Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

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The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from a distance.

The front of the convention center.

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was built in 1986 and named for New York Senator Jacob K. Javits, who died that year. The Center is operated and maintained by the New York City Convention Center Operating Corporation.

The exhibit space is over 675,000 square feet (62,700 m²). Planning and constructing a convention center on Manhattan's west side has had a long and controversial history^[1], including efforts starting in the early 1970s to produce a megaproject involving a redevelopment concept. On October 16, 2006, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to start construction of an expansion. The $1.7 billion dollar expansion project will expand the center's size by 45 percent, and include a hotel. The project is scheduled for completion by 2010, and when finished, will be the 5th instead of the 18th largest convention center in the U.S.

When the Center opened, it largely replaced the New York Coliseum as the city's major convention facility, making way for the demolition of the Coliseum and construction of the Time Warner Center.

In the song "AT&T," the indie rock band Pavement references the Javits Center, with the line "Jacob, Jacob Javits I'd like to thank you for everything/Primarily your glass house." The song appears on their 1995 album, Wowee Zowee.

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^ Convention site called a danger; West Side Group Will Sue on Ground of Pollution Environmental Study, New York Times, New York, N.Y.: Aug 22, 1973. pg. 56, 1 pgs ISSN 03624331