Bertelsmann Building

Bertelsmann Building
General information
Type	Office [1]
Location	Times Square, New York City, United States[2]
Coordinates	40°45′29″N 73°59′05″W / 40.758135°N 73.984853°WCoordinates: 40°45′29″N 73°59′05″W / 40.758135°N 73.984853°W
Construction started	1989[1]
Completed	1990 [2][1]
Opening	1990
Owner	CBRE [2]
Height
Antenna spire	733 ft (223 m)[2][1]
Roof	616 ft (188 m)[1]
Technical details
Floor count	44[2]
Floor area	1,100,000 sq ft (100,000 m^2)[1]
Design and construction
Architect	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill [2]
Developer	Eichner Properties [1]

The former Bertelsmann Building, now known as 1540 Broadway,^[3] is a 44-story, 733 foot (223 m) office tower in Times Square in Manhattan, New York City, standing at West 45th Street.^[2] The building was the North American headquarters of media conglomerate Bertelsmann from 1992 until the company vacated and sold the property, of which they occupied all office-use floors, in 2004.^[2][1] The building housed US satellites of central functions such as Corporate Development, Corporate Communications and the Office of the Chairman and CEO, as well as serving as worldwide headquarters for the Bertelsmann Music Group and Bertelsmann Book Group (what has later taken on the umbrella brand name Random House). Today's office tenants include Viacom, China Central Television, Yahoo, Adobe and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.^[4] The building retained the Bertelsmann name and signage facing Broadway until its eventual removal in late 2013.

Started in 1989 and finished in 1990, the tower is one of the few in Times Square to contain class A office space.^[2][1] Also found in the tower is Planet Hollywood, and commercial tenants MAC Cosmetics, Disney Store, and Forever 21.^[2][1]

In the 1990s the Bertelsmann subsidiary Random House looked to build a skyscraper across 45th Street from its parent and be connected to it via a neon-lighted bridge across 45th Street.^[5] When the deal fell through it built the Random House Tower 10 blocks uptown.

Loew's State Theatre (1921) formerly occupied the site of the Bertelsmann Building. Before Loew's, the Bartholdi Inn (1899), then New York’s best-known theatrical boarding house, was located there.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in New York City
• List of tallest buildings in the United States

References

1. "Bertelsmann Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
2. "Bertelsmann Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
3. Dunlap, David W. (1993-04-25). "Debacle on Times Square". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
4. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
5. Bagli, Charles V. (1999-02-04). "55th Street Is Said to Be Site For a Random House Tower". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-04.

Further reading

• Jerry Adler (1994). High Rise: How 1,000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million Building a Skyscraper, HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-092456-X