Editing MetLife Building

{{Short description|Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{About|the building at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan|the buildings near Madison Square Park|Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower|and|Metropolitan Life North Building|the building at 200 Park Avenue ''South''|Everett Building (Manhattan)}}
{{redirect|Pan Am Building|the building in Washington, D.C.|Pan American Union Building|the building in Los Angeles|Irvine-Byrne Building}}
}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = MetLife Building
| former_names        = Pan Am Building (1963–1993)
| image               = MetLife Building by David Shankbone.jpg
| caption             = Seen from the south in August 2007
| start_date          = November 26, 1959
| topped_out_date     = May 9, 1962
| engineer            = [[Jaros, Baum & Bolles]] (MEP)
| completion_date     = 1963
| opening             = March 7, 1963
| building_type       = Office
| architectural_style = [[International Style (architecture)|International]]
| location            = 200 [[Park Avenue]]<br />[[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]] 10166<br />U.S.
| mapframe-wikidata   = yes
| coordinates         = {{Coord|40|45|12|N|73|58|36|W|region:US-NY_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| map_type            =
| roof                = {{convert|808|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| floor_count         = 59
| floor_area          = {{convert|2,841,511|ft2}}
| elevator_count      = 85
| owner               = [[The Irvine Company]]
| architect           = [[Emery Roth|Emery Roth & Sons]], [[Pietro Belluschi]], and [[Walter Gropius]]<ref name="aia">{{cite aia5|page=316}}</ref>
| structural_engineer = James Ruderman
| references          = <ref>{{skyscraperpage|id=1465|name=MetLife Building}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/114533 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306081330/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/114533 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |title=MetLife Building |work=[[Emporis]]}}</ref>
|website = {{URL|https://www.200parkavenue.com/}}
}}

The '''MetLife Building''' (also '''200 Park Avenue''' and formerly the '''Pan Am Building''') is a [[skyscraper]] at [[Park Avenue]] and [[45th Street (Manhattan)|45th Street]], north of [[Grand Central Terminal]], in the [[Midtown Manhattan]] neighborhood of [[New York City]], New York, U.S. Designed in the [[International Style (architecture)|International style]] by Richard Roth, [[Walter Gropius]], and [[Pietro Belluschi]] and completed in 1962, the MetLife Building is {{Convert|808|ft}} tall with 59 stories. It was advertised as the world's largest commercial office space by square footage at its opening, with {{Convert|2.4|e6ft2}} of usable office space. {{as of|2022|November}}, the MetLife Building remains one of the 100 [[tallest buildings in the United States]].

The MetLife Building contains an elongated octagonal [[massing]] with the longer axis perpendicular to Park Avenue. The building sits atop two levels of railroad tracks leading into Grand Central Terminal. The facade is one of the first precast concrete exterior walls in a building in New York City. In the lobby is a pedestrian passage to Grand Central's [[Main Concourse]], a lobby with artwork, and a parking garage at the building's base. A rooftop heliport operated in the 1960s and briefly in 1977. The MetLife Building's design has been widely criticized since it was proposed, largely due to its location next to Grand Central Terminal.

Proposals for a skyscraper to replace Grand Central Terminal were announced in 1954 to raise money for the [[New York Central Railroad]] and [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]], the financially struggling railroads that operated the terminal. Subsequently, plans were announced for what later became the MetLife Building, to be built behind the terminal rather than in place of it. Work on the project, initially known as Grand Central City, started in 1959 and the building was formally opened on March 7, 1963. At its opening, the building was named for [[Pan Am|Pan American World Airways]], for which it served as headquarters. The [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]] (MetLife) bought the Pan Am Building in 1981 and used it as their headquarters before selling the building in 2005. The MetLife Building has been renovated several times, including in the mid-1980s, early 2000s, and late 2010s.

== Site ==
The MetLife Building is at 200 [[Park Avenue]], between the two roadways of the [[Park Avenue Viaduct]] to the west and east, in the [[Midtown Manhattan]] neighborhood of [[New York City]], New York, U.S. The building faces the [[Helmsley Building]] across 45th Street to the north and [[Grand Central Terminal]] to the south. Other nearby buildings include [[One Vanderbilt]] and [[335 Madison Avenue]] to the southwest; the [[Yale Club of New York City]] clubhouse to the west; [[The Roosevelt Hotel (Manhattan)|The Roosevelt Hotel]] to the northwest; [[450 Lexington Avenue]] to the east; and the [[Graybar Building]] to the southeast.<ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web |title=375 Park Avenue, 10022 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1307/1#17.95/40.758457/-73.971507 |access-date=September 7, 2020 |publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]] |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127231656/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1307/1#17.95/40.758457/-73.971507 |url-status=live}}</ref> The building is assigned its own [[ZIP Code]]—10166—and is one of 41 such buildings in Manhattan, {{as of|2019|lc=y}}.<ref name="Brown 2019">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Nicole |title=Why do some buildings have their own ZIP codes? NYCurious |website=amNewYork |date=March 18, 2019 |url=https://www.amny.com/news/nyc-zip-codes-1-28558957/ |access-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708215731/https://www.amny.com/news/nyc-zip-codes-1-28558957/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1871, the [[New York Central Railroad]] built the [[Grand Central Depot]], a ground-level depot at the intersection of Park Avenue and [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]]; it was succeeded in 1900 by [[Grand Central Station (1900–1910)|Grand Central Station]], also at ground level.<ref>{{cite aia5|page=313}}</ref> The completion of Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of the areas around Grand Central, which became known as [[Terminal City (Manhattan)|Terminal City]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fitch |first1=James Marston |url=https://archive.org/stream/grandcentralterm00fitc |title=Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance |last2=Waite |first2=Diana S. |date=1974 |publisher=The Division |location=Albany, New York |pages=6 |language=en}}</ref> The Grand Central Terminal complex included a six-story building for baggage handling just north of the main station building, on what is now the site of the MetLife Building.<ref>{{harvnb|Schlichting|2001|ps=.|pp=62–63}}</ref> The baggage handling building was converted to an office building late in its history.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Belle |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/grandcentralgate0000bell |title=Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives |last2=Leighton |first2=Maxinne Rhea |publisher=Norton |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-393-04765-3 |page=6}}</ref> The surrounding stretch of Park Avenue was developed with [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]] skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{harvnb|Schlichting|2001|ps=.|pp=180–181}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian) |date=May 14, 1989 |title=Is It Time to Redevelop Park Avenue Again? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/realestate/is-it-time-to-redevelop-park-avenue-again.html |access-date=March 15, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420002305/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/realestate/is-it-time-to-redevelop-park-avenue-again.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
Designed in the [[International style (architecture)|International style]] by Richard Roth, [[Walter Gropius]], and [[Pietro Belluschi]], the MetLife Building was developed by Erwin S. Wolfson and completed in 1963 as the Pan Am Building.<ref name="aia" /> It is {{Convert|808|ft}} tall with 59 stories,<ref>{{Cite web |title=MetLife Building |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/114533/metlife-building-new-york-city-ny-usa |access-date=March 9, 2021 |publisher=Emporis |archive-date=May 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512183549/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=metlifebuilding-newyorkcity-ny-usa |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="SkyscraperCenter" /><ref name="Stichweh 2016">{{cite book |last=Stichweh |first=Dirk |title=New York Skyscrapers |publisher=[[Prestel Publishing]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-7913-8226-5 |page=90 |oclc=923852487}}</ref> containing both commercial and office space.<ref name="ZoLa" /> {{As of|2024|September}}, the MetLife Building is the [[List of tallest buildings in New York City|42nd-tallest building in New York City]] and [[List of tallest buildings in the United States|88th-tallest in the United States]].<ref name="SkyscraperCenter" />

The Diesel Construction Company was the general contractor for the building;<ref name="Clausen p. 114">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=114|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="nyt19590920" /> at the time of construction, Wolfson had owned that company.<ref name="Clausen p. 114" /> Numerous other engineers and contractors were involved in the building's construction, including [[Hideo Sasaki]] as site planning consultant and landscape architect;<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 2, 1959 |title=$500,000 Landscaping For Grand Central City |language=en-US |page=51 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/11/02/88835812.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235424/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/11/02/88835812.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyht19591101">{{cite news |date=November 1, 1959 |title=New Wolfson Building To Have Large Gardens |page=92 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1346191143}}}}</ref> [[Jaros, Baum & Bolles]] as [[Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing|MEP]] engineers;<ref name="SkyscraperCenter">{{cite web |date=August 24, 2020 |title=MetLife Building – The Skyscraper Center |url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/metlife-building/909 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235325/http://skyscrapercenter.info/building/metlife-building/909 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |access-date=November 19, 2022 |website=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat}}</ref><ref name="nyht19590517" /> and James Ruderman as structural engineer.<ref name="nyht19590517">{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Richard |date=May 17, 1959 |title=New Towers Raise Role Of Engineer: Expert Controls Third of Outlay |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1323087094}}}}</ref> From the beginning, the building was intended for large firms, with {{Convert|2.4|e6ft2}} in office floor area.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfson |first=Erwin S. |date=March 20, 1960 |title=Grand Central Project Planned for Big Firms |page=C4 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324052774}}}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 102">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1964|ps=.|p=102}}</ref> In total, it has {{convert|2,841,511|ft2}} of gross floor area, according to [[The Skyscraper Center]].<ref name="SkyscraperCenter" />

