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590 Madison Avenue
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590 Madison Avenue
590 Madison Avenue, also known as the IBM Building, is a skyscraper at 57th Street and Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates the 41-story, 603-foot (184 m)-tall tower was developed for the technology company IBM and built from 1978 to 1983.
The building is shaped like an irregular pentagon, with a chamfer cutting diagonally across what would typically be the southwest corner of a rectangular slab. The facade is made of gray-green glass and polished granite, which Barnes intended would give the building the appearance of a prism. The northeast corner of the tower is cantilevered over the main entrance, and there are no setbacks throughout the building's height. Adjacent to 590 Madison Avenue's southwest corner is a privately owned public space covered by a glass structure, which contains chairs, tables, and bamboo trees.
From 1938 to 1964, IBM was headquartered at one of the previous structures on the site. Despite relocating its headquarters to a suburb of New York City, IBM retained office space at multiple locations in the city and proposed the current skyscraper to consolidate some of its operations. IBM owned the tower until May 1994, when it sold the building to Edward J. Minskoff and Odyssey Partners. Until the sale, IBM occupied most of the building's space; the firm continues to maintain offices in the building, though most space has been leased to other tenants. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, which became a co-owner in 1995 and eventually took over ownership of the whole building, sold it in 2025 to RXR Realty.
590 Madison Avenue is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The rectangular land lot is bounded by Madison Avenue to the east, 57th Street to the north, and 56th Street to the south. The land lot covers approximately 39,162 square feet (3,638.3 m2), with a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on Madison Avenue and 195 feet (59 m) on both 56th and 57th Streets. The building is on the same city block as Trump Tower and the Tiffany & Co. flagship store to the west. Other nearby buildings include the Corning Glass Building to the southwest, 550 Madison Avenue to the south, Park Avenue Tower and the New York Friars Club to the southeast, 432 Park Avenue to the east, Fuller Building and Four Seasons Hotel New York to the northeast, the LVMH Tower to the north, and 3 East 57th Street and 745 Fifth Avenue to the northwest.
In 1936, the IBM Corporation acquired an existing 20-story building at 590 Madison Avenue, at the southwest corner of 57th Street. The IBM headquarters opened within that building two years later. IBM acquired additional adjacent lots in 1973. At the time, a pair of buildings designed by Carrère and Hastings occupied part of the site. One of these buildings, at 14 East 57th Street, was designed for art gallery operator Roland Knoedler. The current skyscraper's site was also occupied by an eight-story apartment studio at 12 East 57th Street. At the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 56th Street was a 13-story structure.
590 Madison Avenue was originally owned by IBM and thus called the "IBM Building". 590 Madison Avenue was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates. John M. Y. Lee and Armand P. Avakian were the associates-in-charge while Richard Klibschon was the project architect. Antanas Vytuvis was the chief resident architect. In addition, James Ruderman was the structural engineer, LeMessurier Associates was the structural consultant, and Joseph R. Loring & Associates was the mechanical and electrical engineer. Turner Construction was the general contractor.
The 41-story building is 603 feet (184 m) tall and contains a pentagonal floor plan. Adjacent to the building on its southwest corner is an enclosed atrium, a privately owned public space covered by a glass structure. As of 2020[update], the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio owns the entire building and holds the land under it. A portion of the land owned by STRS Ohio is leased to The Trump Organization.
The building was designed as a pentagonal wedge, with a large chamfer that cuts into the rectangular massing at the site's southwest corner. According to Barnes, this shape was chosen to highlight the presence of the public atrium, which otherwise would have been overlooked due to its relatively nondescript location in the middle of the block. Barnes believed in the observance of an older New York City zoning law, with the low-rise section of a skyscraper on a narrow street and the high-rise section on a wider street. As Madison Avenue and 57th Street are both wider than 56th Street, the bulk of the building is angled toward the former two streets at the northeast corner of the site. The tower runs along the lot line on 57th Street but is set back 10 feet (3.0 m) from Madison Avenue. The sidewalk, between the curb and the building's exterior wall, is made of green-granite squares measuring 40 by 40 inches (1,000 by 1,000 mm). The presence of the atrium at the southwest corner of the lot, and the fact that the tower only occupies 40 percent of the site, allowed the rest of the building to rise without setbacks.
