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Bush Tower
The Bush Tower (also the Bush Terminal Building, the Bush Terminal International Exhibit Building and formerly the Bush Terminal Sales Building) is a 433-foot-tall (132 m) building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, just east of Times Square. Designed by Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett of the firm Helmle & Corbett, the building occupies a plot at 130–132 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.
The Bush Tower was built for Irving T. Bush's Bush Terminal Company, which operated Bush Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York City. The 30-story section of the tower facing 42nd Street was developed between 1916 and 1918. A 10-story wing, completed in 1921, extends south to 41st Street. The Bush Tower's design combined narrowness, height, and Neo-Gothic architecture, and the massing contains several setbacks to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The facade contains trompe-l'œil brickwork, which creates vertical "ribs" with a false "shade" pattern to enhance the building's verticality. It originally contained a buyer's club on its three lowest stories and exhibits on its upper stories.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company foreclosed upon the tower in 1938 and the upper floors were subsequently converted for regular office usage. By the early 1980s, the Bush Tower had deteriorated significantly and the owners considered demolishing the building. It was instead renovated and was designated as a city landmark in 1988 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. As of 2015[update], China Vanke has a controlling ownership stake in the Bush Tower, while Tribeca Associates and Meadow Partners hold a lease on the land.
The Bush Tower is at 130–132 West 42nd Street, on the southern side of the street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The building extends 197.5 feet (60.2 m) southward to 41st Street, where it carries the alternate address of 135–137 West 41st Street. The building's land lot has a frontage of about 50 feet (15 m) along 42nd Street and 100 feet (30 m) on 41st Street, extending further west than the 42nd Street frontage. and covers 14,947 square feet (1,388.6 m2). The site is near the Knickerbocker Hotel to the west, 1095 Avenue of the Americas to the east, 4 Times Square to the northwest, and Bank of America Tower to the northeast.
The Bush Tower was developed between 1916 and 1918 by Irving T. Bush's Bush Terminal Company, which sought to bring buyers, manufacturers, and designers to a common marketplace. The architects, Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett of the firm Helmle & Corbett, gave the Bush Tower a neo-Gothic appearance that was somewhat similar to the nearly contemporary Woolworth Building. The main contractor was the Thompson-Starrett Company, while the terracotta contractor was the South Amboy Terra Cotta Company. Various firms were involved in furnishing the interior.
The building measures approximately 432 or 433 feet (132 or 132 m) from ground to roof. The tower is described as being 30 stories tall, or 29 stories if its double-height top story is counted as one floor.
The Bush Tower was the city's first skyscraper to be constructed following the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Because the zoning ordinance greatly restricted the massing of buildings, it was characterized by contemporary writers as possibly the last skyscraper to ever be built in New York City. Instead, it came to impact the designs of other skyscrapers with setbacks (see Bush Tower § Impact). Even though several other architects at the time believed that the plans may have been adjusted in response to the 1916 Zoning Resolution, Corbett wrote that the inclusion of setbacks at the Bush Tower was part of the original design, which predated the resolution. The design for the massing was characterized by Fiske Kimball as being like an "arrow".
The building's "shaft", which rises to the 22nd floor, measures only 50 feet (15 m) wide on 42nd Street and 90 feet (27 m) deep. At the center of the eastern facade is a recessed light court, which was designed to illuminate the offices at the center of the tower. A similar light court exists on the western side of the shaft. Because of the narrowness of the lot, the light courts take up significant space within the shaft. The 41st Street wing is ten stories tall and contains a light court on its eastern lot line, adjacent to the shaft. A penthouse is atop the roof of the 41st Street wing's 10th story.
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Bush Tower
The Bush Tower (also the Bush Terminal Building, the Bush Terminal International Exhibit Building and formerly the Bush Terminal Sales Building) is a 433-foot-tall (132 m) building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, just east of Times Square. Designed by Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett of the firm Helmle & Corbett, the building occupies a plot at 130–132 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.
The Bush Tower was built for Irving T. Bush's Bush Terminal Company, which operated Bush Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York City. The 30-story section of the tower facing 42nd Street was developed between 1916 and 1918. A 10-story wing, completed in 1921, extends south to 41st Street. The Bush Tower's design combined narrowness, height, and Neo-Gothic architecture, and the massing contains several setbacks to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The facade contains trompe-l'œil brickwork, which creates vertical "ribs" with a false "shade" pattern to enhance the building's verticality. It originally contained a buyer's club on its three lowest stories and exhibits on its upper stories.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company foreclosed upon the tower in 1938 and the upper floors were subsequently converted for regular office usage. By the early 1980s, the Bush Tower had deteriorated significantly and the owners considered demolishing the building. It was instead renovated and was designated as a city landmark in 1988 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. As of 2015[update], China Vanke has a controlling ownership stake in the Bush Tower, while Tribeca Associates and Meadow Partners hold a lease on the land.
The Bush Tower is at 130–132 West 42nd Street, on the southern side of the street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The building extends 197.5 feet (60.2 m) southward to 41st Street, where it carries the alternate address of 135–137 West 41st Street. The building's land lot has a frontage of about 50 feet (15 m) along 42nd Street and 100 feet (30 m) on 41st Street, extending further west than the 42nd Street frontage. and covers 14,947 square feet (1,388.6 m2). The site is near the Knickerbocker Hotel to the west, 1095 Avenue of the Americas to the east, 4 Times Square to the northwest, and Bank of America Tower to the northeast.
The Bush Tower was developed between 1916 and 1918 by Irving T. Bush's Bush Terminal Company, which sought to bring buyers, manufacturers, and designers to a common marketplace. The architects, Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett of the firm Helmle & Corbett, gave the Bush Tower a neo-Gothic appearance that was somewhat similar to the nearly contemporary Woolworth Building. The main contractor was the Thompson-Starrett Company, while the terracotta contractor was the South Amboy Terra Cotta Company. Various firms were involved in furnishing the interior.
The building measures approximately 432 or 433 feet (132 or 132 m) from ground to roof. The tower is described as being 30 stories tall, or 29 stories if its double-height top story is counted as one floor.
The Bush Tower was the city's first skyscraper to be constructed following the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Because the zoning ordinance greatly restricted the massing of buildings, it was characterized by contemporary writers as possibly the last skyscraper to ever be built in New York City. Instead, it came to impact the designs of other skyscrapers with setbacks (see Bush Tower § Impact). Even though several other architects at the time believed that the plans may have been adjusted in response to the 1916 Zoning Resolution, Corbett wrote that the inclusion of setbacks at the Bush Tower was part of the original design, which predated the resolution. The design for the massing was characterized by Fiske Kimball as being like an "arrow".
The building's "shaft", which rises to the 22nd floor, measures only 50 feet (15 m) wide on 42nd Street and 90 feet (27 m) deep. At the center of the eastern facade is a recessed light court, which was designed to illuminate the offices at the center of the tower. A similar light court exists on the western side of the shaft. Because of the narrowness of the lot, the light courts take up significant space within the shaft. The 41st Street wing is ten stories tall and contains a light court on its eastern lot line, adjacent to the shaft. A penthouse is atop the roof of the 41st Street wing's 10th story.
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