=== Form ===
The [[massing]] consists of a base and an octagonal tower. Contemporary sources describe the base as measuring nine stories tall, atop which rises 50 tower stories.<ref name="nyt19611029">{{cite news |date=October 29, 1961 |title=Textured Masonry Sheathes New Office Buildings |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|115325278}}}}</ref><ref name="nyht19600501">{{cite news |date=May 1, 1960 |title=Commuters To Witness Tower Start: Will Get Closcup Of E. 42d St. Job |page=3C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324052003}}}}</ref> However, the [[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]] gives a conflicting measurement of 10 base stories and 49 tower stories.<ref name="Žaknić Smith Rice Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat p.">{{cite book |last1=Žaknić |first1=Ivan |title=100 of the world's tallest buildings |last2=Smith |first2=Matthew |last3=Rice |first3=Dolores B. |author4=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |date=1998 |publisher=Gingko Press |isbn=3-927258-60-1 |publication-place=Corte Madera, CA |page=108 |oclc=40110184}}</ref> Exterior planted areas were planned for the sidewalks and above the roof of the base.<ref name="nyht19591101" />

The tower stories' floor plates are designed in an elongated octagonal lozenge, with the longer axis running parallel to 45th Street.<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=359–360}}</ref><ref name="nyht19590218">{{cite news |last=Wing |first=William G. |date=February 18, 1959 |title=New 'Grand Central City' Now Slated To Be 8 Sided |page=3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324243197}}}}</ref> The north and south [[facade]]s are divided into three broad segments, while the west and east facades are one segment each. The building's form may have been influenced by the 1961 Zoning Resolution, a major change to New York City [[zoning]] code that was proposed just before construction started. The massing is similar to [[Le Corbusier]]'s unbuilt tower in [[Algiers]], proposed between 1938 and 1942,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360" /><ref name="ArchDaily 2016">{{cite web |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=March 16, 2016 |title=How the MetLife Building Redefined Midtown Manhattan |url=https://www.archdaily.com/783927/how-the-metlife-building-redefined-midtown-manhattan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111182533/https://www.archdaily.com/783927/how-the-metlife-building-redefined-midtown-manhattan |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=ArchDaily}}</ref> as well as the nearly contemporary [[Pirelli Tower]] in [[Milan]] (completed in 1958).<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=360}}</ref><ref name="Nash 20052">{{cite book |last=Nash |first=Eric |title=Manhattan Skyscrapers |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-56898-652-4 |publication-place=New York |page=115 |oclc=407907000}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 98">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=98|ps=.}}</ref> The architects intended for the octagonal shape and exterior [[Curtain wall (architecture)|curtain wall]] to reduce the building's perceived sense of scale.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jencks |first=Charles |title=Modern movements in architecture. |date=June 1996 |publisher=Penguin |oclc=59631835}}</ref>

=== 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" />

=== Structural features ===
200 Park Avenue was built atop two levels of railroad tracks underground, which feed directly into Grand Central Terminal. The [[Substructure (engineering)|substructure]] of the building uses foundational columns that extend into the track levels, descending some {{Convert|55|ft}} below street level into the underlying bedrock.<ref name="nyt19590920" /><ref name="nyht19600501" /> The substructure includes more than 300 columns, each {{Convert|18.5|in}} across and clad with {{Convert|2|in}} of concrete. Ninety-nine columns were built specifically for the Pan Am Building; these columns were installed within several inches of existing steel members such as [[third rail]]s, but had to be isolated from the other steel.<ref name="nyht19600501" /><ref name="nyt19610312">{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=March 12, 1961 |title=Framing Begins for Skyscraper: Columns Lowered Through Grand Central Terminal to Rest on Bedrock |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|115226480}}}}</ref> The new columns weighed between {{Convert|22|and|44|ST|LT t}}.<ref name="nyt19610312" /><ref>{{cite news |date=April 23, 1961 |title=Frame of Pan Am Tower Avoids, Train Vibration |page=D7 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325309076}}}}</ref> Approximately two hundred existing columns, which supported the former baggage building on the site, were reinforced.<ref name="nyht19600501" /><ref name="nyt19610312" /> The work involved abridging the tops of many existing columns and installing horizontal beams weighing up to {{Convert|36|ST|LT t}}.<ref name="nyht19600501" /> A "triple decker sandwich" made of lead, asbestos, and sheet steel was installed under each level of tracks to provide insulation.<ref name="nyt19590920">{{cite news |date=September 20, 1959 |title=Skyscraper Here to Rise Like Vine: Old Building Will Linger While New One Is Begun at Grand Central |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|114649780}}}}</ref><ref name="nyht19600501" />

[[File:MetLife building rooftop view from The SUMMIT at One Vanderbilt.jpg|thumb|Rooftop view from [[One Vanderbilt]]|alt=Rooftop view of the MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue as seen from One Vanderbilt]]

The [[superstructure]] was constructed similarly to bridge spans. To fabricate the floor slabs, builders used a process called composite action, in which [[concrete]] was bonded with [[structural steel]] panels to create a stronger structure.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Auerbach |first=George |date=February 3, 1962 |title=Bridge Methods Used on Floors; 'Composite Action' Adapted for Pan Am Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/02/03/archives/bridge-methods-used-on-floors-composite-action-adapted-for-pan-am.html |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035225/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/02/03/archives/bridge-methods-used-on-floors-composite-action-adapted-for-pan-am.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Steel panels were fabricated, rather than concrete floors, because steel panels were lighter and could be constructed regardless of unfavorable weather. Over {{Convert|56|acre|m2}} of steel panels are used in the floor plates, each of which contains wire and cable ducts.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 6, 1960 |title=Steel Floors Set in New Skyscraper |language=en-US |page=R4 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/03/06/99728586.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235334/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/03/06/99728586.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A standard floor slab could handle loads of {{Convert|50|lb/ft2}}.<ref name="nyht19600710">{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Richard B. |date=July 10, 1960 |title=Tower Plans Large Phone Service Area: Wolfson Center To Aid Tenants |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324097951}}}}</ref> The building's steel frame weighs over {{Convert|45000|ST|LT t}} in total.<ref name="nyt19610312" /> The roof of the building contains [[NOAA Weather Radio]] Station KWO35, a [[National Weather Service]] radio station.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Weather Service New York, NY Tour NOAA Weather Radio Page |website=National Weather Service |date=July 19, 2016 |url=https://www.weather.gov/okx/Tour_NOAA_Wx_Radio |access-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-date=March 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321033115/https://www.weather.gov/okx/Tour_NOAA_Wx_Radio |url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1990,<ref>{{cite book |last=Frank |first=Saul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKk2OgAACAAJ |title=City Peregrines: A Ten-year Saga of New York City Falcons |publisher=Hancock House |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-88839-330-2 |series=Act Series}}</ref> there has also been a [[peregrine falcon]] nest on the building's roof.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gronewold |first=Nathanial |date=August 25, 2009 |title=Peregrine Falcons Back From the Brink, but Face New Threats in New York |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/08/25/25greenwire-peregrine-falcons-back-from-the-brink-but-face-21168.html?pagewanted=2 |access-date=November 21, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====Helipad <span class="anchor" id="Helicopter service"></span>====
The initial plans for the Pan Am Building were altered in March 1961 to provide for a [[helipad]] on the east side of the roof.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Witkin |first=Richard |date=March 24, 1961 |title=Heliport Slated Atop Skyscraper: 59-story Pan Am Building, Behind Grand Central, to Take 2-engine Craft |language=en-US |page=33 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/03/24/118029848.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235440/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/03/24/118029848.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 310">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=310|ps=.}}</ref> The helipad garnered controversy immediately after it was announced, and opponents of the plan cited noise and safety concerns.<ref name="Clausen p. 310" /> The heliport's opening required approval from the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA), the city government, and the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fleason |first=Gene |date=August 30, 1961 |title=On 59-Story Rooftop --A Helicopter Station: New Straight-Up-and-Down Craft-- Pan Am Building |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325845863}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Witkin |first=Richard |date=September 21, 1962 |title=Pan Am Building to Get Heliport; 25-passenger Craft Would Operate 60 Stories Up With Added Power |language=en-US |page=31 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/09/21/83522514.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235343/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/09/21/83522514.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> Lawyers for the building's owners applied for permission to operate the heliport in August 1963,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 1, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building Moves For Heliport Approval |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/08/01/archives/pan-am-building-moves-for-heliport-approval.html |access-date=August 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165454/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/08/01/archives/pan-am-building-moves-for-heliport-approval.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[New York City Planning Commission]] confirmed in early 1964 that the owners had sought a permit for the heliport.<ref name="Clausen p. 311">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=311|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1964 |title=Renewal is Voted in City Hall Area |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/12/renewal-is-voted-in-city-hall-area.html |access-date=August 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165456/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/12/renewal-is-voted-in-city-hall-area.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[New York City Board of Estimate]] gave final approval to the heliport in January 1965,<ref name="Clausen p. 312">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=312|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Witkin |first=Richard |date=January 15, 1965 |title=Pan Am Heliport is Voted by City; Estimate Board Unanimous – Fight by Citizens Group May Be Taken to Court City Sanctions Pan Am Heliport; Civic Group Weighs Court Fight |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/01/15/archives/pan-am-heliport-is-voted-by-city-estimate-board-unanimous-fight-by.html |access-date=August 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165453/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/01/15/archives/pan-am-heliport-is-voted-by-city-estimate-board-unanimous-fight-by.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and test flights began that March,<ref name="Clausen p. 312" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1965 |title=Copter Test Flights To Be Made Today At Pan Am Heliport |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/03/archives/copter-test-flights-to-be-made-today-at-pan-am-heliport.html |access-date=August 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165451/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/03/archives/copter-test-flights-to-be-made-today-at-pan-am-heliport.html |url-status=live }}</ref> amid continued opposition to the heliport.<ref name="Clausen p. 312" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schanberg |first=Sydney H. |date=March 24, 1965 |title=Assembly Gets Bill to Block Use Of Pan Am Building's Heliport; Measure Would Ban Flights in Congested Area – Test Runs Started March 3 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/24/archives/assembly-gets-bill-to-block-use-of-pan-am-buildings-heliport.html |access-date=August 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811165502/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/24/archives/assembly-gets-bill-to-block-use-of-pan-am-buildings-heliport.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Helicopter service started on December 22, 1965.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=December 22, 1965 |title=Heliport Opened Atop Skyscraper: Pan Am Building Terminal Starts Shuttles Today |language=en-US |page=26 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/22/95921350.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235356/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/22/95921350.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> The service was operated by [[New York Airways]], which flew [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight|Vertol 107]] [[helicopter]]s from the rooftop helipad to Pan Am's terminal at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] (JFK).<ref name="Schneider">{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Daniel B. |date=July 25, 1999 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/25/nyregion/fyi-729590.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812100032/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/25/nyregion/fyi-729590.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 314">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=314|ps=.}}</ref> There was a ticket office for the heliport at the base of the building. Passengers would check in at the ticket office, then take an express elevator to the 57th floor, an escalator to the heliport lounge, then another elevator to the roof. The flight to JFK lasted an average of six minutes and twenty seconds.<ref name="Clausen p. 314" /> The New York City government renewed the heliport's operating license in 1966, despite continued opposition to the heliport.<ref name="Clausen p. 321">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=321|ps=.}}</ref> For a short period starting in March 1967, the company also offered service to [[Teterboro Airport]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=February 17, 1967 |title=Teterboro Added to Copter Routes; Service, Beginning March 1, to Link Bergen, Kennedy and Pan Am Building |language=en-US |page=36 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/02/17/82593094.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235337/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/02/17/82593094.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> All helicopter service stopped on February 18, 1968, because of insufficient ridership,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=February 16, 1968 |title=Helicopter Service From Roof Of Pan Am Building Suspended |language=en-US |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/02/16/77171397.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235337/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/02/16/77171397.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as disagreements over funding.<ref name="Clausen p. 321" /><ref>{{cite news |date=February 9, 1968 |title=Pan Am Building Helicopter Service May Be Suspended |page=8 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133328368}}}}</ref><ref name="p915695121">{{cite news |last=Duggan |first=Dennis |date=February 9, 1968 |title=Money Squabble Threatens to Halt Copter Flights to Pan Am Building |page=25A |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|915695121}}}}</ref>

