| Time Warner Center | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Time Warner Center and Columbus Monument | |
| Information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Constructed | November 2000 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 750 feet (229 meters) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 55[1] |
| Companies | |
| Architect | David Childs |
The Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by The Related Companies in New York City. Its design, by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft (229 m) towers bridged by a multi-story atrium containing upscale retail shops. Construction began in November 2000, following the demolition of the New York Coliseum, and a topping-out ceremony was held on February 27, 2003. It is the property with the highest-listed market value in New York City, $1.1 billion in 2006.[2]
Originally constructed as the "AOL Time Warner Center," the building surrounds half of Columbus Circle in Midtown Manhattan. The total floor area of 260,000 m² (2.8 million ft²) is divided between offices (notably the offices of Time Warner Inc. and an R&D Center for VMware), residential condominiums, and the Mandarin Oriental, New York hotel. The Shops at Columbus Circle is an upscale shopping mall located in a curving arcade at the base of the building, with a large Whole Foods Market grocery store in the basement. The complex is also home to a 1,200 seat theater for Jazz at Lincoln Center as well as CNN studios, from where Anderson Cooper 360° and Lou Dobbs Tonight, among other shows, are broadcast live. CNN's Jeanne Moos, known for her offbeat "man on the street" reporting, frequently accosts her interview subjects just outside the building. In 2005, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced a partnership with XM Satellite Radio which gave XM studio space at Frederick P. Rose Hall to broadcast both daily jazz programming and special events such as an Artist Confidential show featuring Carlos Santana.[3][4]
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Design and construction
Construction was delayed for nearly 15 years after Mortimer Zuckerman's Boston Properties initially won a bidding contest to buy the property from the Coliseum's owners, the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Boston proposed to build two 63-story buildings to be designed by Moshe Safdie on the 4.5-acre (18,000 m2) Coliseum site in 1985. Unsuccessful competitors for the site included Donald Trump who proposed building a 137-story, 488 m high building which would be the world's tallest.[5]
Boston's winning bid was $455 Million for the site. It was to be the headquarters of Salomon Brothers. The building ran into intense opposition (including most prominently Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) who were concerned it would cast a shadow on Central Park. In 1988 a court ruled that the building violated the city's own zoning ordinances. At about the same time, Salomon Brothers backed out.[6]
A renegotiated deal called for the building to be 52-stories with Boston paying a lower price of $357 million for the site. David Childs was tapped to redesign the building.
The building still languished until 2000 when the Coliseum was finally demolished. The Center which now has 55 floors markets it as an 80-story building.[7]
The Time Warner Center was the first major building to be completed in Manhattan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, although it was already under construction in 2001. While some New Yorkers noted the uncanny resemblance of the Time Warner Center to the fallen Twin Towers, the building's developer disclaimed to the press any intentional similarity.[8]
The Sunshine Group was in charge of marketing the building. Sandie N. Tillotson bought the top floor of the then uncompleted north tower for $30 million shortly after the 9/11 attacks. It was a record for a condominium at the time.[9]
The sales would be eclipsed in 2003 when Mexican financier David Martinez paid $54.7 million dollars for a penthouse condo, then a record for New York residential sales.
The building has several street addresses as, including 10 Columbus Circle for office, 25 Columbus Circle for the south tower that was named “One Central Park” and 80 Columbus Circle for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental. The address One Central Park West, meanwhile, belongs to a tower across the street owned by Donald Trump. Upon the completion of the Time Warner Center, Trump made a “little joke” at the Time Warner Center’s expense by hanging a large sign on his building gloating, “Your views aren’t so great, are they? We have the real Central Park views and address.”[10]
The design of Time Warner Center pays homage to the streets of New York: The curvature of the base helps frame Columbus Circle, the angle of the two towers aligns with Broadway, and the space between the towers gives the illusion that 59th Street passes through. In addition, the rectangular patterns on the glass curtain wall overlooking Columbus Circle suggest the Manhattan street grid.
In popular culture
- Late in the 2008 film Cloverfield, one of the building's towers has fallen over against the other. The characters climb the undamaged building and crawl across to the fallen tower to effect a rescue.
- In the 2007 film Enchanted, Robert's office is shown to be inside Time Warner Center.
- In the 2009 NBC TV series Kings, the King's Hall is located in an unnamed building. The Hall overlooks Columbus Circle, therefore placing it in the Time Warner Center.
See also
- Buildings and architecture of New York City
- Tallest buildings in New York City
- Masa (restaurant)
- per se (restaurant)
References
- ^ Emporis Profile
- ^ "Property Values in New York Show Vibrancy." New York Times. Jan. 13, 2007.
- ^ "XM Satellite Radio to Open New Studios at World-Renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City." Jazz at Lincoln Center press release. May 19, 2005.
- ^ "Santana - XM & Jazz at Lincoln Center." All About Jazz Nov. 10, 2005.
- ^ 10 Columbus Circle - Emporis.com
- ^ New Yorkers & Co.; Developer vs. Himself Over Coliseum Project - New York Times - January 4, 1988
- ^ Time Warner Center Condominium Apartments - wirednewyork.com - Retrieved July 13, 2008
- ^ Inside the Time Warner Center, Newsday, Feb. 19, 2004
- ^ BIG DEAL; $30 Million Buys Raw Space Atop Time Warner Tower - New York Times - February 20, 2005
- ^ Caroline Overington. "Gotham agog as plutocrats stage battle of the towers." The Sydney Morning Herald, Nov. 29, 2003
360° virtual tour - onlinexplore.com
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Time Warner Center |
Further reading
Dirk Stichweh: New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing, Munich 2009, ISBN-10: 3791340549
External links
- One Central Park — Residential sales and information
- Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York
- Time Warner — Corporate Website
- The Related Companies - Corporate Website
Coordinates: 40°46′07″N 73°58′59″W / 40.768735°N 73.982938°W
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