MetLife Building — Attraction in New York

The much maligned MetLife Building, originally known as PanAm Building, has aged surprisingly well over the years. Designed by Richard Roth (1904-1987) of Emery Roth & Sons with design consultants Walter Gropius (1883-1969) of Bauhaus fame and early modernist Pietro Belluschi (1899-1994), the building has become a fixture in the New York skyline. From today's perspective, it is almost hard to understand what all the fuss was about. Early critics used to complain about the scale and how the building would further contribute to congestion in Midtown Manhattan. With the building now literally dwarfed by One Vanderbilt and the new JP Morgan headquarters, that complaint seems almost quaint today. What still works surprisingly well is the pedestrian walkway from the great hall of Grand Central terminal to 45th Street. Also significant artworks by Josef Albers (1888-1976) and Richard Lippold (1915-2002) attest to the dedication of the architects to public artworks. Also don't miss the bust of Erwin S. Wolfson (1902-1962), the original developer of the PanAm Building, in the Vanderbilt Avenue entrance. For further information on the history of the building I recommend the book "The PanAm Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream" by Meredith L. Clausen (The MIT...

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower (colloquially known as the Met Life Tower and also as the South Building), is a skyscraper occupying a full block in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. The building is composed of two sections: a 700-foot-tall (210 m) tower at the northwest corner of the block, at Madison Avenue and 24th Street, and a shorter east wing occupying the remainder of the block bounded by Madison Avenue, Park Avenue South, 23rd Street, and 24th Street. The South Building, along with the North Building directly across 24th Street, comprises the Metropolitan Home Office Complex, which originally served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (now publicly known as MetLife). (Courtesy:...

The Metlife building has been one of my favorite building locations to work at throughout the years living and working in NYC. The building is iconic, and it's attached right to Grand Central Station. If you're coming in from Connecticut or Westchester, you can't get any more convenient. Aside from all of the businesses in the area, there is also a handful of nice shops and restaurants within the lobby area of this building. The rent is very expensive so if your company has an office within this building consider...