Though discussions to restart helicopter service were held in 1969,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lindsey |first=Robert |date=August 29, 1969 |title=Copter Service May Be Resumed From Atop the Pan Am Building |language=en-US |page=59 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/08/29/88860788.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235339/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/08/29/88860788.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> approval was not given until early 1977.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaiser |first=Charles |date=January 21, 1977 |title=Helicopter Flights Approved by Board |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/21/archives/helicopter-flights-approved-by-board-pan-am-building-service-is.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235332/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/21/archives/helicopter-flights-approved-by-board-pan-am-building-service-is.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 310" /> Service to JFK resumed that February using [[Sikorsky S-61]]s.<ref name="Schneider" /><ref name="Clausen p. 322">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=322|ps=.}}</ref> On May 16, 1977, about one minute after an S-61L landed and its 20 passengers disembarked, the right front [[landing gear]] collapsed, causing the aircraft to topple onto its side with the [[Helicopter rotor|rotors]] still turning. One of the blades detached, killing four men who were waiting to board and a fifth person at ground level; two other people were seriously injured.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |title=Aircraft Accident Report – New York Airways, Inc., Sikorsky S-61L, N619PA Pan Am Building Heliport, New York, New York, May 16, 1977 |url=http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR77-09.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023757/http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR77-09.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 27, 2021}}
* {{cite web |title=TRIS Online Record |id=Accession No: 01077007 |website=Research and Innovative Technology Administration |url=http://ntlsearch.bts.gov/tris/record/tris/01077007.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101002060804/http://ntlsearch.bts.gov/repository/record/tris/01077007.html |archive-date=October 2, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |date=May 17, 1977 |title=5 Killed as Copter on Pan Am Building Throws Rotor Blade |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/17/archives/5-killed-as-copter-on-pan-am-building-throws-rotor-blade.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235416/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/17/archives/5-killed-as-copter-on-pan-am-building-throws-rotor-blade.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Helicopter service was suspended that day and never resumed.<ref name="Schneider" /><ref name="Clausen p. 324">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=324|ps=.}}</ref> The already-controversial building received further negative attention as a result of the incident, and both New York Airways and Pan Am suffered financially in subsequent years.<ref name="Clausen p. 324" /> During its short periods of operation, the heliport was largely perceived as a nuisance and danger, but its presence was also seen as satisfying what [[David W. Dunlap]] described as "the consummate technological fantasy of airborne travel through skyscraping pinnacles".<ref name="nyt19910818">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=August 18, 1991 |title=Commercial Property: Pan Am Building; '200 Park Avenue' Preferred |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/18/realestate/commercial-property-pan-am-building-200-park-avenue-preferred.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928220708/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/18/realestate/commercial-property-pan-am-building-200-park-avenue-preferred.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Interior ===

==== Structural and mechanical features<span class="anchor" id="Utilities"></span> ====
[[File:Vanderbilt Av viaduct jeh.JPG|thumb|Vanderbilt Avenue entrance arcade]]
A central telephone office was installed on the 20th and 21st stories,<ref name="Clausen p. 118">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=118|ps=.}}</ref> serving 30,000 telephones within the building.<ref name="nyht19600710" /><ref name="Clausen pp. 117-118">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=117–118|ps=.}}</ref> The system, costing $11 million, was the first of its kind in an office building in the United States.<ref name="Clausen pp. 117-118" /> The central office, operated by [[New York Telephone]], eliminated the need for tenants to have individual telephone offices and equipment rooms. To avoid interfering with the subterranean railroad tracks, the telephone conduits were routed through the roof of the railroad tunnel.<ref name="nyht19600710" /> On the two floors where the telephone office was installed, the floor slabs were strengthened to handle loads of {{Convert|150|to|300|lb/ft2}}, and floor heights were increased to provide clearance of at least {{Convert|13.5|ft}}.<ref name="nyht19600710" /><ref name="Clausen p. 118" />

A refrigeration plant, described at the time of construction as the world's largest such plant,<ref name="nyht19600403" /> was installed on the roof with three steam-powered units each weighing {{Convert|3333|ST|LT t}}.<ref name="PA 1960-12">{{cite magazine |date=Dec 1960 |title=More Mosts for Pan Am; Big Cork Gets Big Sign |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1960-12.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=41 |pages=60–61 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072412/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1960-12.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The plant was placed on the roof because the building has no usable basement, as all the subterranean space is part of Grand Central Terminal. The plant could melt up to {{Convert|20|e6lb}} of ice each day and could use 200,000 pounds of steam every hour. Large fan rooms were placed on the mechanical stories at the 21st and 46th floors, dispersing air to the other floors, and two individual air supply systems were placed on each story.<ref name="nyht19600403">{{cite news |date=April 3, 1960 |title=Tall Offices To Have Big Icing Plant: Wolfson Tower Will Use Steam |page=3C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324081209}}}}</ref> The ventilation systems could deliver {{Convert|5,000,000|ft3}} every minute. The pipes and ducts had to serve all the building's floors, with an electrical system and water pressure system capable of serving all the building's stories.<ref name="nyht19590517" /> At ground level was a room where wastepaper could be "[[Baler#Industrial balers|baled]]" on-site to make easier to dispose of paper.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 1, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building Wastebaskets Collect 40,000 Pounds a Day; Removal System Described |language=en-US |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/09/01/140353582.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235336/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/09/01/140353582.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] also manufactured 65 elevators and 21 escalators for 200 Park Avenue, which at the time of construction was the largest-ever order for elevators.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> One bank of six elevators was able to travel {{Convert|1600|ft/min}}, the fastest elevators in the world at the time of their installation.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=February 29, 1960 |title=Westinghouse $8 Million Contract |page=8 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132630206}}}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |date=February 24, 1960 |title=Gets Biggest Elevator Order |page=37 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325119680}}}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 117">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=117|ps=.}}</ref> Five elevators were reserved for freight.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /> The elevators rise from the second-story lobby because the elevator pits could not descend below the first story due to the presence of the tracks.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref name="nyt20011007" /> The upper stories were served by 59 elevators.<ref name="Žaknić Smith Rice Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat p." /> According to the Skyscraper Center, {{as of|2021|lc=y}}, the building has 85 elevators.<ref name="SkyscraperCenter" />

