The Plan to demolish the skyscraper at 270 Park Avenue, home of JP Morgan Chase has provoked criticism and saddened the architectural community and those in support of sustainability. It will be the world’s tallest building to be voluntarily demolished in history. But this glass tower started its life in a very different way. It was admired when completed in 1960, praised as a great example of postwar corporate modernism. It was glamour and it was designed by a woman, Natalie de Blois. Gabriel Esperdy, an architectural historian and critic is an expert scholar on de Blois, speaks about this iconic tower, its role in the Park Avenue School, and on what will happen to its legacy following the demolition, which will conclude in two years, in Spring Dialogues. Photo above: Max Touhey.
Photo: Max Touhey
