1211 Avenue of the Americas
| 1211 Avenue of the Americas | |
|---|---|
 1211 Avenue of the Americas (view from the east) in Midtown Manhattan | |
| Alternative names |
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Offices and television studios (Fox News Channel) |
| Architectural style | International style |
| Location |
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| Owner | 21st Century Fox (owned by Disney) |
| Height | |
| Roof | 592 ft (180.44 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 45 |
| Floor area | 1,854,912 sq ft (170,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Wallace Harrison (Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris) |
| Developer | Rockefeller Group Development Corporation |
| Main contractor | Celanese Corporation and Rockefeller Center, Inc. |
1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building) is an International style skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Formerly called the Celanese Building, it was completed in 1973 as part of the Rockefeller Center extension, that started in the late 1950s with the Time-Life Building. The Celanese Corporation would later move to Dallas, Texas. Currently, 1211 is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge. The structure has a simple slab-like shape devoid of any decoration; its prosaic façade consisting of vertical alternating limestone and glass stripes. The façade stone piers are supernumerary; there are twice as many of them as structurally necessary. The glass bands are continuous and offer no indication of floor levels. These features ably create the visual lack of scale, so the tower does not look overly bulky.
Background[edit | edit source]
The building was part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the "XYZ Buildings". Their plans were first drawn in 1963 by the Rockefeller family's architect, Wallace Harrison, of the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Their letters correspond to their height. 1251 Avenue of the Americas is the "X" Building as it is the tallest at 750 ft (229 m) and 54 stories, and was the first completed, in 1971. The "Y" is 1221 Avenue of the Americas, which was the second tower completed (1973) and is the second in height (674 ft and 51 stories). The "Z" Building, the shortest and the youngest, is 1211 Avenue of the Americas with 45 stories (592 ft).
The structure is LEED certified (silver level designation) by USGBC.
Notable tenants[edit | edit source]
The building served as the global headquarters for Ness Corporation (1980–2013) and 21st Century Fox since 2013. The building is well-known for housing the main Fox News studios, part of the Fox Networks Group News Group which is currently owned by 21st Century Fox. Well-known 21st Century Fox divisions housed within the building include Dow Jones & Company, The Wall Street Journal, and the Fox Broadcasting Company.
Other companies unaffiliated with Fox that lease office space in the building include Annaly Capital Management and Ropes & Gray LLP.
