Postwar International Style office towers in Manhattan (1929–1975)

1. MoMA frames the “International Style”

   Feb 9, 1932Labels: Museum of, Hitchcock &

   • MoMA
   • International Style

2. 488 Madison Avenue opens as a Midtown modern office block

   Jan 1, 1950Labels: 488 Madison, Emery Roth

   • 488 Madison

3. UN Secretariat introduces curtain-wall modernism

   Jan 1, 1952Labels: UN Secretariat, United Nations

   • UN Gifts
   • UN Exhibit

4. Lever House opens on Park Avenue

   Apr 29, 1952Labels: Lever House, Skidmore Owings

   • Lever House

5. Seagram Building sets a new corporate standard

   May 22, 1958Labels: Seagram Building, Ludwig Mies

   • Britannica
   • Docomomo

6. Union Carbide Building completes under 1916 zoning rules

   Jan 1, 1960Labels: Union Carbide, 270 Park

   • 270 Park Ave

7. Chase’s downtown tower opens with a major plaza

   Jan 1, 1961Labels: One Chase, Gordon Bunshaft

   • 28 Liberty

8. 1961 Zoning Resolution promotes plaza bonus towers

   Jan 1, 1961Labels: 1961 Zoning, New York

   • NYPAP

9. 277 Park Avenue opens as a large Park Avenue slab tower

   Jul 13, 1964Labels: 277 Park, Emery Roth

   • 277 Park

10. 140 Broadway completes as a post-1961 zoning office tower

    Jan 1, 1967Labels: 140 Broadway, Gordon Bunshaft

    • 140 Broadway

11. One New York Plaza opens in the Financial District

    Aug 1, 1970Labels: One New, Kahn &

    • 1 NY Plaza

12. World Trade Center inaugurates megascale office modernism

    Apr 4, 1973Labels: World Trade, Minoru Yamasaki

    • WTC Complex
    • History com

13. 1975 marks end of the postwar International Style peak

    Jan 1, 1975Labels: 1975 shift, postmodernism

    • International Style
    • 270 Park Ave