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590 Madison Avenue
590 Madison Avenue, also known as the IBM Building, is a skyscraper at 57th Street and Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates the 41-story, 603-foot (184 m)-tall tower was developed for the technology company IBM and built from 1978 to 1983.
The building is shaped like an irregular pentagon, with a chamfer cutting diagonally across what would typically be the southwest corner of a rectangular slab. The facade is made of gray-green glass and polished granite, which Barnes intended would give the building the appearance of a prism. The northeast corner of the tower is cantilevered over the main entrance, and there are no setbacks throughout the building's height. Adjacent to 590 Madison Avenue's southwest corner is a privately owned public space covered by a glass structure, which contains chairs, tables, and bamboo trees.
From 1938 to 1964, IBM was headquartered at one of the previous structures on the site. Despite relocating its headquarters to a suburb of New York City, IBM retained office space at multiple locations in the city and proposed the current skyscraper to consolidate some of its operations. IBM owned the tower until May 1994, when it sold the building to Edward J. Minskoff and Odyssey Partners. Until the sale, IBM occupied most of the building's space; the firm continues to maintain offices in the building, though most space has been leased to other tenants. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, which became a co-owner in 1995 and eventually took over ownership of the whole building, sold it in 2025 to RXR Realty.
590 Madison Avenue is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The rectangular land lot is bounded by Madison Avenue to the east, 57th Street to the north, and 56th Street to the south. The land lot covers approximately 39,162 square feet (3,638.3 m2), with a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on Madison Avenue and 195 feet (59 m) on both 56th and 57th Streets. The building is on the same city block as Trump Tower and the Tiffany & Co. flagship store to the west. Other nearby buildings include the Corning Glass Building to the southwest, 550 Madison Avenue to the south, Park Avenue Tower and the New York Friars Club to the southeast, 432 Park Avenue to the east, Fuller Building and Four Seasons Hotel New York to the northeast, the LVMH Tower to the north, and 3 East 57th Street and 745 Fifth Avenue to the northwest.
In 1936, the IBM Corporation acquired an existing 20-story building at 590 Madison Avenue, at the southwest corner of 57th Street. The IBM headquarters opened within that building two years later. IBM acquired additional adjacent lots in 1973. At the time, a pair of buildings designed by Carrère and Hastings occupied part of the site. One of these buildings, at 14 East 57th Street, was designed for art gallery operator Roland Knoedler. The current skyscraper's site was also occupied by an eight-story apartment studio at 12 East 57th Street. At the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 56th Street was a 13-story structure.
590 Madison Avenue was originally owned by IBM and thus called the "IBM Building". 590 Madison Avenue was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates. John M. Y. Lee and Armand P. Avakian were the associates-in-charge while Richard Klibschon was the project architect. Antanas Vytuvis was the chief resident architect. In addition, James Ruderman was the structural engineer, LeMessurier Associates was the structural consultant, and Joseph R. Loring & Associates was the mechanical and electrical engineer. Turner Construction was the general contractor.
The 41-story building is 603 feet (184 m) tall and contains a pentagonal floor plan. Adjacent to the building on its southwest corner is an enclosed atrium, a privately owned public space covered by a glass structure. As of 2020[update], the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio owns the entire building and holds the land under it. A portion of the land owned by STRS Ohio is leased to The Trump Organization.
The building was designed as a pentagonal wedge, with a large chamfer that cuts into the rectangular massing at the site's southwest corner. According to Barnes, this shape was chosen to highlight the presence of the public atrium, which otherwise would have been overlooked due to its relatively nondescript location in the middle of the block. Barnes believed in the observance of an older New York City zoning law, with the low-rise section of a skyscraper on a narrow street and the high-rise section on a wider street. As Madison Avenue and 57th Street are both wider than 56th Street, the bulk of the building is angled toward the former two streets at the northeast corner of the site. The tower runs along the lot line on 57th Street but is set back 10 feet (3.0 m) from Madison Avenue. The sidewalk, between the curb and the building's exterior wall, is made of green-granite squares measuring 40 by 40 inches (1,000 by 1,000 mm). The presence of the atrium at the southwest corner of the lot, and the fact that the tower only occupies 40 percent of the site, allowed the rest of the building to rise without setbacks.