This 46-floor tower is one of NYC's most creative works of contemporary architecture, not to mention one of its greenest; around 90% of its structural steel is from recycled sources. Designed by Foster & Partners, its diagonal grid of trusses evokes a jagged glass-and-steel honeycomb. The tower rises above the hollowed-out core of John Urban's 1928 cast-stone Hearst Magazine Building and the lobby is home to Richard Long's Riverlines, a 70ft mural made using mud from New York's Hudson River and England's River Avon.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Museum of Arts & Design

0.1 MILES

MAD offers four floors of superlative design and handicrafts, from blown glass and carved wood to elaborate metal jewelry. Temporary exhibitions are…

2. David Rubenstein Atrium

0.33 MILES

The David Rubenstein Atrium is a modern public space behind the Empire Hotel offering a lounge area (with free wi-fi), a cafe, and a TKTS booth selling…

3. Brill Building

0.39 MILES

This humble-looking building is widely considered the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world. By 1962, more than 160 music…

4. Lincoln Center

0.44 MILES

This stark arrangement of gleaming modernist temples houses some of Manhattan’s most important performance companies: the New York Philharmonic, the New…

5. American Folk Art Museum

0.48 MILES

This small institution offers rotating exhibitions in three small galleries. Past exhibits have included quilts made by 19th-century soldiers and…

6. Museum of Modern Art

0.49 MILES

Superstar of the modern-art scene, MoMA's galleries are a Who’s Who of artistic heavyweights: Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rothko,…

7. Radio City Music Hall

0.5 MILES

This spectacular moderne movie palace was the brainchild of vaudeville producer Samuel Lionel 'Roxy' Rothafel. Never one for understatement, Roxy launched…

8. Paley Center for Media

0.51 MILES

This pop-culture repository offers more than 160,000 TV and radio programs from around the world on its computer catalog. Reliving your favorite TV shows…