Olympic Tower

Manhattan, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Olympic Tower is a 51-story mixed-use skyscraper completed in 1974 at 641 and 645 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Developed jointly by Aristotle Onassis's Olympic Airways and the Arlen Realty and Development Corporation, it was the first skyscraper constructed within a special zoning district created to encourage retail and mixed-use development along Fifth Avenue. The building's glass facade is designed to reflect St. Patrick's Cathedral to the south, while its superstructure combines steel in the lower stories with cast concrete above. The first two stories contain a public atrium called Olympic Place; office space occupies the next 19 stories, and 230 condominium apartments fill the top 30 floors. Upon completion, prominent architectural critics including Ada Louise Huxtable and Christopher Gray criticized its design. Most residential units were purchased by wealthy international buyers.

Architect

SOM

Built: 1974
Type: skyscraper
Height: 221 m
Place: Manhattan, United States

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Location

40.75917, -73.97611