==== Lobby ====
[[File:MetLife lobby Mar 2021 11.jpg|thumb|Southern end of the lobby]]
The MetLife Building's base contains a lobby across its lowest two stories. At ground level is a {{Convert|76|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} pedestrian passageway, enabling traffic flow between the Helmsley Building's pedestrian arcades and Grand Central Terminal. The 45th Street entrance to the passageway is set back {{Convert|65|ft}} from the sidewalk. A {{Convert|103|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} entrance arcade is placed on Vanderbilt Avenue, with the doorways set about {{Convert|81|ft}} back from the sidewalk there. The building's main office lobby is placed at the second story, at the level of the viaduct.<ref name="nyt19600626" /><ref name="nyht19600626">{{cite news |date=June 26, 1960 |title=Big Building Plans to Cut Congestion: Wolfson Tower To Help Traffic |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325739974}}}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 188">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=188|ps=.}}</ref> The lobby was also designed with plantings and a {{Convert|40|ft|4=-high|adj=mid}} enclosed plaza.<ref name="nyht19591101" /> The lobby contains 18 escalators in total.<ref name="Žaknić Smith Rice Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat p." /> Four escalators lead to the [[Main Concourse]] at the southern end of the passageway,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1962 |title=Escalators Coming to Grand Central |language=en-US |page=52 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/02/25/113419063.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235344/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/02/25/113419063.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> while fourteen more lead from the passageway to the office lobby.<ref name="Nash 20052" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" />

Gropius was responsible for the original design of the lobby, which was largely austere.<ref name="Clausen p. 353">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=353|ps=.}}</ref> The building's original anchor tenant, Pan Am, had a ticket office under a {{convert|25|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} niche off the main lobby, measuring {{convert|135|ft}} long and {{convert|11|ft}} high, with circular counters and a wall with a relief map of the world. It was the world's largest airline ticket office at the time of its opening, covering {{convert|10000|ft2}}.<ref name="Clausen pp. 139-141">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=139–141|ps=.}}</ref>

===== Renovations =====
During a 1980s renovation by [[Warren Platner]], some {{Convert|15000|ft2}} of retail space were constructed in the lobby.<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=143–144}}</ref><ref name="nyt19850227">{{Cite news |last=Depalma |first=Anthony |date=February 27, 1985 |title=About Real Estate; Pan Am Lobby Is Upgraded in Effort to Raise Rents |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/business/about-real-estate-pan-am-lobby-is-upgraded-in-effort-to-raise-rents.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709194128/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/business/about-real-estate-pan-am-lobby-is-upgraded-in-effort-to-raise-rents.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Also installed was a staircase at the center of the lobby on 45th Street, which consisted of alternating [[travertine]] and gray-granite [[Stair riser|risers]].<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /><ref name="nyt19861211">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |date=December 11, 1986 |title=Critic's Notebook; A Change of Makeup for Pan Am Building Lobby |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/11/arts/critic-s-notebook-a-change-of-makeup-for-pan-am-building-lobby.html |access-date=June 9, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609222919/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/11/arts/critic-s-notebook-a-change-of-makeup-for-pan-am-building-lobby.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The staircase ranged from {{Convert|10|ft}} wide at the ground floor to {{Convert|20|ft}} at an intermediate landing, where it split into two flights and reached a width of {{Convert|30|ft}} at the mezzanine. There were four triangular planters at the bottom of the staircase, which complemented an orange carpet with flower motifs at the mezzanine.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Winter 1985–1986 |title=A Grand Staircase is Focal Point in Pan Am Renovation |magazine=Metals in Construction |pages=16–17}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 351">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=351|ps=.}}</ref> The lobby also contained unusual semicircular discs that were either mounted atop poles or suspended from the ceiling.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /><ref name="nyt19861211" /><ref name="Clausen p. 351" /> In addition, a security desk was added and the storefronts were expanded.<ref name="Clausen p. 353" />

In an early-2000s renovation by [[Kohn Pedersen Fox]], the lobby received tile and black travertine floors, the storefronts were moved to the side, and the central staircase was removed.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /> The storefronts were removed in the late 2010s, when the lobby was re-clad in light-colored travertine.<ref name="nyp20181211" /> The renovated lobby has an oak-floored reception lounge overlooking the entrance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Accounting giant BDO takes 145,000 s/f at 200 Park |website=Real Estate Weekly |date=October 11, 2021 |url=https://rew-online.com/accounting-giant-bdo-takes-145000-s-f-at-200-park/ |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110024739/https://rew-online.com/accounting-giant-bdo-takes-145000-s-f-at-200-park/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===== Artwork =====
The Pan Am Building's lobby was planned with several works of art,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref name="nyt19630707">{{Cite news |date=July 7, 1963 |title=Pan Am Lobby Gets Look of Art Gallery; Art Adorns Pan Am Building Lobby |language=en-US |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/07/07/107177441.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235338/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/07/07/107177441.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> which comprised most of the original lobby's decoration.<ref name="Clausen p. 353" /> One such artwork is ''Flight,'' a triple-story wire sculpture by [[Richard Lippold]].<ref name="nyt20030928">{{Cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Margalit |last2=Robinson |first2=George |date=September 28, 2003 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/nyregion/fyi-451878.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226213643/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/nyregion/fyi-451878.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AR 1962-02">{{cite magazine |date=Feb 1962 |title=Lippold Sculpture Planned for Pan Am Building |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-02.pdf |magazine=Architectural Record |volume=131 |pages=240 |number=2 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072421/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-02.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The sculpture contains a sphere, representing the earth; a seven-pointed star, representing the seven continents and seas; and gold wires representing aircraft flight patterns.<ref name="AR 1962-02" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gilroy |first=Harry |date=April 25, 1963 |title=Sculptor Becomes A High-Wire Artist In Pan Am Lobby |language=en-US |page=35 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/04/25/82060046.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235433/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/04/25/82060046.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> It measures {{convert|80|ft}} wide, and {{convert|40|ft}} deep.<ref name="Clausen p. 151">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=151|ps=.}}</ref> The composer [[John Cage]], a friend of Lippold's, had initially proposed a musical program to complement ''Flight'',<ref name="nyt20030928" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Vanel |first=Herve |year=2008 |title=John Cage's Muzak-Plus: The Fu(rni)ture of Music |magazine=Representations |publisher=University of California Press |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=94–128 |doi=10.1525/rep.2008.102.1.94 |issn=0734-6018}}</ref> consisting of ten loudspeakers, which would have played works by [[Muzak]] whenever people walked in and out of the lobby.<ref name="Clausen p. 151" /> Lippold canceled the idea and management instead agreed to play classical music in the lobby.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ericson |first=Raymond |date=August 12, 1962 |title=Music World: No Sound at All |language=en-US |page=X9 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/08/12/121579380.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235341/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/08/12/121579380.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the Pan Am Building's opening, the entrance from the Main Concourse was topped by [[Manhattan (Josef Albers mural)|''Manhattan'']], a {{Convert|28|by|55|ft|adj=on}} mosaic mural of red, white, and black panels by [[Josef Albers]].<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1963 |title=Mural in Pan Am Building Lobby Gets Face Washed |language=en-US |page=166 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/12/08/89617253.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235337/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/12/08/89617253.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> That work was removed in a 2001 renovation,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=July 9, 2001 |title=A Familiar Mural Finds Itself Without a Wall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/09/arts/a-familiar-mural-finds-itself-without-a-wall.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132533/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/09/arts/a-familiar-mural-finds-itself-without-a-wall.html |url-status=live}}</ref> though Albers had left exact specifications for reproducing the work,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |date=February 21, 2003 |title=Inside Art |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/arts/inside-art.html |access-date=June 9, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609233223/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/arts/inside-art.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and a replica was installed in 2019.<ref name="nyt20190923">{{Cite news |last=Coleman |first=Nancy |date=September 23, 2019 |title=Once Removed and Destroyed, a Modernist Mural Makes Its Return |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/arts/design/josef-albers-modernist-mural-metlife.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520210846/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/arts/design/josef-albers-modernist-mural-metlife.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=September 23, 2019 |title=Josef Albers's Manhattan returns to its rightful place in the MetLife building |url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/manhattan-returns-to-its-rightful-place-outside-grand-central-station |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=The Art Newspaper |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309032510/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/manhattan-returns-to-its-rightful-place-outside-grand-central-station |url-status=live}}</ref>

Suspended over the 45th Street entrance was a mural by [[György Kepes]], consisting of two aluminum screens<ref name="LIFE p. 14">{{cite magazine |date=August 9, 1963 |title=Art in Buildings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IlIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14%C2%A0 |magazine=LIFE |publisher=Time Inc |page=14 |issn=0024-3019 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |archive-date=August 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813180847/https://books.google.com/books?id=IlIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14%C2%A0 |url-status=live }}</ref> with concentric squares.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref name="nyt19630707" /> Kepes's mural measured {{convert|40|ft}} wide and was placed on the balcony<ref name="Clausen p. 151" /> until it was removed in the 1980s.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /> At Vanderbilt Avenue, [[Robert Berks]] sculpted a bronze [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] depicting the building's developer, Erwin S. Wolfson.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref name="nyt19630707" /><ref name="Clausen p. 151" />

