One Astor Plaza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One Astor Plaza is a 745 ft. (227 m) high skyscraper in Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1972, the building is 54 stories tall and was designed by Der Scutt of Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs. Originally known as the W.T. Grant Building, it is currently the headquarters for Viacom and houses the MTV Studios, Minskoff Theatre, the Nokia Theatre at Times Square, and some retail outlets. It is located at 1515 Broadway at West 45th Street. Previously, the Hotel Astor occupied the lot. It was built in 1904 and closed in 1967. Construction of the W.T. Grant Building began in 1968 and was completed in 1972.
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[edit] First Floor: Retail Outlets
The first floor includes a Bank of America, Billabong, Element Skateboards and a shop selling official MTV merchandise.
[edit] Second Floor: MTV Studios
Astor Plaza houses the MTV Studios, which is owned by Viacom, a major tenant of the building. The studios are located on the second story of the building. MTV acquired it in 1997. It is split into three major studios all located by the floor-to-ceiling windows and iconic window shades. The three studios are named after the three sections of Manhattan: the Uptown Studio, the Midtown Studio, and the Downtown Studio. They are named so because they are proportional to the real sections of Manhattan. The Uptown Studio is perhaps the most famous because it includes the stage for MTV's unofficial flagship program, Total Request Live. The Midtown Studio is used by MTV News and by TRL if its set in the Uptown Studio is under repair or redecoration. The smallest studio, the Downtown Studio, is occasionally used for other countdown shows, such as Direct Effect and Big Ten. It is also often used as a temporary green room if the actual green room is occupied. The MTV Studios also include traditional dressing rooms, control rooms, a cafeteria, and some offices.
MTV also utilises the seventh floor roof of the building.
[edit] Third Floor: Minskoff Theatre
Main Article: Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is named after its developers and holds 1,621 seats. It opened in 1973. Access to it is from the middle arcade in the centre of the building.
[edit] Basement
Beneath Astor Plaza was the Loews Astor Cinema. It opened on 26 June 1974 but closed on 2 August 2004. It was famous for drawing large crowds on opening nights and was a popular place to see films in New York City. After closing, it experienced a nine month renovation and reopened as the Nokia Theatre at Times Square. Holding approximately 2,000, it is now used as a rock venue and also showcases the latest Nokia handsets.
