355 Lexington Avenue

 office building  Add category

253-foot, 22-story early-modern-style office building completed in 1959. Designed by Emery Roth & Sons, it is clad in bands of white brick and ribbon windows, with numerous setbacks at the top half. The main entrance is in the north bay on the avenue, with metal-and-glass storefronts in most of the other bays, which are separated by black marble piers. On the south facade, the east end of the ground floor has silver metal louvers set in a black marble wall, with a service entrance at the far end. The ground floor is topped by a band of grey stone, with the brick cladding beginning above the 2nd floor. Each of the window ribbon bands has narrow metal mullions dividing the panes horizontally as well as vertically into three parts.

The first setback is above the 7th floor as the east and of the south facade, only spanning six windows in width before the next two floors angle forward to the main building line. The next setback above the 9th floor repeats this design, extending slightly further west before angling back up to the building line. The first full-floor setback (also continuing onto the west facade) is above the 11th floor, with additional setbacks above the 13th, 16th, 18th, and 20th floors, each maintaining the angled section near the east end. The top floors above the 20th-floor setback are much further recessed on the east end, culminating in a tall mechanical penthouse with four vents on the west side and six on the south. The north facade above the low portion of the adjoining building also has band of windows.