Bush Tower
| Bush Tower | |
|---|---|
Bush Tower, 42nd St, New York City.
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial meeting space and display space Converted to offices, 1938 |
| Location | 130-132 West 42nd Street New York, New York USA |
| Coordinates | 40°45′19.24″N 73°59′7.07″W / 40.7553444°N 73.9852972°WCoordinates: 40°45′19.24″N 73°59′7.07″W / 40.7553444°N 73.9852972°W |
| Construction started | 1916 |
| Completed | 1918 |
| Cost | $2,000,000 in 1917 |
| Owner | Bush Terminal Company |
| Height | |
| Roof | 433 ft (132 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 30 |
| Lifts/elevators | 4 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Helmle and Corbett |
| References | |
Bush Tower, also called the Bush Terminal International Exhibit Building is a historic thirty-story skyscraper located just east of Times Square at 130-132 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1916–18 for Irving T. Bush's Bush Terminal Company, owners of Bush Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Bush Tower's unique original purpose as commercial display space and social space, its notable design that combined narrowness, height, and Neo-Gothic architecture, and its role in the evolution of Times Square and of New York skyscrapers after the 1916 Zoning Resolution all qualify it as an exceptional structure.
Under Irving T. Bush (who has no relation to the Bush political family) the Bush Terminal Co. created Bush Tower to bring buyers, manufacturers, and designers together. As such, the company promoted a "vast centralized marketplace under one roof where complete lines of goods can be examined without loss of time".
The tower's lowest three floors were planned for the comfort and convenience of buyers visiting New York. These floors were modeled after a traditional large metropolitan private club and housed the newly created International Buyers Club, which contained "that mysterious element called 'atmosphere' and 'social standing'", yet representatives of any "reputable" firm could join for free. The company wrote these floors were also designed to be "welcoming of women members".
The club offered conference rooms, multiple lounges (including "retiring rooms" for both ladies and gentlemen), offices, buffet service, and a large second-floor reading room staffed with trained librarians. The third-floor auditorium could host lectures, concerts, the viewing of manufacturers' own promotional motion pictures, or even "fashion parades" for "displaying gowns."
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