Times Tower. The Little Theatre became a conference hall called the New York Times Hall at that time, after the ''Times'' had again unsuccessfully tried to demolish it in 1939. The two attempts to demolish the Little Theatre prompted the ''Times'' to instead acquire the 44th Street Theatre for expansion in 1943. Under ''Times'' president
Arthur Hays Sulzberger Arthur Hays Sulzberger (September 12, 1891December 11, 1968) was publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1935 to 1961. During that time, daily circulation rose from 465,000 to 713,000 and Sunday circulation from 745,000 to 1.4 million; the staff ...
, the Times Company filed plans for a third expansion, as well as modifications to the existing building, in August 1944. The 11-story extension was to be designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon on the site of the 44th Street Theatre and would cost $2.25 million. The lobby and main entrance was redesigned in 1946 by the same architects. The work entailed removing some of the ornamental detail from the 9th and 10th bays from west and adding a new entrance in the 11th bay. At the dedication ceremony for the new entrance in December 1946, ''Times'' officials could not find the key to lock the old entrances. It turned out that the door had not been locked since 1912, when the key had been thrown away; according to a ''Times'' veteran, the philosophy had been that "The ''Times'' would never close its doors". The northward expansion, which was completed in 1947, involved expanding the printing presses' capacity by 50 percent, as well as adding bedrooms on the 14th story for executives. Three memorial plaques were unveiled inside the renovated lobby in 1948, commemorating ''Times'' employees who had fought in the two world wars. One of the plaques had been installed after World War I but was temporarily removed during the lobby renovation.


Mid- to late 20th century

Radio stations WQXR and WQXR-FM relocated to the ninth and tenth floors of the Times Building in April 1950. The stations' longtime headquarters on
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
was no longer large enough, so five studios were built at 229 West 43rd Street; however, the stations' transmitters were sited elsewhere. The surrounding section of 43rd Street was widened in 1951 to accommodate delivery-truck traffic, and Shreve, Lamb and Harmon designed an auditorium on the ninth story, which opened the next year. The ''Times'' bought a three-block-long plot in 1955 on the West Side of Manhattan, between 62nd and 65th Streets, intending to relocate its printing plant there. Sulzberger said at the time that "eventually we will reach the point where it is not possible to expand further in our present location" at 229 West 43rd Street. The clock outside the third and fourth stories of the building was severely damaged in a 1956 fire. The new West Side printing plant opened in 1959, and the Sunday edition was relocated there from 43rd Street. In 1960, the ''Times'' began simultaneously printing its international edition in Paris and its local edition in New York City, using a teletypesetting machine at 229 West 43rd Street. The clock on the third and fourth stories was replaced in 1963 with a digital clock measuring . A computer, capable of printing type with even margins, was installed on the third floor in 1964, but it subsequently went unused for several months due to disputes with the ''Times'' labor unions. The ''Times'' purchased the plot at 217–219 43rd Street from the Astor family in 1965. This plot contained the four-story eastern wing, which was being used as a delivery exit. The same year, journalistic fraternity Sigma Delta Chi labeled 229 West 43rd Street as a "Historic Site in Journalism". A plaque commemorating Ochs was installed between the 9th and 10th bays at ground level. By the late 1960s, crime in the area was increasing; one-third of the building's night-shift printers had been assaulted or robbed, and an official for a newspaper-deliverers' union said the structure was one of the most dangerous places in the city for news-truck drivers. An air-conditioning plant was installed on the roof in 1977. At the end of the decade, the radio station studios on the 9th and 10th floors were refurbished. The attic was further modified in the 1980s with the addition of a glass-walled section on the western end of the north elevation. The attic addition contained space for studios and an auditorium. The Museum of the Printed Word, which had been operating for four decades, was relocated from 229 West 43rd Street to the
Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
in 1981. WQXR and WQXR-FM regularly hosted live public performances in the 10th-floor auditorium as well. The LPC considered the building for landmark status in 1985, but the ''Times'' opposed the effort because the printing plant was still in use. The ''Times'' was also looking to relocate its printing plant outside of New York City, with 2,000 employees in the business and news departments to remain at 229 West 43rd Street. In 1987, the paper leased a building in
Edison, New Jersey Edison is a Township (New Jersey), township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central Jersey, Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan River, Raritan Valley r ...
, to supplement its 43rd Street printing plant and replace another one in
Carlstadt, New Jersey Carlstadt is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,372, an increase of 245 (+4.0%) from the 2010 United S ...
.


