Grolier Building

 office building, skyscraper, 1958_construction, International style architecture

414-foot, 33-story International-style/modernist office building completed in 1958. Designed by Der Scutt, it was originally clad in gold-colored glass. It was re-clad in 1990 with dark-tinted glass and black aluminum framing grid. The building wraps around the 6-story building at the northwest corner, and also around the neighboring tower at the northeast. The wing that extends between these two buildings to the north and fronts on 52nd Street is clad in dark-brown brick with a black stone, metal and glass ground floor, and sets back above the 6th floor. It has continued setbacks every second floor up to where it meets the main bulk of the building at the 17th floor. The north wing has bands of nine windows in black metal framing.

Rising up behind and above the corner building, the north-facing wall of the Grolier Building is also clad in brown brick. It has four bays of triple-windows at the west, followed by a bay of double-windows, and a bay of single-windows where it meets the northward-projecting wing. The west bay drops off at a setback above the 8th floor, with additional setbacks on the west facade above the 12th and 16th floors. There is a final setback on the north side, above the 20th floor, where the brown brick on the north elevation gives way to the dark glass curtain wall of the rest of the tower.

On the west facade along the avenue the ground floor is clad in white marble and green-tinted glass. There is a central, recessed, 2-bay main entrance. The rear wall of the entry is glass and has revolving doors. The entry extends up to the 2nd floor, where the white marble frames pale-green glass panels above the recessed area. The other ground-floor bays have storefronts. On the south facade on 51st Street the ground-floor storefronts have black aluminum grids similar to the cladding on the upper floors. There is a green marble water table that grows slightly higher as it progresses to the east due to the slope of the site. At the east end there are two entrance/exits to the underground parking garage, and two loading docks.

The east end of the south facade sets back above the 6th floor, followed by a full-floor setback above the 8th floor. The east half of the facade then sets back above the 10th floor, followed by a full setback above the 12th, another half-setback above the 14th, and a full setback above the 16th. A final setback at the east end occurs above the 18th floor, above which the east end of the tower ends in a lower roof at the 20th floor. The upper tower portion continues straight up as a square to the main roof line. The rear, east-facing elevation of the upper tower is faced in plain concrete, with a bay of single-windows at the south edge, and two bays of smaller square windows toward the center.

The ground floor is occupied by Cafe Today at the north wing, and by Camera Land, a Duane-Reade pharmacy and New York Sports Club at the main building section.