==== Other interior spaces ====
The MetLife Building was designed with a six-level parking garage with room for 400 cars. The garage contains entrances and exits from both roadways of the Park Avenue Viaduct.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 11, 1960 |title=6-Level Garage Planned in Central City |page=26 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1327121307}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 11, 1960 |title=Garage Is Leased at Central City; 400-Car Unit to Be Part of 59-Story Skyscraper – Other Rental Deals |language=en-US |page=41 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/08/11/99778446.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235339/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/08/11/99778446.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> According to former minority owner [[Tishman Speyer]], {{As of|2021|lc=y}}, the building's garage contains 248 spots across four levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=200 Park Avenue – Commercial Real Estate NYC |url=https://tishmanspeyer.com/properties/200-park-avenue |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=Tishman Speyer |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507075419/https://tishmanspeyer.com/properties/200-park-avenue |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|However, according to [[The Skyscraper Center]], there are 315 parking spaces.<ref name="SkyscraperCenter" />}}

A variety of commercial and office spaces were included in the Pan Am Building when it opened. [[Pan Am]], the airline for which the building was originally named, contained a ticketing office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, similar in design to [[Eero Saarinen]]'s [[TWA Flight Center]] at JFK Airport.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /> Office stories in the octagonal slab typically have between {{Convert|32000|to|36000|ft2}} of usable space, with elevators and stairs at the center, as well as uneven column spacing.<ref name="AF p. 102" /> This arrangement allows a large amount of window-office space for tenants, as each story contains {{Convert|780|ft}} of outer perimeter walls.<ref name="AF p. 103">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1964|ps=.|p=103}}</ref> Different companies with full-floor leases designed their spaces in various manners. Some tenants placed private offices along the perimeter, with important executive offices at the far corners of the story.<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1964|ps=.|pp=104, 108}}</ref> Other tenants placed open spaces at the west and east ends of the floor<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1964|ps=.|pp=104–105}}</ref> or in the center.<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1964|ps=.|p=107}}</ref>

The Sky Club, a private luncheon club, had been on the 56th floor of the Pan Am Building.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGrath |first=Charles |date=May 26, 2005 |title=A Lunch Club for the Higher-Ups |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/garden/a-lunch-club-for-the-higherups.html |access-date=March 23, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909135452/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/garden/a-lunch-club-for-the-higherups.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 18, 2009 |title=The Demise of Sky-High Dining |url=https://observer.com/2009/08/the-demise-of-skyhigh-dining/ |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=Observer |language=en-US |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303154807/https://observer.com/2009/08/the-demise-of-skyhigh-dining/ |url-status=live}}</ref> For several years the Sky Club had contained a private restaurant.<ref name="ArchDaily 2016" /> Aircraft pioneer [[Juan Trippe]], founder of Pan Am, was a member of this club.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McDowell |first=Edwin |date=April 11, 2000 |title=Reviving High Life, 67 Floors Up; Chrysler Building Redoes the Cloud Club's Old Space |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/11/nyregion/reviving-high-life-67-floors-up-chrysler-building-redoes-cloud-club-s-old-space.html |access-date=March 23, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112905/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/11/nyregion/reviving-high-life-67-floors-up-chrysler-building-redoes-cloud-club-s-old-space.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Trippe had commissioned a mural of [[clipper]] ships for the walls of the Sky Club; it was sent to Tucker's Point resort in [[Bermuda]] after the club shuttered.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 24, 2010 |title=Tucker's Point |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703876404575200191239091952 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=The Wall Street Journal |language=en |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023073646/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703876404575200191239091952 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Point |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/bermuda/restaurants/the-point |access-date=March 26, 2021 |website=Travel + Leisure |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929152036/https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/bermuda/restaurants/the-point |url-status=live}}</ref> On the 57th and 58th stories was the Copter Club, which was used by passengers of the short-lived helicopter service.<ref name="nyt19910818" />

==History==
===Planning===
By the 1950s, passenger volumes at Grand Central Terminal had declined dramatically from the early 20th century, and there were proposals to demolish and replace the station.<ref name="Langmead">{{cite book |last=Langmead |first=Donald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTh8b2cyGBcC&pg=PA179 |title=Icons of American Architecture: From the Alamo to the World Trade Center |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-313-34207-3 |series=Greenwood Icons |page=177 |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229045224/https://books.google.com/books?id=OTh8b2cyGBcC&pg=PA179 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Clausen pp. 3-4">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|pp=3–4}}</ref> The New York Central Railroad was losing money, partially on paying taxes on the building's [[air rights]]. New York Central wanted to sell the property or its air rights to allow the construction of a skyscraper above or on the terminal's site.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ohama |first=Mayu |date=April 23, 2014 |title=Preservation Planning for Early Modern Architecture: Comparing the New York Grand Central Terminal and Tokyo Station |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1435&context=hp_theses |access-date=December 7, 2019 |website=ScholarlyCommons |via=University of Pennsylvania |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522045937/https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1435&context=hp_theses |url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time, the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]] retained a partial interest in the terminal's operation.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=359}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|p=25}}</ref>

==== Early plans ====
[[File:Park_Avenue_directly_heading_for_Helmsley_Building_and_Met_Life_Building.jpg|thumb|upright|right|View from the north, with the New York Central Building (now [[Helmsley Building]]) in front]]
Initially, New York Central's chairman [[Robert R. Young]] had been negotiating with developer Erwin S. Wolfson and their mutual friends Herbert and [[Stuart Scheftel]] to determine how the Grand Central site could be redeveloped.<ref>{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|p=23}}</ref> After these discussions broke down, two competing plans for the replacement of Grand Central Terminal were proposed in 1954.<ref name="Clausen pp. 3-4" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" /><ref name="AR 1954" /> One design, by [[I. M. Pei]], was suggested by Young along with developer [[William Zeckendorf]]. The proposal called for an 80-story, {{convert|5|e6sqft|m2|adj=on}} tower that would have succeeded the [[Empire State Building]] as the world's tallest building.<ref name="AR 1954">{{cite magazine |date=November 1954 |title=Is Grand Central 'Outmoded'? Owners Consider Replacement Schemes |url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/archives/backissues/1954-11.pdf |magazine=Architectural Record |volume=116 |pages=20–25 |number=5 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072434/https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/archives/backissues/1954-11.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Stetson |first=Damon |date=September 8, 1954 |title=World's Loftiest Tower May Rise On Site of Grand Central Terminal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/08/archives/worlds-loftiest-tower-may-rise-on-site-of-grand-central-terminal.html |access-date=December 24, 2018 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225035321/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/08/archives/worlds-loftiest-tower-may-rise-on-site-of-grand-central-terminal.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sugrue |first=Francis |date=September 8, 1954 |title=N.Y. Central Plans Top Skyscraper: 1,600-Footer At Grand Central |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1318408878}}}}</ref> The other, by [[Fellheimer & Wagner]], was put forth by New Haven's chairman Patrick B. McGinnis along with Wolfson. The plan envisioned a 55-story building, the largest office building in the world with {{Convert|4|to|6|e6ft2}}.<ref name="AR 1954" /><ref>{{cite news |date=September 18, 1954 |title=2d Plan for Grand Central Calls for 50-Story Building |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1322552896}}}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|pp=27–28}}</ref> Both proposals were poorly received, with 235 architects cosigning a letter imploring Young and McGinnis to reject the plans.<ref name="Langmead" /><ref name="AF 1955-02">{{cite magazine |date=Feb 1955 |title=Grand Central's Outdoor Concourse |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1955-02.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |pages=116–117 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072418/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1955-02.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Neither plan was ultimately ever carried out.<ref name="Langmead" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" />

Though the New Haven and New York Central continued to struggle financially, both railroads agreed to work with Wolfson, the New Haven's developer.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" /> In February 1955, Wolfson, the Scheftels, and Alfred G. Burger proposed a 65-story tower called Grand Central City, which would replace a six-story baggage structure north of the terminal.<ref name="nyht19550208">{{cite news |last=Bird |first=Robert S. |date=February 8, 1955 |title=New Grand Central Plan Would Save Terminal |page=19 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1328082697}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=February 8, 1955 |title=New Plan Studied on Grand Central; 65-Story Building With Glass Tower Would Spare Present Concourse of Terminal |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/02/08/566701682.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2018 |website=The New York Times |page=20 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235342/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/02/08/566701682.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|pp=29, 32}}</ref> Richard Roth of [[Emery Roth and Sons]], who created the design, had agreed to participate only if the office building would not result in the passenger concourse's demolition.<ref name="AF 1955-02" /><ref name="nyht19550208" /> The plans were widely circulated in the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name=":2" /> The proposal garnered significant opposition after architect [[Giorgio Cavaglieri]] expressed concerns about the effects of the proposed building on traffic congestion in the area.<ref name="Clausen p. 33">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=33|ps=.}}</ref>

