Certificate of Appropriateness Testimony
|
LPC-23-05769
330 West 42nd Street – McGraw-Hill Building – Individual Landmark
MISCELLANEOUS – AMENDMENT
A Moderne/International Style office building designed by Raymond Hood, and Godley & Fouilhoux and built in 1931. Application is to amend Certificate of Appropriateness 22- 04937 to modify entrance infill and install signage and marquees.
Architect: SLCE Architects
HDC is pleased that this updated proposal includes the restoration of the McGraw Hill signage on the building’s facade, but we find the addition of a canopy over the historic entrance to be completely inappropriate.
We agree with our colleagues at Save Chelsea and The Alliance to Save the McGraw Hill Lobby that the proposed canopy violates Raymond Hood’s design intent by disrupting the speedlines and sense of inward flow that makes this entrance so dynamic. We would also note that Hood’s deeply recessed entrance design makes the addition of a canopy totally unnecessary and that a canopy would obscure the McGraw Hill signage that the applicants are taking the time and effort to restore. We hope that the applicant will continue that effort inside the building by also restoring the building’s glorious lobby to its original Art Deco splendor. Action: Unanimously approved in part with modifications. No marquee  |
In order to reduce visibility and defer to the existing neo-Moorish arches, the addition needs to be set back further and reduced in height by at least a foot.
Action: Approved with modifications. Lower by a foot and change material to stucco
