Editing Seagram Building (section)

====Plaza====
[[File:Park Avenue from 64th Street to Grand Central Terminal - panoramio (34).jpg|thumb|alt=Looking toward the southeast within the building's plaza. There is a fountain at the left center.|Plaza as seen from Park Avenue, looking southeast]]
A pink granite plaza with pools and greenery lies on the western side of the Seagram Building.<ref name="AAA p. 14" /><ref name="Mertins p. 349">{{harvnb|Mertins|2014|ps=.|p=349}}</ref> The plaza is raised slightly above sidewalk level on Park Avenue, with three steps leading from the center of the Park Avenue frontage.<ref name="Mertins p. 349" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 3" /> A low granite retaining wall runs on either side of the flight of steps, extending around to 52nd and 53rd Streets, where they flank the building.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 3">{{harvnb|Breiner|1989b|p=7}}; {{harvnb|Higgins & Quasebarth|2006|ps=.|p=3}}</ref> There are marble caps atop the retaining walls on the side streets.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> At the eastern ends of the retaining walls on 52nd and 53rd Streets are granite steps from street to lobby, above which are travertine canopies.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Mertins p. 352" /> The parapets on the side streets each measure {{Convert|3.75|ft}} wide by {{Convert|180|ft}} long and are made of 40 pieces of green Italian marble.<ref name="nyht19570224">{{cite news |date=February 24, 1957 |title=Seagram Park to Have Pools, Pink Pavement |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1324063846}} }}</ref>

The plaza is largely symmetrical with rectangular pools placed on the northwest and southwest corners. The southern pool contains a bronze flagpole, the only deviation from the design's symmetry. The water level of the pools is just below that of the plaza.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 3" /> The cluster of fountain jets at the center of either pool is not part of the original design.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Breiner|1989b|ps=.|p=11}}</ref> The pools measure {{Convert|46|ft}} wide by {{Convert|70|ft}} long and each contain {{Convert|60,000|gal|sp=us}} of water recirculated every two-and-a-half hours.<ref name="nyht19570224" /> The initial plan had been to place abstract sculptures in the plaza. Mies abandoned this when he could not find a sculptor he felt could produce work suited for the landscape.<ref name="NPS p. 14; Stern (1995) p. 345">{{harvnb|Higgins & Quasebarth|2006|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=345}}</ref> East of both pools are three planting beds with ivy and a [[Ginkgo biloba|gingko tree]].<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> These planting beds had contained [[weeping beech]]es before November 1959, when they were replaced with hardier gingko trees.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Devlin |first=John C. |date=October 29, 1959 |title=Park Ave. Plaza Gets New Trees; First of 6 Gingkoes Planted at Seagram Building – Woman Directs Job |page=22 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/10/29/82715963.pdf |access-date=March 14, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 346">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=346}}</ref> The plaza contains a heating system to prevent ice buildup.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 9, 1956 |title=Ice, Snow Doomed in Seagram Plaza; Sidewalk Heating in Front of New Park Ave. Building May Also Dry Up Rain |page=317 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/12/09/90762416.pdf |access-date=March 16, 2021}}</ref> At the building's completion, the plaza's surface required daily vacuuming with a sweeper.<ref name="nyt19610319">{{cite news |last=Bartnett |first=Edmond J. |date=March 19, 1961 |title=Keeping a Skyscraper Clean Is a Job That Goes On Around the Clock |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|115261266}} }}</ref>

From its construction, the plaza was intended not only as an [[urban green space]] but as a point of interest.<ref name="AF (1958) p. 68" /> Architecture critic [[Lewis Mumford]] said of the plaza: "In a few steps one is lifted out of the street so completely that one has almost the illusion of having climbed a long flight of stairs."<ref name="Mumford p. 21">{{harvnb|Mumford|1959|ps=.|p=21}}</ref> In its simplicity, the plaza's design was a marked contrast to the [[Channel Gardens]] in front of [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]], which architectural writer [[Robert A. M. Stern]] describes as being known for its festiveness.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 345" />