Seagram Building Building

Address: Seagram Building, 375 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, USA

The Seagram Building is a landmark international-style office tower on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, completed in 1958. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, the tower is noted for its bronze-clad curtain wall and its proportionally restrained 38-storey volume.

The building’s public plaza, reflecting pools and set-back from the street are key elements of its urban design and are frequently cited as a model for modernist corporate architecture. Observers value the building’s minimalist exterior, uniform glazing and the relationship between tower and open space at street level.

Commissioned by the Seagram Company as corporate headquarters, the building established a template for high-rise modernist design in the second half of the 20th century. Its materials, detailing and plaza arrangement influenced many subsequent office buildings.

Located at 375 Park Avenue between East 52nd and East 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, the Seagram Building occupies a prominent site within New York’s commercial core and is easily visible from Park Avenue and surrounding streets.

• Architectural significance: Completed in 1958 and widely cited as a defining example of the International Style in postwar skyscraper design.

What to See#

• Seagram Building plaza: Public forecourt and plaza with reflecting pools and open space set back from Park Avenue, designed as an integral part of the building’s composition.

The Seagram Building is at 375 Park Avenue between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Take the subway E or M to 5 Av/53 St (one block away) or walk roughly 10-12 minutes (about 0.6 miles) north from Grand Central Terminal; it’s also a short taxi or car ride on Park Avenue from anywhere in Midtown.

• Visit the Seagram Building plaza early on a weekday morning to see the minimalist plaza and façade with far fewer office crowds; the plaza set-back is the key compositional feature to study.
• View the building from Park Avenue and 52nd Street to appreciate Mies van der Rohe's use of open plaza and curtain-wall proportionality; combine the stop with a short walk to nearby Lever House for a compact modernist architecture comparison.
• The building lobby and plaza are semi-public but primarily used by tenants-be respectful of security and business activity if you enter the lobby, and avoid peak commuter hours if you want quieter photography.