1211 Avenue of the Americas

1211 Avenue of the Americas, also known as the News Corp. Building, is an International Style skyscraper on Sixth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neithborhood of New York City. Formerly called the Celanese Building, it was completed in 1973 as part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the "XYZ Buildings". Celanese, its primary tenant, later moved to Dallas, Texas. The building is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge as of 2023.[3]

1211 Avenue of the Americas
1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan
Alternative names
  • Celanese Building
  • News Corp. Building
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeOffices and television studios (Dow Jones & Company, Fox News, New York Post, The Wall Street Journal)
Architectural styleInternational Style
Location1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates40.758464°N 73.981806°W / 40.758464; -73.981806
Construction started1968
Completed1971
Opening1973
OwnerIvanhoé Cambridge
Height
Roof592 ft (180.44 m)
Top floor44
Technical details
Floor count45
Floor area1,854,912 sq ft (170,000 m2)
Lifts/elevators36
Design and construction
Architect(s)Wallace Harrison (Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris)
DeveloperRockefeller Group Development Corporation
Main contractorCelanese Corporation and Rockefeller Center, Inc.
References
[1][2]

The structure has a simple slab-like shape devoid of any decoration, its prosaic façade consisting of vertical alternating limestone and glass stripes. The façade stone piers are supernumerary; there are twice as many of them as structurally necessary. The glass bands are continuous and offer no indication of floor levels. These features ably create the visual lack of scale, so the tower does not look overly bulky.[4]

Background
Fox News studios at street level

The building was part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the XYZ Buildings.[4] Their plans were first drawn in 1963 by the Rockefeller family's architect, Wallace Harrison, of the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz.[5] Their letters correspond to their height. 1251 Avenue of the Americas is the "X" Building as it is the tallest at 750 ft (229 m) and 54 stories, and was the first completed, in 1971. The "Y" is 1221 Avenue of the Americas, which was the second tower completed (1973) and is the second in height (674 ft and 51 stories). The "Z" Building, the shortest and the youngest, is 1211 Avenue of the Americas with 45 stories (592 ft).[6]

The structure is LEED-certified at a silver level designation by USGBC.[7]

Notable tenants

The building served as the global headquarters for the original News Corporation, founded by Australian-born businessman Rupert Murdoch in 1980. It continues to serve as the headquarters for subsequent spin-offs Fox Corporation (2019–present) and the present-day News Corp (2013–present), and until 2019, 21st Century Fox (2013–2019). The building is well-known for housing the main Fox News studios, part of the Fox News Group which is currently owned by Fox Corp. News Corp divisions housed located in the building include Dow Jones & Company, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.

Other companies unaffiliated with News Corp that lease office space in the building include Annaly Capital Management and Ropes & Gray LLP.

Studios

See also

References
  1. "Emporis building ID 114547". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  2. 1211 Avenue of the Americas at Structurae
  3. "1211 Avenue of the Americas". Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  4. Nash, Eric (1999). Manhattan Skyscrapers. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 127. ISBN 9781568981819. Retrieved December 28, 2018. Celanese Building.
  5. Krinsky, Carol H. (1978). Rockefeller Center. Oxford University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-19-502404-3.
  6. "XYZ Buildings Exxon Building McGraw-Hill Building Celanese Building". Manhattan Skyscrapers. New York, NY: Princeton Archit.Press. 2005. pp. 127–130. doi:10.1007/1-56898-652-1_57. ISBN 978-1-56898-545-9.
  7. "1211 Avenue of the Americas". 42 floors. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  8. "'Sunday Morning Futures' moves to Studio J". News Cast Studio. August 13, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
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