World Wide Plaza |
| See Worldwide
Plaza page on Wired New York |
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| 1 Worldwide Plaza
87th highest building in the world.
778 ft./237 m. 47 floors, completed in 1989. Architects Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill.
350 West 50 Street aka 340 West 50 Street Northside West 50 Between 8
& 9 Avenues The residential portion, containing 455 condominium apartments,
of this major development is one of the most distinguished in midtown.
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The view on World Wide Plaza from the Navy Piers
at sunset. The Morgan Stanley Building is on the
right. |
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The view on World Wide Plaza from 9th Avenue (and 50th Street) |
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A 35-story tower in midblock at 393 East 49th Street faces on a very
attractive plaza that separates it from the 50-story office building, designed
by Skidore, Owings & Merrill, that has an illuminated crown and is modeled
closely after the great New York Life Insurance Company Building on Madison
Park at 26th Street. |
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| To the east of the residential tower are a group of six-story residential
buildings located at 350 West 50th Street that are also part of this important
complex that also has a large cineplex in its basement. The low-rise buildings
surround their own large central courtyard. Both the low-rise and high-rise
portions of the project have pale orange brick facades with white trim and
many corner windows. Although there are no balconies, there are quite a
few terraces. |
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The view on the World Wide Plaza office building from 8th Avenue (and
50th Street) |
The project was completed in 1989 by William Zeckendorf Jr., and the residential
portion was designed by Frank Williams. The entire complex is on the former,
second site (from 1925-1966) of Madison Square Garden, which moved to new
quarters 17 blocks south on Eighth Avenue. World Wide Plaza was the key
to the redevelopment of Eighth Avenue, which had for decades been one of
the city's sleaziest stretches, especially after the relocation of Madison
Square Garden, and had been known mostly for its 'porn' emporiums. The pioneering
project was successful in garnering many major prestigious office tenants
because of the high quality of its design, its closeness to Rockefeller
Center and its relatively low rents at the time of the development. |
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| So important was this project to the future of West Midtown that it was
the subject of a book and television special when it was completed. Eighth
Avenue traditionally separated the Clinton residential community from the
Theater District and midtown. Plans to locate a new convention center in
the city on the Hudson River at 47th Street were defeated by civic groups
who feared that such a major project would lead to the quick redevelopment
of the low-rise Clinton neighborhood and the displacement of its many residents.
The convention center eventually was located several blocks to the south
with its main entrance at 35th Street. World Wide Plaza's importance cannot
be underestimated as it was quite critical in the renaissance of Times Square
by demonstrating that major commercial tenants would move to this once dingy
area. Its high and significant visibility on the skyline also encouraged
the planned westward expansion of Rockefeller Center to Seventh Avenue and
several other medium office buildings nearby. |
Closeup on World Wide Plaza office building |
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| Although the 35-story apartment tower is dwarfed by the
much larger office tower, it is substantially separated from it by the
plaza and offers incredible views because it is so far west. The tower
has some very large terraces and one of the grandest and most elegant,
modern lobbies in the city. The low-rise buildings, which were designed
to fit into the context of Ninth Avenue and the Clinton District, have
highly detailed and modulated facades with curved segments. The entire
mixed-use project is the handsomest of its kind and size in Manhattan
after World War II. Although the design of the office tower with its steep
pyramidal roof is Post-Modern, it is very imposing and grand. The residential
section is distinctly different stylistically but very compatible with
the office tower. |
The view on the World Wide Plaza building from Pier 90. The ship on the
right is Carnival Destiny. |
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The view on the World Wide Plaza building from Navy Piers. The corner
of West Side Highway and West 49th Street. |
This is New York at its best: fabulous views from the tower, great
architecture, wonderful, landscaped plaza with a large sculpted globe,
major, inexpensive cineplex, a mix of housing types, grand entrance, protected
courtyard, a mix of housing types and apartment sizes, deference to the
surrounding community, the ethnic flavor of Ninth Avenue, famed for its
food festivals, the nearby glamor of the Theater District and Times Square
and a short walk to some of the most interesting and good-looking office
buildings in midtown, to say nothing of Rockefeller Center, and good transportation.
-- Carter B.
Horsley |
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