575 Madison Avenue (New York City, New York)

 office building, commercial building

285-foot, 25-story International-style office building completed in 1950. Designed by Emery Roth & Sons, it is clad in alternating bands of grey metal and small, square ribbon windows with silver metal mullions, above a 2-story base. The base is lined with two levels of metal-and-glass storefronts, and has a stainless-steel band across the top, as well as stainless-steel piers on the south facade. The main entrance is near the center of the west facade on the avenue, just north of the four southern bays where the facade is set farther back than the north half. Beige granite piers frame the entrance, which has two sets of stainless-steel-and-glass double-doors at the south, and a revolving door at the north. At the 2nd floor, above the doors, there is a round-arched beige granite element with the numbers 575, projecting from a recessed, concave stainless-steel panel. At the northwest corner of the building, the base is interrupted by a storefront with a 2-story clear glass curtain wall in a black metal frame. The east end of the narrower north facade on 57th Street has two more small, 2-story storefronts. The east end of the longer south facade on 56th Street has an entrance/exit to the underground parking garage.

The upper floors have cascading setbacks beginning above the 15th floor at the north half, and above the 12th floor at the south. At the east end of the south facade, there are more setbacks, beginning above the 7th floor, and then continuing to cascade up and back like those on the rest of the facades. The 2-story base is occupied by a First Republic Bank branch, Muska Milano handbags, Oliver Peoples sunglasses,a Breitling watches flagship boutique at the northwest corner, and Vacheron Constantin watches.