Pfizer World Headquarters

 office building, skyscraper, 1961_construction, International style architecture

409-foot, 33-story International-style office building completed in 1961. Designed by Leonard, Colangelo & Peters with Emery Roth & Sons as the world headquarters of the Pfizer Corporation, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, it is clad in a curtain wall of black metal spandrels, dark-tinted glass, and stainless-steel mullions. The building wraps around the Crystal Building at the corner of Second Avenue and 43rd Street, and an 8-story annex extends to the west along 42nd Street.

The ground floor is clad in stainless-steel and glass, with polished black granite bands at the top and bottom. The main entrance is at the center of the 42nd Street facade, with a recessed glass wall set behind three square steel columns, and framed by inset walls of white marble on both ends. The other bays, as well as those on 2nd Avenue, have storefronts. The annex has an entrance at the west end, and storefronts in its other bays. The 43rd Street facade has another entrance, flanked by storefronts, and two loading docks at the east end.

The south facade on 42nd Street has 24 small bays of double-windows, while the east facade has 10, and the north facade has 16. On the north facade, setbacks begin above the 6th floor for most of the facade, and above the 8th floor at the eastern four bays. Setbacks continue above the 11th, 13th, 16th, and 18th floors, with a setback at the west end above the 11th floor. A final setback above the 21st floor at the northwest corner matches the height of the Crystal Building on the northeast corner, creating a T-shaped upper tower that rises vertically to the roof line. The northern wing of the "T" spans seven bays, with the north face of the east wing having three bays, and the north face of the west wing having four. The east and south facades have larger setbacks above the 11th and 16th floors. The upper tower also sets back from the west above the 11th floor, and partially (the south section) above the 16th. The wide, south face of the upper tower spans 15 bays. The east- and west-facing wings of the "T" both have five bays, and the east- and west-facing sides of the stem of the "T" have four. The top floors are mechanical, with grey metal vent panels.

The 8-story annex section spans nine bays, each with three window panes except for the 2nd from westernmost bay, which has four. The windows are slightly smaller than on the main structure, and the spandrels are green instead of black, and oriented vertically instead of horizontally.

On 43rd Street, the ground floor of the Pfizer Building was occupied by Antonio's Hair Salon, and Pietro's restaurant. The lobby contained a 36 'x 14' large-scale mosaic by Nikos Bel-Jon entitled “Medical Research Through the Ages” which was executed in 1961. Renovations over many years were designed by Hoffmann Architects + Engineers with decoration by Insabelladesign. Later lobby artwork was added by Sir Brian Clarke under the direction of Kate Hixon Design in the 1990's.

The building was given a new interior by Gensler for Metro Loft Management/David Werner Real Estate Investments who are converting the building to residential use. In 2024, the mural was saved through the efforts of the Bel-Jon Art Preservation Alliance.

www.hoffarch.com/project/pfizer/
www.insabelladesign.com/corporate/portfolio/gallery1.ht...
archive.org/details/artinpublicplace0000mase/page/46/mo...
bel-jonstudios.com/6-008_Pfizer_Pharmaceuticals_-_4_mur...
evergreene.com/projects/bel-jon-mosaic/
brianclarke.co.uk/series/pfizer-pharmaceuticals-headqua...
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/realestate/pfizer-mural-niko...