Roth and Wolfson's plan was effectively forgotten in March 1955 when Zeckendorf was named the partner for any new development in the vicinity of Grand Central.<ref name=":3">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|pp=44–45}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Porter |first=Russell |date=March 2, 1955 |title=Grand Central Area Open for Rebuilding |language=en-US |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/03/02/85687992.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235340/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/03/02/85687992.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> Zeckendorf and Pei modified the blueprints for their 80-story tower but never publicly announced the revised plans.<ref name=":3" /> Unpublished drawings indicate that Pei's second design was supposed to be a [[hyperboloid]]-shaped tower.<ref name="Clausen pp. 46-47">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=46–47|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="BL p. 4">{{cite book |last1=Belle |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/grandcentralgate0000bell |title=Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives |last2=Leighton |first2=Maxinne Rhea |publisher=Norton |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-393-04765-3 |page=4}}</ref> For various reasons, the hyperboloid tower never progressed past the planning stage. The building had faced extensive criticism from both professionals and the general public; the railroads faced significant financial shortfalls; and the economy as a whole had started to decline, leaving Zeckendorf unable to finance the project. Meanwhile, traffic around Grand Central Terminal worsened in the late 1950s.<ref name="Clausen p. 47">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=47|ps=.}}</ref>

==== Revival of plans ====
In January 1958, representatives of an unnamed large company, who were unaware of Grand Central City's cancellation, notified Stuart Scheftel that they were interested in leasing space in the new building.<ref name="Clausen p. 49">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=49|ps=.}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Upon learning of the news, Young placed Scheftel in contact with his real estate agent. Although Young died by suicide shortly afterward, the remaining partners continued working on the project.<ref name="Clausen p. 49" /> A revised version of Roth's plan was announced in May 1958. The plan called for a 50-story aluminum and glass tower parallel to Park Avenue, with {{Convert|3|e6ft2}} of floor area; three theaters with a total capacity of 5,000; an open-air restaurant on the seventh floor; and a 2,000-spot parking garage.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 8, 1958 |title=Plan 50-Story Building Next to Grand Central |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325125370}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=May 8, 1958 |title=Grand Central 'City' Is Planned; 50-Story Skyscraper Slated by 1961 for Rear of Terminal |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/05/08/83412688.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2018 |website=The New York Times |page=1 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235341/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/05/08/83412688.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=Jun 1958 |title=Grand Central site for largest office building |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1958-06.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |pages=13 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509191049/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1958-06.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The New York Central and New Haven railroads were guaranteed at least $1 million a year from the agreement.<ref name="Clausen p. 49" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 8, 1958 |title=Plan Biggest Biz Bldg. at Grand Central |pages=275 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74283810/plan-biggest-biz-bldg-at-grand-central/ |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235336/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74283810/plan-biggest-biz-bldg-at-grand-central/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the presence of tracks under the building site, Wolfson said a survey of the site had "no insurmountable problems".<ref>{{cite news |date=June 8, 1958 |title=Planning Moves Ahead For Grand Central City |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1323060280}}}}</ref> James Ruderman, the building's structural engineer, had drawn up preliminary plans for a steel framework spanning the tracks.<ref name="Clausen pp. 92-93">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=92–93|ps=.}}</ref> Wolfson hired James D. Landauer Associates Inc. to handle leasing at the proposed building, negotiating directly with tenants' brokers.<ref name="Clausen p. 50">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=50|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="p114352442">{{cite news |date=July 6, 1958 |title=Central Building Sets Rental Plan: New Approach on Leases Uses Consultant Firm for Planned Skyscraper |page=R2 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|114352442}}}}</ref>

Wolfson found Roth's revised plan to be unsatisfactorily modest for such a prominent site.<ref name="ArchDaily 2016" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" /><ref name="Clausen p. 50" /> He said in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' that he wanted to "avoid adding just another massive shape to an already developed midtown business community".<ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfson |first=Erwin S. |date=December 20, 1959 |title=New 42d St. Tower Will Spare Depot: Offices Planned On Separate Site |page=C3 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1326231684}}}}</ref> In July 1958, architects [[Walter Gropius]] and [[Pietro Belluschi]] were announced as co-designers for Grand Central City.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/31/archives/2-noted-architects-to-help-map-center.html |title=2 Noted Architects to Help Map Center |date=July 31, 1958 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225225056/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/07/31/archives/2-noted-architects-to-help-map-center.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyht19580731">{{cite news |date=July 31, 1958 |title=3 Architects to Plan Grand Central Building |page=8 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1328101936}}}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 96">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=96|ps=.}}</ref> Wolfson expressed his hope that Gropius and Belluschi, both prominent architects in the [[Modern architecture|Modern]] style, would be able to help devise an "esthetic and functional design".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" /><ref name="nyht19580731" /> Initially, Gropius and Belluschi were to serve a relatively minor advisory role.<ref name="Clausen p. 94">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=94|ps=.}}</ref> A week after being hired, Gropius suggested that the slab be oriented east–west, with a large plaza or courtyard in front of the tower, similar to the design of [[Lever House]]. Gropius also recommended that the building include a textured facade, rather than the metal-and-glass curtain walls commonly used by the Roth firm in its previous buildings.<ref name="Clausen p. 96" /> Gropius modified the plans in mid-1958; the facade would use simulated stone, the large plaza was dropped from the plans, and the tower was moved northward to 45th Street.<ref name="Clausen p. 100">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=100|ps=.}}</ref> That October, Wolfson traveled to Europe to study buildings and gain inspiration for the building's design.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 3, 1958 |title=Wolfson Off For Survey In Europe |pages=14 |work=The Herald Statesman |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74287779/wolfson-off-for-survey-in-europe/ |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235336/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74287779/wolfson-off-for-survey-in-europe/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gropius and the Roth firm continued to modify their design through early 1959.<ref name="Clausen p. 105" /> The revised final plans were announced in February 1959. While Wolfson had promised a "modest" redesign,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 359" /> the new plans were a radical change from Roth's 1958 plan, calling for a 55-story octagonal tower parallel to 45th Street, with {{Convert|2.4|e6ft2|m2}} of space.<ref name="nyht19590218" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ennis |first=Thomas W. |date=February 18, 1959 |title=Octagonal Office Skyscraper To Rise Behind Grand Central |language=en-US |page=35 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/02/18/89154676.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235337/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/02/18/89154676.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=Mar 1959 |title=Buildings in the News: Gropius-Belluschi-Roth Design For Grand Central City |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1959-03.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |pages=10 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072458/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1959-03.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The Roth firm said the octagonal massing could absorb "different planes of light as on a diamond", while Gropius said the new alignment was easier for air conditioning.<ref name="nyht19590218" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360" /> The octagonal building was smaller than the original plans, but Gropius's team reasoned that a {{convert|3|e6ft2|adj=on}} edifice would have been too large to rent out. The Roth firm expressed its concerns over the east–west orientation of the tower, since it would raise the cost of the superstructure by 50 percent compared to a slab oriented north–south.<ref name="Clausen p. 98" /> A model of the redesigned tower was exhibited publicly in November 1959.<ref name="Clausen p. 105" /><ref>{{cite news |date=November 3, 1959 |title=Model of Huge Office Building, Grand Central City, Is Unveiled |page=16 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|89826064}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 3, 1959 |title=Model of Grand Central City Shown |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/03/archives/model-of-grand-central-city-shown.html |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501235336/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/03/archives/model-of-grand-central-city-shown.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Construction ===

==== Initial work ====
Five leases for a collective {{Convert|600,000|ft2}} in Grand Central City were announced immediately after the final design was announced in February 1959.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 20, 1959 |title=Pacts for New Building; Leases Reported for Proposed Grand Central City |language=en-US |page=41 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/02/20/171376892.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A contract for {{Convert|40000|ST|LT t}} of structural steel was awarded to [[U.S. Steel]]'s American Bridge division that May; at the time, the contract was reportedly the most expensive ever awarded for an office building.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 13, 1959 |title=Huge Steel Award Let For New Building Here |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/05/13/80577208.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2018 |website=The New York Times |page=61}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 13, 1959 |title=Ordering Steel for Grand Central City |page=B6 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1323963988}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1959 |title=U.S. Steel Division Gets Record Contract |pages=24 |work=The Herald Statesman |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74283729/us-steel-division-gets-record-contract/ |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref> Ruderman finalized his plans for the framework in September 1959.<ref name="Clausen p. 117" /> The next month British firm City Centre Properties invested $25 million and took a half interest in Grand Central City's development, covering part of the project's $100 million cost.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gleason |first=Gene |date=October 22, 1959 |title=British Aid Grand Central City: Realty Firm Invests $25 Million in Project |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1328041816}}}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=October 22, 1959 |title=British Funds Back Grand Central City |language=en-US |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/10/22/80772677.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 86">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=86|ps=.}}</ref> It was the first British–American joint venture for a real estate development in the United States.<ref name="Clausen p. 86" /> Gordon I. Kyle, an appraiser who had calculated the valuations of more than two-thirds of Manhattan's skyscrapers,<ref name="nyt-1961-05-07">{{Cite news |last=Talese |first=Gay |date=May 7, 1961 |title=Expert Eye; Gordon I. Kyle is paid big fees to assess the value of big buildings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/07/archives/expert-eye-gordon-i-kyle-is-paid-big-fees-to-assess-the-value-of.html |access-date=August 10, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813180848/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/07/archives/expert-eye-gordon-i-kyle-is-paid-big-fees-to-assess-the-value-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> concluded that the building would be worth twice as much as the [[Empire State Building]].<ref name="p510414868">{{cite news |date=March 8, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building Dedicated in N.Y.: World's Largest |page=2 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |id={{ProQuest|510414868}}}}</ref> Wolfson and City Centre paid Kyle $50,000, which at the time was the highest single appraiser's fee ever recorded.<ref name="p510414868" /><ref name="nyt-1961-05-07" />