Relocation of ''Times'' operations

WQXR and WQXR-FM relocated from 229 West 43rd Street in 1989. After receiving tax incentives from the city and state governments of New York, the ''Times'' agreed in 1992 to build a plant in College Point, Queens, within city limits. The proposed Queens plant would allow issues to be printed on a single floor with the possibility of expanding to , whereas the 43rd Street plant was spread across three floors and could not expand. The Edison plant opened in 1993, printing one-third of ''Times'' issues; the remaining two-thirds continued to be printed at 43rd Street. Following the completion of the Queens plant, the ''Times'' gradually took eight of the nine presses at 43rd Street out of service, and the ''Times'' printed its final issue at 43rd Street on June 15, 1997. The relocation allowed the ''Times'' to increase the length of its daily issues from four to six sections. The old WQXR auditorium on the ninth floor continued to operate until 1999, when it was converted to offices. By then, the ''Times'' was considering converting the loading bays into storefronts. Concurrently in 1999, state and city officials were planning to launch a request for proposals for a nearby vacant site on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets. The New York Times Company proposed a headquarters tower, citing its need to enlarge its operations. If this was not possible, the company would keep its headquarters at 43rd Street but move some jobs to New Jersey. That year, the ''Times'' predicted that its 43rd Street headquarters could be sold for $45 million. The ''Times'' selected a developer for its Eighth Avenue tower in early 2000 and announced designs for the new building at the end of 2001. During the planning of the new Times Building, the LPC proposed designating the 43rd Street sections of the 43rd Street headquarters as a landmark in 2000. The ''Times'' expressed support for the designation, which covered three-fifths of the total structure, and the LPC designated 229 West 43rd Street as a landmark on April 24, 2001. The ''Times'' was expected to move out when its new building was completed, and the ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' reported rumors the old 43rd Street building could become a hotel. In November 2004, the ''Times'' sold the building to the partnership of
Tishman Speyer Tishman Speyer is an American multinational corporation based at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The conglomerate invests in high-profile real estate properties, has developed multiple buildings around the world, and has owned famou ...
, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, and the Teachers' Retirement System for $175 million. Tishman Speyer planned to renovate the building's of office space as soon as the ''Times'' moved out, as well as add retail to the base. These plans included modifications to mechanical systems, as well as a new lobby and new elevators. Tishman Speyer announced plans in 2006 to convert the ground-level loading bays into of storefronts, designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The six westernmost loading docks were to be restored and converted into aluminum-and-glass storefronts, and new limestone piers were to be added in these bays. In addition, the main entrance would be expanded. Amid a shortage of Midtown office space,
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and several law firms expressed interest in leasing at 229 West 43rd Street. The ''Times'' shifted its publishing operations from 43rd Street to its new Eighth Avenue headquarters on June 11, 2007, and the paper's collection of 5 million print materials was relocated as well.


Post-''Times'' occupancy


AFI USA and difficulties

Tishman Speyer put the building for sale in April 2007 for $500 million. The same month,
Lev Avnerovich Leviev Lev Avnerovich Leviev (; born 30 July 1956) is an Israeli diamond magnate, investor and philanthropist. Leviev was the chairman and majority shareholder of Africa Israel Investments, a diversified conglomerate, between 1997 and 2018. Leviev ...
's Africa Israel Investments (subsequently AFI USA) acquired it for $525 million, three times the price Tishman Speyer had paid. AFI USA renamed 229 West 43rd Street the Times Square Building. The company reportedly considered converting the building into luxury condominiums or partnering with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
to open a branded Times Square hotel. AFI USA planned to spend $150 to $170 million on renovating the structure; it ultimately spent over $200 million. The company proposed installing a new sign and a clock on the facade, which the LPC approved. During this time, the structure was completely empty. By 2008, AFI USA was facing financial issues of its own due to the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, and office demand had dropped sharply, particularly around Times Square. That September, AFI USA sold a half-ownership stake in the building, as well as a half-interest in the building's $720 million debt load, to an unidentified buyer for $50 million. After renovating the retail space, AFI USA leased part of 229 West 43rd Street's basement to Running Subway Productions in early 2009, as well as another part of the basement to Discovery Times Square Exposition later that year. The office space remained empty through the end of the year; one broker called the building "space that nobody wants" due to its large floor plates. That December, Leviev announced plans to convert the building into a mixed-use structure with retail at the base, 379 hotel rooms in the midsection, and 26 residential condominiums in the attic. Banco Inbursa loaned $75 million, and Five Mile Capital Partners took a half-ownership stake in the project. Immediately afterward, AFI USA received a reduction on its debt from $652 million to $267 million, and most of the building's debtholders consequently lost money. A 50-lane bowling alley, operated by Bowlmor Lanes, opened on two levels in November 2010. AFI USA also opened the horror-themed Jekyll & Hyde Club based on the ''
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is an 1886 Gothic horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between ...
''. Fashion designer
Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...
and investment firm JSR Capital had considered buying eight floors for $110 million and operating a hotel there, but they withdrew their offer.


