At 915 ft, the aluminum and reflective glass clad tower, the Citigroup Center is one of the tallest building in Midtown Manhattan. But what really makes this skyscraper stand out are the triangular rooftop and the four massive 114ft columns on which the building seems to float.

Those columns were the result of an agreement between Citibank and the St. Peter's Lutheran Church. The church owned a valuable property in Midtown, occupying one third of a city block on Lexington Avenue and 54th street. In the 1960s the church faced financial problems and wanted to sell its property.
At the same time Citibank, which was located just across the street, was looking to expand. Thus the church sold its property to Citibank, but only on the condition that the bank would build a new church replacing their 1904 Gothic Revival church. The two parties also agreed that the new St. Peter's church had to be a distinctive building, not incorporated in the office tower.

As a result, the architects faced a problem: they needed to build an office tower on the block while at the same time providing enough space at the base for the construction of a church building. The solution was raising the building on four tall columns and a supporting core. The columns were placed at the center of each side rather than at the corners. This way, the design opened enough space in the northwest corner for the new St. Peter's Church.

After the purchase of the property of the St. Peter's church, five more years were needed for Citibank to buy the rest of the block. The purchases were done by different companies since property prices would rise dramatically if the owners found out a large bank planned to develop the site. Construction of the tower started in 1972 by Hugh Stubbins & Associates, assisted by Emery Roth & Sons. The skyscraper opened in 1977 as the Citibank Center. With the company's expansion, the building was first renamed Citicorp Center and later Citigroup Center.

The Citigroup Center was the first tower in Manhattan that parted with the then prevalent Internationalist Style. Instead of a flat top, the designers gave the building a distinctive angled roof line. The original plans to construct setback penthouses on the roof were abandoned due to zoning restrictions. It was then intended as a solar panel, but never used as such. The rooftop now houses the building's mechanical equipment, including a computer controlled tuned mass damper. This 400 ton block of concrete slides on a thin layer of oil. The inertia of the damper reduces the swaying of the building by up to 40%.

The construction of the Citigroup Center revitalized the area and several office towers were built in its vicinity. The most notable of these is probably Philips Johnson's nearby postmodern >Lipstick Building.
The Citigroup Center includes a large sunken plaza and a 7 story atrium at the base of the tower with three stories of restaurants and shops. The plaza and atrium are directly accessible from one of New York's busiest subway stations.

More than any other building in the world, the Empire State Building represents the ambition of humans to build towers that reach for the skies. It probably is New York's best known landmark and is prominent on many postcards.
It also features in many films, but the film that made it even more famous then it already was, was the classic King Kong in 1933. Even today, though the building has been stripped from its record, it is a symbol of New York itself and is visited by more than 2 million tourists each year.

At the time it was built on 5th. Avenue, it broke all records and was dubbed 'the 8th world wonder'. It had 64 elevators (now 73) and was built in only 1 year, 45 days. Its 381 meters wouldn't be topped until 1972, when the twin World Trade Towers eclipsed the Empire State Building.

You can visit the Empire State Building from where you have a magnificent view. The Empire State Building is situated south of Midtown, away from the skyscraper clusters downtown in the financial district and midtown, so this is one of the few places in Manhattan where you have a great 360 degrees view.


Views from the Empire State Building Observatory:

UN Secretariat	Chrysler Building	Times Square	Rockefeller Cent.

Madison Square, located in the Flatiron district, is one of the historically most important squares in New York City. The attractive 19th century Madison Square Park is surrounded by historic landmarks from the Gilded Age, including the famous Flatiron building and the classical Metlife tower.

The first decades after Madison Square Park was officially designed as a public space in 1847, Madison Square was mostly a residential area. From 1859 onwards, with the opening of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, the area started to become the center of New York's social life. Many major hotels moved into the area, followed by retailers and the entertainment industry. At the turn of the 19th century, Madison square had become a prime office location and Manhattan's shopping paradise. Such was the concentration of shops that the section of Broadway between Union Square and Madison Square became known as the Ladies' Mile. Most of the retailers have long moved up town, but many of the buildings in the area have been preserved.

During its heyday at the beginning of the 20th century, Madison square became a prime office location.
The most famous building in the district, the Flatiron Building, was constructed in 1902 by the famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham in the then popular Beaux-Arts style. Initially named Fuller building after the construction company that originally occupied the building, the 21 story building was soon dubbed Flatiron because its triangular shape resembles that of a flat iron. Its shape and height made the Flatiron one of New York's most recognized landmarks.
In 1909, the Metlife Tower was constructed near Madison Square park as the new headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. It was added to the original 1893 headquarters. The 700ft, 51 stories tall building was modeled on the campanile at St. Mark's Square in Venice. When constructed, it was the tallest building in the world. It would keep that title until the completion of the Woolworth Building in 1913.
Next to the Metlife tower, across 24th street, is another Metropolitan Life Insurance building, known as the 'north building'. This art deco building was designed to be an immense 100 story tall tower. This tower would hand the title of the world's tallest building back to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, but the Great Depression made an abrupt end to these plans: only the 29 first floors were built before construction was halted in 1932.
Another imposing building near Madison Square is the New York Life Insurance Company building. It was erected in 1928 at the site of the original Madison Square Garden. The NY Life Insurance Company building is known for its octagonal gilded spire. Its design by Cass Gilbert (architect of the Woolworth Building) was inspired by the Salisbury Cathedral in England.

The Madison Square park is bordered by Fifth and Madison Avenues and 23rd and 26th street. Since its rededication in 2001 this park is once again one of the most enjoyable parks in Manhattan. From anywhere in the park you have a great view on the surrounding architectural landmarks.
The park is littered with mostly 19th century statues. At the southeast corner of the park is a statue of Senator Roscoe Conkling, who froze to death during the great 1888 blizzard. At the north end of Madison Square park is a 1880 statue, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It depicts the Civil War admiral David Farragut.
Between 1876 and 1882, the right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty were on display in the park, in order to raise money for the construction of the statue.


Madison Square was also the location of the original Madison Square Gardens. Madison Square would soon be associated with these temples of entertainment. The first one opened in 1879 at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and 26th street. This was were most of the famous fights of boxing legend Jack Dempsey took place. The second Madison Square Garden, replacing the first one in 1889 was designed by Stanford White. It featured a concert hall, theater, concert hall and roof garden. The building had a prominent tower built after the Giralda tower in Sevilla, topped by a nude statue of of the goddess Diana. In 1925 the building was demolished and the Madison Square garden moved to 8th Avenue and 49th streets. The current Madison Square garden is located at Penn Station. (between 31st and 33rd streets, 7th and 8th avenues)