The New York Central Railroad granted an 80-year lease for the air rights above the building, in exchange for a portion of the building's gross revenue.<ref name="wsj19630306">{{cite news |date=March 6, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building, Called a Huge Gamble, Is Opening 91% Rented, 100% Financed |page=16 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132873303}}}}</ref>{{efn|New York Central's income was guaranteed to be $1.1 million or 8 percent of the gross rental, whichever was larger.<ref name="wsj19630306" />}} This agreement added about $6 million to the construction cost.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheehan |first=Harold |date=January 2, 1963 |title=Builders in Crowded Cities Are Finding No Way to Go But Up |pages=15 |work=The Index-Journal |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74425801/ |access-date=March 26, 2021}}</ref> Final plans were filed with the [[New York City Department of Buildings]] on November 24, 1959.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 25, 1959 |title=Building Plan Filed; Cost of Grand Central City Is Put at $42,000,000 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/25/archives/building-plan-filed-cost-of-grand-central-city-is-put-at-42000000.html |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035302/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/25/archives/building-plan-filed-cost-of-grand-central-city-is-put-at-42000000.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 24, 1959 |title=Architect Files Plans For 59-Story Building |page=36 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1324107387}}}}</ref> Construction on the structure officially started two days afterward on November 26,<ref>{{cite web |title=Skyscraper Is Begun; Work Starts on $100,000,000 Grand Central City |website=The New York Times |date=November 27, 1959 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/27/archives/skyscraper-is-begun-work-starts-on-100000000-grand-central-city.html |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225031006/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/11/27/archives/skyscraper-is-begun-work-starts-on-100000000-grand-central-city.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Cushman & Wakefield]] were named as leasing agents for Grand Central City the following month.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 2, 1959 |title=Renting Agent Named; Cushman & Wakefield Gets Job for Grand Central City |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/12/02/archives/renting-agent-named-cushman-wakefield-gets-job-for-grand-central.html |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035419/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/12/02/archives/renting-agent-named-cushman-wakefield-gets-job-for-grand-central.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This was followed by contracts for the building's soundproofing and elevators in February 1960.<ref name="Clausen p. 117" /> James Ruderman had devised engineering plans for five other structures above the Park Avenue railroad tracks. As the Grand Central City site was impossible to excavate, the substructure had to be erected while the baggage building served as a [[staging area]]. Furthermore, as some materials would have to be delivered by railroad, material deliveries would be coordinated closely to avoid delays on the commuter rail lines entering Grand Central.<ref name="nyt19590920" /><ref name="nyht19600501" />

Construction of the substructure commenced in May 1960, during which the architects finalized plans for the entrances, lobbies, and facade lighting.<ref name="Clausen p. 110">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=110|ps=.}}</ref> Gropius was involved in all aspects of the building's design, from traffic flow to minor architectural details, which sometimes led to conflicts with the project's other architects and engineers. For example, he wanted the lobby's bronze details to contain a matte finish, and he requested that the elevator penthouse be no higher than {{convert|26|ft}} above the roof so that it did not "look silly".<ref name="Clausen p. 111">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=111|ps=.}}</ref> Work on the tower itself was held up by a steel strike that lasted through much of 1960;<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /> the baggage handling building was ultimately demolished starting that June.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Henry |date=October 16, 1960 |title=Grand Old Central Sprouts a Skyscraper |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26483927/ 52], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26483952/ 53] |work=New York Daily News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/28/archives/wrecking-starts-at-grand-central-office-building-being-razed-for.html |title=Wrecking Starts at Grand Central; Office Building Being Razed for Skyscraper – Baggage Installation Advanced |date=June 28, 1960 |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035334/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/28/archives/wrecking-starts-at-grand-central-office-building-being-razed-for.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=Aug 1960 |title=Demolition Started at Grand Central City Site |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1960-08.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=41 |pages=64 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072420/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1960-08.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Foundations for the building were sunk in August 1960.<ref>{{cite web |title=Foundation Being Sunk 55 Feet for Grand Central City |website=The New York Times |date=August 9, 1960 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/09/archives/foundation-being-sunk-55-feet-for-grand-central-city.html |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225035325/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/09/archives/foundation-being-sunk-55-feet-for-grand-central-city.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Pan Am lease and completion ====
Pan Am founder Juan Trippe signed a 25-year, $115.5 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|fmt=c|value=115.5|start_year=1960}} million in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}) lease for {{convert|613000|sqft|sqm|adj=off}} across 15 floors, plus a new main ticket office at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, in September 1960.<ref>{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|ps=.|p=137}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 28, 1960 |title=Pan Am to Occupy 15 Floors of Central Manhattan Skyscraper |page=3 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132586529}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ennis |first=Thomas W. |date=September 28, 1960 |title=115 Million Lease Sets a Mark Here: Pan Am Takes 15 Floors in New Terminal Building |language=en-US |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/09/28/99809772.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In an indication of the widespread interest surrounding this lease, the mayor and the governor of New York both congratulated Grand Central City's builders after the lease was signed.<ref name="Clausen p. 138">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=138|ps=.}}</ref> Following this, Pan Am hired [[Ivan Chermayeff]] to design the building's signage.<ref name="Clausen p. 110" /> Grand Central City officially became known as the Pan Am Building in December 1960, after its major lessee. Signs bearing the company's name or logo were placed atop the four major facades.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 366" /><ref name="PA 1960-12" /> Originally, Trippe had wanted signs with the name "Pan Am" on all eight facades, but this was scaled down after Gropius objected that the large number of signs would decrease "the dignity of the building".<ref name="Clausen p. 138" /> The Pan Am Building's developers secured a $70 million mortgage loan and a $65 million construction loan during January 1961.<ref name="wsj19630306" /><ref>{{cite magazine |date=Jul 1961 |title=The largest construction loan ever |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1961-07.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=115 |pages=11 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-date=February 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228102235/https://www.usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1961-07.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, the building was more than half rented.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 10, 1961 |title=Huge Loan For Pan Am Building Set: Midtown Scraper Gets Financing |page=40 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1325446490}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=January 10, 1961 |title=Some Financing Details Of Pan Am Building In New York Disclosed |page=17 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132711020}}}}</ref>

The Pan Am Building's construction involved over 200 engineers and 7,500 workers from 75 trades.<ref name="Clausen p. 119" /> Three derricks were installed to erect the steel for the tower, while four derricks were used for the base. Five to seven steel columns were installed every day during two shifts, with materials deliveries taking place mostly at night.<ref name="nyt19610312" /> The Pan Am Building's structural steel [[Topping out|topped out]] during May 1962.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1962 |title=Flags Mark Topping-Out of Pan Am Building's Steel |page=28 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/05/10/80390200.pdf |access-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 13, 1962 |title=New York City's Pan Am Building Is 'Topped Out' |page=A27 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|141719551}}}}</ref> The facade cladding was installed in two ways. The facade of the base was bolted into place, down to the individual spandrels and mullions. The Mo-Sai panels for the tower were installed via an interior hoist.<ref name="nyt19611029" /><ref name="AF 1962-02" /> Wolfson, though recovering from surgery during mid-1962, continued to observe the building's progress using a helicopter.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1962 |title=Builder, Confined by Illness, Sees Projects From the Air |language=en-US |page=24 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/06/23/80402620.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When Wolfson died that June, James D. Landauer was selected to oversee the building's completion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1962 |title=Landauer Will Direct Activities of Wolfson |language=en-US |page=54 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/07/05/89877775.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The lobby, the last part of the Pan Am Building to be completed, was built with cheap materials such as restroom tiles because the builders had run out of money toward the project's completion.<ref name="nyt19850227" />

