Johns-Manville Building (New York City, New York)
USA /
New Jersey /
West New York /
New York City, New York /
Madison Avenue, 275
World
/ USA
/ New Jersey
/ West New York
World / United States / New York
office building, skyscraper, Art Deco (architecture)
503-foot, 43-story Art-Deco office building completed in 1931 for Jesse H. Jones who was a prominent Houston-based developer. Designed by Kenneth M. Franzheim, it is clad in white brick and black terra-cotta tiles above a 3-story black polished granite base. Rising above the base is a dramatically massed, slab-form tower that steps back repeatedly before narrowing to a nearly square plan at its upper floors.
The asymmetrical north façade on 40th Street contains the building’s main entrance. It is eight bays in width, with the main entrance recess at the 5th bay in from Madison Avenue. The main entrance door set, consisting of metal-and-glass revolving and swinging doors, is not original to the building. Above the doors is a black metal transom bar, probably original, containing gold-colored letters, likely non-historic, reading “275 MADISON AVENUE.” This sign band is crowned by a large transom opening containing a window divided into five parts horizontally and four parts vertically. A non-historic translucent panel composed of two pieces of green glass and metal attachments is installed slightly outward from the front building wall, and covers approximately the top half of the main entrance recess. Attached to the front of the glass are metal numerals reading “275". West of the main entrance are four tall openings. Each of these openings contains an identical metal window, each with an angled, non-projecting sill containing raised ornament in a simple geometric pattern; the raised portions of these sills are painted silver, and the recessed portions black. Each of these windows is split into three vertical parts, consisting of a ground-floor portion, a mezzanine portion, and decorative spandrels. The spandrel and mezzanine portions of the three windows east of the main entrance are identical to those west of the entrance except at the central of the three windows, where the central spandrel panel is wider than the others, and of a slightly different design. A band of rectangular window openings—six to the east of the main entrance, and twelve to its west—exists at the 3rd floor. Contrasting, light grey abstract geometric ornament in unpolished granite, possibly painted with silver-colored paint, fills the space between these windows and forms a band over the main entrance.
The Madison Avenue façade of the base is similar; asymmetrical and four bays in width, its 2nd-northernmost bay contains a stepped-back, recessed main entrance to the building’s ground-floor banking hall, set within a surround comprising a thick metal molding with a zigzag pattern, and an enframement composed of faceted black metal panels within a silver-colored metal frame. The surround is crowned by a historic octagonal clock set within a stepped surround. Above the main-entrance surround is a 4-part metal window. The openings flanking the entrance are of identical width and contain spandrel panels that are identical to those on the East 40th Street façade. The southernmost opening is similar in its upper half to the others; seven spandrel panels in width, but with metal louvers installed above the spandrel panels.
Above the base, the building’s white vertical stripes are composed of white brick; these alternate with dark window bands that have spandrels composed of grids of black terra-cotta tiles. The lower portion of the tower—approximately the 4th-23rd floors—rises in a series of setbacks, different on each façade, to a narrow, nearly square upper tower, which comprises approximately the 24th-43rd floors. Both the lower and upper towers are sparely ornamented, except for simple abstract geometric ornament in contrasting white brick and black brick or terra-cotta within some of the spandrels and at some lintels. On 40th Street the lower part of the tower is 14 bays wide at the 4th floor. A recessed 6-bay-wide central portion is flanked, on each side, by four bays, forming a light well. The central portion proceeds up to the 21st floor, after stepping back at its uppermost four floors to form a 2-bay-wide peak. The bays flanking the central portion of the main façade step back above the 12th floor, and again two floors above. Two bays of windows face into the light well up to the 12fth floor, with one of these bays continuing to the 14th floor.
The Madison Avenue façade is six bays wide at the 4th-12th floors. Above the 12th floor, it steps back in a series of setbacks to the upper tower. Seven south-facing windows exist on the setbacks, overlooking the adjacent building at 271 Madison Avenue. The partially visible east façade is flat, faced in white brick, and virtually free of ornament. This façade steps back from 40th Street above the 12th, 14th, 17th, and 20th floors. Above the 23rd floor, the entire façade steps back from the east plane of the building to meet the upper tower.
The upper portion of the tower is much narrower; it is six bays wide on the 40th Street façade, and five bays wide on the Madison Avenue and east facades. On the Madison Avenue façade, the openings of the two southernmost bays are filled with black panels. The south façade is eight bays wide, with window openings within its three easternmost bays and an exposed vertical pipe set back from black, horizontal beams within the 2nd-westernmost bay. The westernmost and 3rd, 4th, and 5th-westernmost bays are composed of black vertical stripes. Some brick on the lower portion of the south façade of the upper tower is stained and discolored by exhaust from the adjacent building to the south. All facades of the upper tower feature limited, abstract geometric ornament in white brick and contrasting black brick or terra cotta similar to that of the lower tower.
The upper tower originally rose to a symmetrical flat crown marked by notched corners and a parapet ornamented with black-and-white, chevron-like decoration and simple corbelled, projecting white brick piers. The roof has been altered with the construction of a 2-story penthouse, which is primarily visible over the east and south façades. This glass-and-steel addition, featuring ribbon windows and chamfered corners, is topped by two levels of rooftop terraces with metal pipe railings. A vertical exhaust pipe is also visible over the east façade.
In 1933, Johns-Manville Corporation, then a major producer of asbestos-based building products and today of general building materials, leased 14 floors, and the building was named after the company, although various other companies have been and remain tenants. One of the early ground-level tenants, signified by a clock, was the New York Trust Co.
