Citigroup Center
The Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center and also known by its address, 601 Lexington Avenue) is an office skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1977 for Citibank, it is 915 feet (279 m) tall and has 59 floors with a combined 1.3 million square feet (120,000 m2) of office space. The building was designed by architect Hugh Stubbins, associate architect Emery Roth & Sons, and structural engineer William LeMessurier.
| Citigroup Center 601 Lexington Avenue | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Citicorp Center |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 153 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 |
| Coordinates | 40°45′31″N 73°58′13″W |
| Construction started | April 1974 |
| Topped-out | October 6, 1976 |
| Completed | 1977 |
| Opening | October 12, 1977 |
| Cost | US$195 million (equivalent to $739 million in 2022) |
| Owner | Boston Properties |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 915 ft (279 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 59 |
| Floor area | 1,654,020 sq ft (153,663 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 38 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Hugh Stubbins, Emery Roth & Sons |
| Developer | Citicorp |
| Structural engineer | William LeMessurier, James Ruderman |
| References | |
| Designated | December 6, 2016 |
| Reference no. | 2582 |
The Citigroup Center takes up much of a city block bounded clockwise from west by Lexington Avenue, 54th Street, Third Avenue, and 53rd Street. Land acquisition took place from 1968 to 1973; St. Peter's Church sold its plot on the condition that a new church building be constructed at the base of the tower. The design was announced in July 1973, and the structure was completed in October 1977. Less than a year after completion, the structure had to be strengthened when it was discovered that, due to a design flaw, the building was vulnerable to collapse in high winds. The building was acquired by Boston Properties, and Citicorp Center was renamed 601 Lexington Avenue in the 2000s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Citigroup Center as a city landmark in 2016. The building's public spaces underwent renovations in 1995 and 2017.
The tower has a 45° angled top and a base with four giant stilts, notable for being placed mid-wall rather than at the building's corners. East of the tower is a six-story office annex. The northwest corner of the tower overhangs St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Lexington Avenue and 54th Street, a granite structure designed by Stubbins. Also at the base is a sunken plaza, a shopping concourse, and entrances to the church and the New York City Subway's Lexington Avenue/51st Street station. The upper stories are supported by stacked load-bearing braces in the form of inverted chevrons. Upon the Citigroup Center's completion, it received mixed reviews from architectural critics and several architectural accolades.