Office and retail condos

In 2011,
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
purchased the top 11 office stories for $160 million, though AFI USA and Five Mile retained ownership of the of retail on the four lowest floors. After buying the office floors, Blackstone spent $105 million on renovations, aiming to attract startups and technology companies with incentives such as private entrances, parking, and terraces. The building was rebranded as 229W43. Meanwhile, AFI USA had leased all but two of the retail spaces by 2013. The new retail tenants included a restaurant by
Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owned three now-defunct restaurants in California. He licenses his name to restaurants in cities a ...
, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, which opened in late 2012. Several technology companies including
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
reportedly expressed interest in leasing space at 229 West 43rd Street. Among the early tenants were 10gen, which leased a floor in 2012, and
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
, which leased four stories in May 2013. Other office tenants included Pubmatic,
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
, and WGSN. Blackstone sold the office space to Columbia Property Trust for $516 million in July 2015. The same year,
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He is a son-in-law of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, through his marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior advisor in his father-in- ...
purchased the retail section for $295 million; all except $1 million of this price was financed by loans from Brookfield Asset Management. Kushner envisioned leasing out the space to multiple entertainment venues to create an amusement complex. In May 2016, Eiran Gazit announced plans for the Gulliver's Gate attraction with
scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...
s of landmarks, inspired by ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...
''. A month later, Kushner signed National Geographic Encounter to operate an
educational entertainment Educational entertainment, also referred to by the portmanteau edutainment, is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term has been used as early as 1933. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entert ...
attraction about the ocean, replacing Discovery Times Square Exposition. Celebrity chef Todd English also signed a lease in late 2016 to run a food hall, but the hall remained unopened for over a year. In October 2016,
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
lent $370 million to refinance the retail space, which consisted of $285 million of notes sold in the
commercial mortgage-backed security Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) are a type of mortgage-backed security backed by commercial mortgage, commercial and multifamily mortgages rather than residential real estate. CMBS tend to be more complex and volatile than Residen ...
market, as well as two loans held by Paramount Group and SL Green Realty that totaled $85 million. Kushner used the loans to pay off the Brookfield financing and pay a special $59 million dividend to the Kushner Company, which prompted
Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York University, Mueller served a ...
to scrutinize the payments during his Special Counsel investigation. Within the office portion of the building, Complex Media subleased some of Yahoo Inc.'s space in late 2017. Guy Fieri's restaurant announced plans to close at the end of 2017, and the food hall was canceled after English and Kushner sued each other in February 2018. That April, Kushner replaced Guy Fieri's former space with a new outpost of The Ribbon, a popular
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
restaurant. By the end of 2018, the retail tenants were suffering financial difficulties and lawsuits. Gulliver's Gate objected that their space was smaller than promised, securing a 50 percent rent reduction after negotiating with the Kushners. National Geographic was evicted in January 2019. Kushner Companies defaulted on their mezzanine loans in March 2019 after missing several payments; the rental income was lower than expected, while the $9 million in expenses was twice as much as expected. A special servicer took over the $285 million loan in January 2020, and Gulliver's Gate closed the same month. The building's office tenants at the time included the temporary headquarters of the
Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign The 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg commenced in November 2019, later than most other campaigns for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg opted not to compete in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada ...
. In March 2020, when the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
forced many physical businesses to close, Kushner fell behind on loan payments yet again. Paramount Group auctioned the retail unit that June after Kushner's default. At the end of that year, the building's retail condo was valued at $92.5 million amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...
, representing an 80 percent decrease from three years earlier.
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...
relocated to the building in 2022. Early the next year, Columbia Property Trust defaulted on a mortgage that it had received for 229 West 43rd Street. By mid-2023, the building was 40 percent vacant, prompting
Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is considered as being one of the " Bi ...
to downgrade the outlook of a mortgage loan on the building.


Reception

''New York Times'' design writer Steven Heller wrote in 2001 that he would rather occupy "the small Times lobby with its sweeping marble staircase, Deco-styled appointments, and curtained windows above the revolving door" than the new headquarters. Conversely, the paper's former architecture critic Paul Goldberger said "it was never a wonderful place to work" because it merged "the worst qualities of a factory and an office". Symbolically, 229 West 43rd Street was associated with ''The New York Times''. Before the building was preserved as a landmark, Heller said: "The old Times building is an archaeological dig—a chronicle of newspaper history and a link to the city's rich past." ''The New York Observer'' wrote: "From the back-of-the-newsroom clerks to the Sulzberger on the 14th floor, Timesmen have known their place by knowing their places."


Office tenants

*Floor 5: MongoDB Inc. *Floors 6–7:
Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...
*Floor 7: Pubmatic, WGSN *Floor 8: Knotel *Floors 9–12, 14:
Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
subsidiaries
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
and Complex Media *Floors 15–16:
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...


See also

* 1913 in architecture * List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

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External links

* * {{Authority control 1913 establishments in New York City Commercial buildings completed in 1913 Kushner family New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan The New York Times buildings Newspaper buildings Newspaper headquarters in the United States Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan Times Square buildings