Editing MetLife Building (section)

=== Facade ===
[[File:MetLife Building.jpg|left|200px|thumb|East facade from 44th Street]]
The facade of the first two stories and mezzanines is clad with granite, aluminum, marble, and stainless steel with glass windows.<ref name="nyt19611029" /> On Depew Place, an alley running below the eastern leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct, fifteen loading docks were constructed for trucks to conduct deliveries and loading.<ref name="nyt19600626">{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1960 |title=New Skyscrapers Are Designed To Ease Pedestrian Movement |language=en-US |pages=R1, R12 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/06/26/99746955.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235340/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/06/26/99746955.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyht19600626" /> On the Vanderbilt Avenue side, a marquee was installed over the entrance in the 1980s.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=144}}</ref> The third through seventh stories are exclusively sheathed in granite, with window inserts.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /> The eighth and ninth floors, which are slightly set back, are clad in aluminum.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=366}}</ref><ref name="AF 1962-02">{{cite magazine |date=Feb 1962 |title=Concrete Curtain |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1962-02.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=116 |pages=10 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072433/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1962-02.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

The 10th through 59th stories of the MetLife Building contain one of the first [[precast concrete]] exterior walls in a building in New York City.<ref name="aia" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /> The building includes about nine thousand light-tan precast concrete [[Mo-Sai]] panels, each of which surrounds a window measuring {{Convert|4|ft}} wide by {{Convert|8|ft}} high.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="Clausen p. 105">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=105|ps=.}}</ref> The panels themselves measure {{Convert|6|ft}} wide by {{Convert|13.67|ft|0}} high and weigh {{Convert|3500|lb}}.<ref name="nyt19611029" /> Each panel is coated with a quartz aggregate to give texture to the facade.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="AF 1962-02" /><ref name="Clausen p. 105" /> Vertical concrete [[mullion]]s project about {{Convert|13|in}} from the facade, separating the panels on every story.<ref name="Clausen p. 105" /> Flat concrete [[spandrel]]s separate the windows between stories.<ref name="nyt19611029" /> Though Walter Gropius had considered a precast concrete facade to be more solid than a glass curtain wall, this only made the building appear bulkier.<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /> Furthermore, the appearance of concrete degraded over time; this effect could be seen in structures such as the [[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]] but was more pronounced on the MetLife Building's facade.<ref name="Nash 20052" /> During the building's construction, the manufacturer of the Mo-Sai panels declared bankruptcy, forcing Diesel Construction to buy out that company to prevent delays in construction.<ref name="Clausen p. 119">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=119|ps=.}}</ref>

The facade is recessed at the 21st and 46th stories, where there is mechanical space.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360" /> These recesses create the impression of deep shadows.<ref name="Nash 20052" /> Both mechanical stories are surrounded by a [[colonnade]] of columns, which are spaced {{convert|16|ft}} apart on centers. The precast concrete curtain wall is recessed behind the columns.<ref name="Clausen p. 109">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=109|ps=.}}</ref>

The MetLife Building originally bore {{convert|15|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall|1}} "Pan Am" displays on its north and south facades and {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall|1}} globe logos on the east and west facades.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Daniel B. |date=January 5, 1997 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/05/nyregion/fyi-015148.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130060308/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/05/nyregion/fyi-015148.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This was swapped with [[neon]] "MetLife" displays to the north and south in 1992.<ref name="chicagotribune.com 1992">{{cite web |last=Maxey |first=Brigitte |date=September 20, 1992 |title=Metlife to Ground Pan Am Logo in N.Y. |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-09-20-9203260012-story.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |work=Chicago Tribune |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235331/https://www.chicagotribune.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=145}}</ref> These displays were changed again in 2017, being replaced with [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] letters to conserve energy.<ref name="Gannon 2017">{{cite web |last=Gannon |first=Devin |date=June 7, 2017 |title=The MetLife Building's letters are getting a makeover |url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-metlife-buildings-letters-are-getting-a-makeover/ |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=6sqft |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414193539/https://www.6sqft.com/the-metlife-buildings-letters-are-getting-a-makeover/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Crain's New York Business 2017">{{cite web |last=Elstein |first=Aaron |date=June 7, 2017 |title=MetLife Building sign gets a face-lift for the first time in 24 years |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170607/REAL_ESTATE/170609917/metlife-building-at-200-park-avenue-sign-gets-a-face-lift-for-the-first-time-in-24-years |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305115802/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170607/REAL_ESTATE/170609917/metlife-building-at-200-park-avenue-sign-gets-a-face-lift-for-the-first-time-in-24-years |url-status=live}}</ref> The Pan Am Building was the last tall tower erected in New York City before laws were enacted preventing corporate logos and names on the tops of buildings.<ref name="FinalPanAmDeparture">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=September 4, 1992 |title=Final Pan Am Departure |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/04/nyregion/final-pan-am-departure.html |access-date=July 27, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211045910/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/04/nyregion/final-pan-am-departure.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Modern New York City building code prohibits logos from being more than {{Convert|25|ft}} above the curb or occupying over {{Convert|200|ft2}} on a blockfront.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=February 14, 2008 |title=Big Selling Point for G.M. Tower: Naming Rights |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/nyregion/14name.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610085402/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/nyregion/14name.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The sign replacements had been permitted because the city government considered the new signs to be an "uninterrupted continuation of a use" that was allowed before the zoning laws were changed.<ref name="FinalPanAmDeparture" />