NEW YORK | 570 Lexington Avenue | 640 FT / 195 M | 50 FLOORS | 1931

plinko · #1 Posted **Nov 17, 2009, 8:19 PM**

Lost in the canyons of Midtown Manhattan, the old General Electric Building stands as a monument to art deco architecture and New York zoning. A stepped, almost ziggurat base, culminating in an extraordinarily small floor-plated tower, capped by a whimsical crown. The detailing by this tower by Cross & Cross far exceeds that of their other huge tower, the City Farmers National Bank in Lower Manhattan, and the crown has almost the feel of a gothic cathedral.

please add more pictures to this thread, this is just what I have in my collection

wrab · #2 Posted **Jul 31, 2010, 4:21 AM**

I love how tight the theming & iconography was on these Deco-era towers.

Some of the details:

ahisgett http://www.flickr.com/photos/hisgett/4691369532/

plasticfootball http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrensnow/4688021559/sizes/l/in/photostream/

The Two Ks http://www.flickr.com/photos/rewriteable/147053231/sizes/o/in/photostream/

wrab · #3 Posted **Jul 31, 2010, 6:37 PM**

Archival:

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID017-A01.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/mid017zc.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/mid017zb.jpg

nycdagreatest · #4 Posted **Sep 16, 2010, 12:02 AM**

dominique james

MolsonExport · #5 Posted **Sep 16, 2010, 4:01 PM**

Wasn't this building featured in Ghostbusters?

nycdagreatest · #6 Posted **Sep 16, 2010, 5:12 PM**

not sure about Ghostbusters but I know it was featured in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

ethereal_reality · #7 Posted **Sep 16, 2010, 11:26 PM**

This art deco fantasia looks like it originated on Flash Gordon's Planet Mongo.
This is arguably the best example of an art deco skyscraper in the world.

More photos please.

MolsonExport · #8 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 2:34 AM**

Fvck, they really had something awesome in the art deco era. futuristic, classy, just awesome.

NYguy · #9 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 1:36 PM**

Always loved this building. Doesn't it belong to one of the universities now?

wrab · #10 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 2:24 PM**

^ Columbia.

-----

Lobby

S E A N D U http://www.flickr.com/photos/27666824@N04/4020933193/sizes/o/in/photostream/

S E A N D U http://www.flickr.com/photos/27666824@N04/4020933191/sizes/o/in/photostream/

hunser · #11 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 3:33 PM**

when i think of gotham, there are several buildings which come to my mind: ESB, chrysler, rockefeller center, ARB, woolworth, AIG, trump tower, ... and this one! a masterpiece of art deco.

hunser · #12 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 3:40 PM**

Karon

wrab · #13 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 5:28 PM**

^ I've never seen it so clean - the details really pop now.

MolsonExport · #14 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 5:37 PM**

I'm a happily married man, but it is still possible to fall in love. what a beauty this building is!

hunser · #15 Posted **Sep 17, 2010, 7:10 PM**

i dream of the day where art deco returns to NY...

QuarterMileSidewalk · #16 Posted **May 30, 2011, 10:44 PM**

I'll second that, but not just for New York! I want some of that here out west again.

The details... No matter what you think of modern architecture, you have to admit that this level of craftsmanship is just unheard of nowadays.

urbanlife · #17 Posted **May 31, 2011, 3:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuarterMileSidewalk

I'll second that, but not just for New York! I want some of that here out west again.

The details... No matter what you think of modern architecture, you have to admit that this level of craftsmanship is just unheard of nowadays.

Mostly because of how expensive that kind of craftsmanship would be today. Beautiful towers like this one were built when labor was cheaper than materials. But nonetheless, we should definitely be going out of our way to save as many of these beautifully crafted buildings as we can because they are truly irreplaceable.

marvelfannumber1 · #18 Posted **May 31, 2011, 9:52 AM**

Woah i have not payed attention to this one. This is great truly this is one of my favorites now thanks for sharing it.

Buckeye Native 001 · #19 Posted **May 31, 2011, 4:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Wasn't this building featured in Ghostbusters?

IIRC, that was Central Park West, or one of the apartment buildings near Central Park.

Here's what I hate about New York: There's so many highrises that gems like these tend to get lost among the crowd. Not that that's a bad thing per se, I just wish other cities had this problem.

urbanlife · #20 Posted **May 31, 2011, 7:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

IIRC, that was Central Park West, or one of the apartment buildings near Central Park.

Here's what I hate about New York: There's so many highrises that gems like these tend to get lost among the crowd. Not that that's a bad thing per se, I just wish other cities had this problem.

I wish other cities had some of these buildings that get lost in the crowd...could you imagine how awesome this building would look in downtown Portland, Oregon...actually I wonder if we could just ship the building over to Portland.