American Radiator Building
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Radiator Building (which was renamed to the American Standard Building) is a 103 meter tall building in New York City in the borough of Manhattan, located at 40 West 40th Street looking out onto Bryant Park.
With 23 floors, it was conceived by the architects Raymond Hood and John Howells in 1924 and built for the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Company. The form of its structure is based on the building of Chicago Tribune.
The black brick on the frontage of the building (symbolizing coal) was selected to give an idea of solidity and to give the building a solid mass. Other parts of the facade were covered in gold bricks (symbolizing fire), and the entry was decorated with marble and black mirrors. Once again, the talents of Rene Paul Chambellan were employed by Hood and Howells for the ornamentation and sculptures.
In 1998, the building was sold in Philip Pilevsky for $15 million. Three years afterwards, the American Radiator Building was converted into The Bryant Park Hotel with 130 rooms and a theatre in basement.
The landmark status of the exterior required especially careful renovation of the facade decor as well as prohibited changes such as bigger guestroom windows. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was also painted by Georgia O'Keeffe in 1927 in her famous painting "The Radiator Building at Night."
