Seagram Building – Exterior and Interior

The Seagram Building, erected in 1956-58, is the only building in New York City designed by architectural master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Carefully related to the tranquil granite and marble plaza on its Park Avenue site, the elegant curtain wall of bronze and tinted glass enfolds the first fully modular modern office tower. Constructed at a time when Park Avenue was changing from an exclusive residential thoroughfare to a prestigious business address, the Seagram Building embodies the quest of a successful corporation to establish further its public image through architectural patronage.

The bronze-clad columns and other carefully crafted rich components are common to both lobby and tower. The lobby is inherently bound to the plaza through the use of common paving materials, transparent glass walls, and strong horizontal features. The realization of the building’s interior was made possible by a rare coalition of talented consultants and by pioneering efforts of research and fabrication. The mosaic-clad ceiling, bronze lobby appointments, specially designed elevator cabs and other features produce a rich but understated lobby. This interior is accentuated by an innovative illumination scheme and other technical features.

STATUS Designated Exterior and Interior Landmark

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Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

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Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

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