Modulightor Building
246 East 58th Street | East Midtown | built 1900
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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.
- 1966
By 1966 the old rowhouse is a mostly glass commercial building for the Asian art dealers Ellsworth & Goldie
The 1850s-60s rowhouse at 246 East 58th Street stood vacant in the 1950s. By 1966 it had been completely rebuilt for commercial use, with two-story additions at the front and rear. The new owner, Ellsworth & Goldie, dealt in Asian art and antiques, and Gardner's Guide to Antiques called the mostly glass building strikingly new and modern. James R. Goldie sold the property in 1971, and stores specializing in printed fabrics followed.
“…by 1966 it had been entirely rebuilt as a commercial structure, with two-story extensions in the front and back…”
- 1989
Paul Rudolph and Ernst Wagner buy the East 58th Street rowhouse
Architect Paul Rudolph and his partner Ernst Wagner purchased the three-story rowhouse at 246 East 58th Street on February 24, 1989, for $1.75 million. They planned to rebuild it as a combined lighting showroom, design studio, and residence for themselves.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1992
Paul Rudolph builds the facade with day laborers hired off the street
Photographs show the front and rear facades under construction in August 1992. Paul Rudolph, short of money, had decided to build in phases, and Kelvin Dickinson of the Paul Rudolph Institute described the work as a very personal effort. Rudolph staffed the job with skilled tradespeople and with day laborers hired off the street. The steel I-beams were painted white by February 1993.
“…as well as "day laborers which Rudolph would hire off the street.”
- 1996
MTV founder John Lack rents the building's duplex apartments
While Rudolph's renovation was still underway, MTV co-founder John Lack rented both of the building's duplex apartments in 1996, paying $6,000 a month to live inside the architect's evolving showcase of glass walls and interior balconies.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1997
Architect Paul Rudolph dies with his own building unfinished
Rudolph had spent eight years transforming the old rowhouse into a glass-fronted display of his architectural ideas when he died of cancer on August 8, 1997. His partner Ernst Wagner carried the project forward, completing construction in 2003.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 2002
Ernst Wagner moves in and the Paul Rudolph Foundation is founded
Before his death in 1997, Rudolph had transferred the property and his Modulightor stock to Ernst Wagner, who moved his residence into the building in 2002. Rudolph's will was probated in 2001, and architect Donald Luckenbill merged the north and south duplex apartments into one unit. Wagner and colleagues founded the Paul Rudolph Foundation that year, and by 2004 the Modulightor website was calling the address the Modulightor Building.
“Wagner and colleagues founded the Paul Rudolph Foundation in 2002.”
- 2010
A permit is issued to add a fifth and sixth floor based on Rudolph's earlier plans
Architect Mark Squeo began work in October 2007 on a penthouse addition, using Rudolph's earlier plans as a guide; Wagner did not want a xerox copy. The Department of Buildings issued an alteration permit in November 2010. Squeo dropped the planned penthouse triplex and added cantilevered balconies at the rear. Work on the interiors and balconies continued until 2016, with a fifth and sixth floor and a roof deck added.
- 2017
The expanded upper floors host a Bottega Veneta show and the Archtober festival
After the top floors were completed in 2016, Modulightor showed them to the public. Bottega Veneta held a fashion show in the building in early 2017. In October 2017 the building took part in the Archtober festival, with public tours of the expanded interiors.
“The fashion house Bottega Veneta hosted a fashion show there in early 2017, and the upper stories hosted the Archtober festival that October.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2023
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the building an individual landmark
The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on November 28, 2023, where six people spoke in favor, including representatives of the owner, Docomomo US, the Historic Districts Council and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. The commission also received 30 written submissions supporting designation. Its designation report on the Modulightor Building is dated December 19, 2023.
- 2025
The city grants landmark status to the building's interior duplex
Nearly three decades after Rudolph's death, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Modulightor Building's dramatic interior duplex a landmark on May 6, 2025, following the facade's own designation in December 2023.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Modulightor BuildingWikipedia
- Paul Rudolph's Masterful No. 246 East 58th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
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