Editing Fuller Building (section)

==== Base ====
[[File:Fuller Building 41 East 57th Street entrance.jpg|thumb|upright|The three-story entrance on 57th Street with architectural sculptures by [[Elie Nadelman]] at the top|left]]

The lowest six stories of the Fuller Building are clad in black Swedish granite.<ref name="Robins p. 124" /><ref name="NYCL p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=6}}</ref><ref name="NY1930">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=367}}</ref> Along the southern side, facing 57th Street, the facade consists of eight [[Bay (architecture)|bays]].<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The western side, on Madison Avenue, consists of four bays.<ref name="NYCL p. 8">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> There are two entrances at the base: the main entrance on 57th Street and the secondary one on Madison Avenue.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="AF 1930-06">{{cite magazine|date=Jun 1930|title=Fuller Building, New York, Walker & Gillette, Architects|url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1930-06-1.pdf|journal=Architectural Forum|pages=842|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805055107/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1930-06-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Vornado Realty Trust">{{cite web|title=595 Madison Avenue|url=https://www.vno.com/office/property/595-madison-avenue/3311671/landing|access-date=April 10, 2021|website=Vornado Realty Trust|archive-date=April 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410160829/https://www.vno.com/office/property/595-madison-avenue/3311671/landing|url-status=live}}</ref> In general, the Fuller Building's art galleries have tended to use the address 41 East 57th Street, while the offices have used the address 595 Madison Avenue.<ref name="nyt19950611" />

The main entrance portal is in the fourth bay from west on 57th Street; it is three stories high and is flanked by granite-and-stone [[pilaster]]s. There are four brass-framed glass doors at ground level, slightly recessed from the street. In front of and above the doors is a glass panel, which hangs from a bronze [[lintel]] with diamonds. At the center of the lintel is a glass-and-brass light fixture topped by an eagle. The second and third floors of the main entrance portal contain a grid of square windows framed by metal [[mullion]]s. Atop the third story are stone-on-granite letters reading {{Smallcaps|fuller building}}.<ref name="NYCL pp. 6-7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|pp=6–7}}</ref><ref name="Robins p. 125">{{harvnb|Robins|2017|p=125|ps=.}}</ref> Above this sign, at the fourth story, is a limestone sculptural group designed by [[Elie Nadelman]].<ref name="NY1930" /><ref name="Robins p. 125" /> The sculptural group represents two construction workers flanking a clock, behind which is a carving of a skyline.<ref name="NY1930" /><ref name="Haskell Nadelman">{{cite book|last=Haskell|first=Barbara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwpQAAAAMAAJ|title=Elie Nadelman: Sculptor of Modern Life|publisher=Whitney Museum of American Art|year=2003|isbn=978-0-87427-132-4|page=180|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411174519/https://books.google.com/books?id=DwpQAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=March 7, 1929|title=Motive for Skyscraper Shows Modern Builders: Will Be Placed as Tribute to George A Fuller|page=41|work=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1111952323}}}}</ref>

The secondary entrance is a single-story opening in the northernmost bay on Madison Avenue. The Madison Avenue entrance contains a brass service elevator door on the left and a brass-framed glass double door on the right. Atop these doors, but beneath the second story, is a sign with the stone letters {{Smallcaps|fuller building}}. The rest of the base is designed similarly on both street facades.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> The ground level generally contains storefronts separated by vertical granite [[Pier (architecture)|piers]], which extend through the second to sixth floors.<ref name="Robins pp. 124-125" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The second through fifth floor windows are separated horizontally by bronze [[spandrel]] panels with wave-and-inverted [[ziggurat]] designs.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="Robins p. 125" /> The fifth and sixth floors are separated horizontally by a granite band with a [[Meander (art)|Greek key]] motif made of limestone. The window openings on each floor consist of large glass panes surrounded by smaller panes.<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1986|ps=.|p=7}}</ref>