The ground floor is currently occupied by Fields Good Chicken, City MD Urgent Care and Summer Salt restaurant.
www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/en...
archive.org/details/TheCatalogOfJohns-manvilleBuildingM...
archive.org/details/artsdecoration2021newy/page/n278/mo...
archive.org/details/artsdecoration2122newy/page/n216/mo...
usmodernist.org/AMAR/AMAR-1932-08.pdf
The asymmetrical north façade on 40th Street contains the building’s main entrance. It is eight bays in width, with the main entrance recess at the 5th bay in from Madison Avenue. The main entrance door set, consisting of metal-and-glass revolving and swinging doors, is not original to the building. Above the doors is a black metal transom bar, probably original, containing gold-colored letters, likely non-historic, reading “275 MADISON AVENUE.” This sign band is crowned by a large transom opening containing a window divided into five parts horizontally and four parts vertically. A non-historic translucent panel composed of two pieces of green glass and metal attachments is installed slightly outward from the front building wall, and covers approximately the top half of the main entrance recess. Attached to the front of the glass are metal numerals reading “275". West of the main entrance are four tall openings. Each of these openings contains an identical metal window, each with an angled, non-projecting sill containing raised ornament in a simple geometric pattern; the raised portions of these sills are painted silver, and the recessed portions black. Each of these windows is split into three vertical parts, consisting of a ground-floor portion, a mezzanine portion, and decorative spandrels. The spandrel and mezzanine portions of the three windows east of the main entrance are identical to those west of the entrance except at the central of the three windows, where the central spandrel panel is wider than the others, and of a slightly different design. A band of rectangular window openings—six to the east of the main entrance, and twelve to its west—exists at the 3rd floor. Contrasting, light grey abstract geometric ornament in unpolished granite, possibly painted with silver-colored paint, fills the space between these windows and forms a band over the main entrance.
The Madison Avenue façade of the base is similar; asymmetrical and four bays in width, its 2nd-northernmost bay contains a stepped-back, recessed main entrance to the building’s ground-floor banking hall, set within a surround comprising a thick metal molding with a zigzag pattern, and an enframement composed of faceted black metal panels within a silver-colored metal frame. The surround is crowned by a historic octagonal clock set within a stepped surround. Above the main-entrance surround is a 4-part metal window. The openings flanking the entrance are of identical width and contain spandrel panels that are identical to those on the East 40th Street façade. The southernmost opening is similar in its upper half to the others; seven spandrel panels in width, but with metal louvers installed above the spandrel panels.
Above the base, the building’s white vertical stripes are composed of white brick; these alternate with dark window bands that have spandrels composed of grids of black terra-cotta tiles. The lower portion of the tower—approximately the 4th-23rd floors—rises in a series of setbacks, different on each façade, to a narrow, nearly square upper tower, which comprises approximately the 24th-43rd floors. Both the lower and upper towers are sparely ornamented, except for simple abstract geometric ornament in contrasting white brick and black brick or terra-cotta within some of the spandrels and at some lintels. On 40th Street the lower part of the tower is 14 bays wide at the 4th floor. A recessed 6-bay-wide central portion is flanked, on each side, by four bays, forming a light well. The central portion proceeds up to the 21st floor, after stepping back at its uppermost four floors to form a 2-bay-wide peak. The bays flanking the central portion of the main façade step back above the 12th floor, and again two floors above. Two bays of windows face into the light well up to the 12fth floor, with one of these bays continuing to the 14th floor.
The Madison Avenue façade is six bays wide at the 4th-12th floors. Above the 12th floor, it steps back in a series of setbacks to the upper tower. Seven south-facing windows exist on the setbacks, overlooking the adjacent building at 271 Madison Avenue. The partially visible east façade is flat, faced in white brick, and virtually free of ornament. This façade steps back from 40th Street above the 12th, 14th, 17th, and 20th floors. Above the 23rd floor, the entire façade steps back from the east plane of the building to meet the upper tower.
The upper portion of the tower is much narrower; it is six bays wide on the 40th Street façade, and five bays wide on the Madison Avenue and east facades. On the Madison Avenue façade, the openings of the two southernmost bays are filled with black panels. The south façade is eight bays wide, with window openings within its three easternmost bays and an exposed vertical pipe set back from black, horizontal beams within the 2nd-westernmost bay. The westernmost and 3rd, 4th, and 5th-westernmost bays are composed of black vertical stripes. Some brick on the lower portion of the south façade of the upper tower is stained and discolored by exhaust from the adjacent building to the south. All facades of the upper tower feature limited, abstract geometric ornament in white brick and contrasting black brick or terra cotta similar to that of the lower tower.
The upper tower originally rose to a symmetrical flat crown marked by notched corners and a parapet ornamented with black-and-white, chevron-like decoration and simple corbelled, projecting white brick piers. The roof has been altered with the construction of a 2-story penthouse, which is primarily visible over the east and south façades. This glass-and-steel addition, featuring ribbon windows and chamfered corners, is topped by two levels of rooftop terraces with metal pipe railings. A vertical exhaust pipe is also visible over the east façade.
In 1933, Johns-Manville Corporation, then a major producer of asbestos-based building products and today of general building materials, leased 14 floors, and the building was named after the company, although various other companies have been and remain tenants. One of the early ground-level tenants, signified by a clock, was the New York Trust Co.
The ground floor is currently occupied by Fields Good Chicken, City MD Urgent Care and Summer Salt restaurant.
www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/en...
archive.org/details/TheCatalogOfJohns-manvilleBuildingM...
archive.org/details/artsdecoration2021newy/page/n278/mo...
archive.org/details/artsdecoration2122newy/page/n216/mo...
usmodernist.org/AMAR/AMAR-1932-08.pdf
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns-Manville
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 40°45'4"N 73°58'47"W
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