Solow Building

Solow Building
The Solow Building from 5th Avenue and 59th Street
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	9 West 57th Street New York City, New York
Completed	1974
Owner	Sheldon Solow
Height
Roof	689 ft (210 m)
Technical details
Floor count	50
Lifts/elevators	34
Design and construction
Architect	Gordon Bunshaft Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
References

The Solow Building, located at 9 West 57th Street, is a Manhattan skyscraper built in 1974 and designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It is located just west of Fifth Avenue between the 57th and 58th Street, next to the Bergdorf Goodman department store and the Plaza Hotel. At 50 stories and 689 ft (210 m) in height, the building's only nearby competitor by height is the GM Building, located one block north and east. Floors above the 23rd floor offer an unobstructed view of northern Manhattan and a complete view of Central Park and The Plaza Hotel.

A notable feature is the concave vertical slope of its north and south facades, facing 57th and 58th Street. This is similar to another Bunshaft designed building, the 630 ft (190 m) W. R. Grace Building, where Bunshaft used the initial, rejected façade design for the Solow Building.

The building is named after Sheldon Solow, the real estate developer whose company built the building.

The building is owned by billionaire Sheldon Solow, who in the 1960s commissioned architect Gordon Bunshaft to build the tower. The building is privately managed and tenancy is held by Sheldon Solow's company.

The first floor of the building features a gallery of the Sheldon Solow's collection, including works by Franz Kline, Matisse, and Giacometti, among other artists. Though managed under the non-profit Solow Art and Architecture Foundation, the gallery is perpetually closed and not open to the public.

The concave vertical slope of its facade is similar to another of Bunshaft's creations, the W.R. Grace Building, which was also built in 1974. The initial, rejected design of the Solow building was used in the design for the Grace Building.

Rental fees at the Solow Building are amongst the most expensive in Manhattan. The Solow Building Company occupies a permanent lease of the top floor. Notable tenants include Chanel and private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (42nd fl.), Apollo Management (43rd/48th fl.), Silver Lake Partners (32nd fl.), Providence Equity Partners (49th fl.), and Highland Capital Management (38th fl.).