Another photo from Berniece Abbott’s “Changing New York” project, this one from 1936 and titled “Park Avenue and 39th Street.” As usual, Abbott was contrasting the big buildings in the background with the much older and smaller buildings in the foreground. Four of those big buildings are very big. From left to right: the 44-story 10 East 40th Street, the 43-story New York Trust Company at 40th Street and Madison Avenue, the 42-story Lefcourt Colonial Building at 41st Street and Madison Avenue, and the 53-story Lincoln Building on 42nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues. When these buildings were constructed, between 1929 and 1931, they were among the tallest in the world and they are clustered within a two-block radius. None of them is more than three blocks from the 52-story Chanin and 77-story Chrysler buildings. That is a remarkable concentration of skyscrapers even today; in 1936 it was unequalled.
People familiar with Manhattan know what’s coming next: Grand Central Terminal is at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. These towers were built here specifically to take advantage of the huge train station and the adjacent subway and elevated stations. So the presence of this cluster is whatever the reverse of a mystery is: self-evidently manifest, maybe.
One last comment: the nearly-vacant lot in the foreground is where most of the old Murray Hill Hotel had been (the low building on the far right is a remnant) and was eventually filled by the new 100 Park Avenue.
Note: I’ve been saving the title of today’s blog post for the right moment and this seems to be it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.