Avenue of the Americas Plaza
125 West 55th Street | also 120 West 56th Street, 127 West 55th Street | Midtown | built 1988
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1919
Saint Thomas Choir School opens in a four-story building on the future tower site
The vestry of Saint Thomas Church started the Saint Thomas Choir School in 1919, prompted by the church organist T. Tertius Noble. Its first classroom space was a four-story building, 123 West 55th Street, on the block now occupied by the tower at 125 West 55th Street. A two-story addition by the architect Thomas A. Bell, completed in 1938, extended the school north to West 56th Street.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1987
The choir school swaps its West 55th Street lot with the Fisher brothers for a new tower school
Several bidders wanted the choir school's West 55th Street property, which was zoned for more building than it used, and most proposed rebuilding on the same land and moving the school during construction. The Fisher brothers instead traded for a smaller lot on West 58th Street and built a 15-story, $18 million school there first, so classes could continue. Students and staff moved in during fall 1987.
Source: csmonitor.com
- 1988
Developers race to install foundations before a zoning bonus deadline
The Saint Thomas Choir School previously occupied the site, and construction began in 1988. To qualify for a zoning bonus that gave western Midtown buildings 20 percent more floor area, the developers planned to have the foundation in place by May 13, 1988. Edward Larrabee Barnes and John M. Y. Lee designed the 23-story tower, which was completed in 1990 and cost about $60 million.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1991
Harry Macklowe offers to take over Katz Media's old lease to win it as a tenant
To lure Katz Media Group to his new building, landlord Harry Macklowe went to unusual lengths in 1991. He offered to absorb the remaining lease of about 170,000 square feet that Katz still held at One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, which had five years left to run. Katz signed a lease of roughly the same size at 125 West 55th Street that year.
Source: commercialobserver.com
- 1991
Air France signs what was then Manhattan's largest office lease of 1991
In 1991, Air France leased 29,500 square feet at 125 West 55th Street, which as of July was the largest lease signed in Manhattan that year. The airline planned to move its Northeast regional headquarters, reservation center and city ticket office into the building beginning in 1992.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1992
LeBoeuf, Lamb moves 1,200 employees into eight floors and the concourse level
In the summer of 1992 the law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae brought 1,200 employees into the tower. The firm had consolidated staff from several earlier locations and took eight floors plus the concourse level, under a 20-year lease of 224,000 square feet. The deal was signed in 1991 and, as of November 24 of that year, was the second-biggest lease in the city.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2008
Boston Properties acquires the tower for $444 million
Boston Properties acquired 125 West 55th Street in 2008 for $444 million. In 2011, a former deputy of developer Harry Macklowe filed a lawsuit claiming that Macklowe had not shared the proceeds from the building's sale.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- 125 West 55th StreetWikipedia
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