=== Opening and Pan Am ownership ===
[[File:Pan Am Building, NYC, 1980s.jpg|thumb|The Pan Am Building as seen in the 1980s]]
The as-yet-incomplete Pan Am Building was formally opened on March 7, 1963, with a ceremony attended by British and American officials,<ref name="p510414868" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Pan Am Building Dedicated in N.Y.; 100 Million Structure, 59 Stories Tall, City's Biggest Other Speakers at Event |website=The New York Times |date=March 8, 1963 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/08/archives/pan-am-building-dedicated-in-ny-100-million-structure-59-stories.html |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225035334/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/08/archives/pan-am-building-dedicated-in-ny-100-million-structure-59-stories.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and tenants started moving into the structure the following month.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pan Am Receives First of Tenants; Pan Am Building, Center of a Storm of Controversy, Nears Completion |website=The New York Times |date=April 7, 1963 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/07/archives/pan-am-receives-first-of-tenants-pan-am-building-center-of-a-storm.html |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225031041/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/07/archives/pan-am-receives-first-of-tenants-pan-am-building-center-of-a-storm.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The building had secured tenants for 91 percent of its office space upon opening, in large part to its central location.<ref name="Clausen p. 216">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=216|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="p133071383">{{cite news |last=O'Donnell |first=Laurence G. |date=March 6, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building, Called a Huge Gamble, Is Opening 91% Rented, 100% Financed |page=16 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133071383}}}}</ref> Within three months, the Pan Am Building was 92 percent rented and 70 percent occupied;<ref name="Žaknić Smith Rice Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat p." /><ref name="Clausen p. 217">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=217|ps=.}}</ref> by the first anniversary of its opening, the building was 97 percent leased with 241 tenants.<ref name="nyt19640315">{{cite news |date=March 15, 1964 |title=Pan Am Building 97% Under Lease |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|115706173}}}}</ref> This contrasted greatly with the smaller Empire State Building, which was only 25 percent rented when it opened and did not reach full occupancy for more than a decade afterward.<ref name="Clausen p. 216" /> At the time of its completion, the Pan Am Building was the largest commercial office development in the world by square footage,<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /><ref name="nyt19640315" /><ref name="Horsley">{{cite web |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |title=The MetLife (formerly the Pan Am) Building |url=http://www.thecityreview.com/panam.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=The Midtown Book |archive-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228072809/http://www.thecityreview.com/panam.html |url-status=live}}</ref> being surpassed nearly a decade later by [[55 Water Street]] and the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in lower Manhattan.<ref name="Horsley" /> In the 15 years prior to the Pan Am Building's opening, 147 office buildings had been completed in Manhattan, totaling {{convert|50.632|e6ft2}} of office space.<ref name="Clausen p. 217" />

Initially, the airline only had a 10 percent ownership stake in its namesake building.<ref name="nyt19800729">{{Cite news |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=July 29, 1980 |title=Metropolitan Life Plans to Acquire Pan Am Buildings for $400 Million; Price Apparently a Record --Airline Is Preparing to Retire Some of Debt Pan Am Agrees to Sell Building for $400 Million Equivalent to $177 a Square Foot Cost About $115 Million to Build |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/07/29/archives/metropolitan-life-plans-to-acquire-pan-am-buildings-for-400-million.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Besides Pan Am, other early tenants included the [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 28, 1960 |title=Lease Expanded by Westinghouse; Company Will Take 4 Floors in Grand Central City – Other Rental Deals |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/07/28/archives/lease-expanded-by-westinghouse-company-will-take-4-floors-in-grand.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035322/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/07/28/archives/lease-expanded-by-westinghouse-company-will-take-4-floors-in-grand.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Alcoa]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1960 |title=Lease Arranged for Central City; Alcoa to Take Space in Big Skyscraper at. Terminal – Other Rental Deals |language=en-US |page=53 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/02/03/119095162.pdf |access-date=March 24, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the [[Hammermill Paper Company]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 7, 1962 |title=Space Is Leased by Hammermill; Paper Company to Locate in Pan Am Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/06/07/archives/space-is-leased-by-hammermill-paper-company-to-locate-in-pan-am.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225225102/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/06/07/archives/space-is-leased-by-hammermill-paper-company-to-locate-in-pan-am.html |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[National Steel Corporation]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 28, 1962 |title=National Steel to Move Offices; Signs at Pan Am Building --Goodrich Expands Unit |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/28/archives/national-steel-to-move-offices-signs-at-pan-am-building-goodrich.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035331/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/05/28/archives/national-steel-to-move-offices-signs-at-pan-am-building-goodrich.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Kodak]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 13, 1961 |title=Eastman Kodak to Moved Division; Gets Space in the Pan Am Building – Other Rentals |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/07/13/archives/eastman-kodak-to-moved-division-gets-space-in-the-pan-am-building.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225225100/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/07/13/archives/eastman-kodak-to-moved-division-gets-space-in-the-pan-am-building.html |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the [[Trusted Media Brands|Reader's Digest Association]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 25, 1961 |title=Reader's Digest to Move Offices; Leases 3 Pan Am Building Floors – Other Deals |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/25/archives/readers-digest-to-move-offices-leases-3-pan-am-building-floors.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035308/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/25/archives/readers-digest-to-move-offices-leases-3-pan-am-building-floors.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Mitsui]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1962 |title=Pan Am Building Leases a Floor; Japanese Export Company Takes Tower Space |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/07/11/archives/pan-am-building-leases-a-floor-japanese-export-company-takes-tower.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035300/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/07/11/archives/pan-am-building-leases-a-floor-japanese-export-company-takes-tower.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Chrysler]],<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 21, 1963 |title=Chrysler to Move Offices To the Pan Am Building |language=en-US |page=44 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/06/21/82068970.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the [[British Iron & Steel Corporation]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 14, 1962 |title=British Company Gets Office Here; Steel Concern Takes Space in Pan Am Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/06/14/archives/british-company-gets-office-here-steel-concern-takes-space-in-pan.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035415/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/06/14/archives/british-company-gets-office-here-steel-concern-takes-space-in-pan.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The shops at the Pan Am Building's base were opened in August 1963.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 16, 1963 |title=Pan Am Building Opens Shops |language=en-US |page=53 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/08/16/81823994.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The tenant selection process was rigorous, as Cushman and Wakefield examining the services and goods sold by potential tenants: for example, the firm's vice president got haircuts from each of the six applicants for the lobby barbershop.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bartnett |first=Edimond J. |date=May 5, 1963 |title=Agent Scrutinzes Pan Am Applicants |language=en-US |page=R311 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/05/05/103002578.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Furthermore, average rents in the Pan Am Building were about {{Convert|6.75|$/ft2}}, slightly higher than the average of {{Convert|5.25|to|6|$/ft2}} in other Midtown Manhattan buildings.<ref name="wsj19630306" />

Although the Pan Am Building's completion averted the terminal's imminent destruction, New York Central had experienced further decline, merging with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] in 1968 to form the [[Penn Central]] Railroad.<ref>{{cite news |date=1968 |title=Court Here Lets Railroads Consolidate Tomorrow |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9A06E1DD1530EF34BC4950DFB7668383679EDE |access-date=February 1, 2018 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424164152/https://query.nytimes.com/mem/page.html?res=9A06E1DD1530EF34BC4950DFB7668383679EDE&legacy=true&status=nf |url-status=live}}</ref> That year, Pan Am bought a 45 percent stake in the building from the estate of Jack Cotton,<ref name="nyt19800729" /> formerly chairman and co-owner of City Centre Properties.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1964 |title=Jack Cotton Dies; Real Estate Man; British Developer Helped to Finance Pan Am Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/03/23/118655261.pdf |page=29 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, it sought to sell its properties, including the land below the Pan Am Building.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bedingfield |first=Robert E. |date=June 3, 1971 |title=Pennsy Will Sell 23 Valuable Sites in Mid-Manhattan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/03/archives/pennsy-will-sell-23-valuable-sites-in-midmanhattan-value-of-package.html |access-date=June 11, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611230449/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/03/archives/pennsy-will-sell-23-valuable-sites-in-midmanhattan-value-of-package.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Among the building's tenants during this time was the [[United Brands Company]] (now [[Chiquita Brands International]]), whose CEO, [[Eli M. Black]], jumped from the 44th story to his death on February 3, 1975.<ref>{{cite news |last=Krajicek |first=David J. |date=May 22, 2011 |title=Going bananas: Pan Am Building suicide in Chiquita scandal |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bananas-pan-building-suicide-chiquita-scandal-article-1.143195 |access-date=September 30, 2015 |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001180330/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bananas-pan-building-suicide-chiquita-scandal-article-1.143195 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kihss |first=Peter |date=February 4, 1975 |title=44-Story Plunge Kills Head of United Brands |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/04/archives/44story-plunge-kills-head-of-united-brands.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Pan Am was considering moving its headquarters from the building by 1978.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 13, 1978 |title=Pan Am Weighs Moving Base From New York |page=34 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134272483}}}}</ref> That year, the airline bought the remaining 45 percent stake in the building from Wolfson, obtaining full ownership of the property.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 25, 1978 |title=Pan Am Agrees to Buy 45% of Its Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/25/archives/pan-am-agrees-to-buy-45-of-its-building.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208140827/http://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/25/archives/pan-am-agrees-to-buy-45-of-its-building.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 25, 1978 |title=Pan Am Agrees to Buy All of Pan Am Building |page=20 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134340369}}}}</ref><ref name="Clausen pp. 346-347">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=346–347|ps=.}}</ref> A Pan Am subsidiary, Grand Central Building Inc., acquired the underlying land for about $25 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|fmt=c|value=25|start_year=1979}} million in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}) the following year as part of a legal settlement with Penn Central.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 28, 1979 |title=Realty News Ownership Changes In Major Buildings: Downtown Move Executives Named |page=R6 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|121014232}}}}</ref> The airline sustained large financial losses during the [[early 1980s recession]],<ref name="newsday19800729">{{cite news |last=Incantalupo |first=Tom |date=July 29, 1980 |title=Pan Am Selling Pan Am Building |page=35 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|965198877}}}}</ref><ref name="Clausen p. 346">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=346|ps=.}}</ref> leading it to announce in February 1980 that it was considering selling the building.<ref name="Clausen p. 346" /><ref>{{cite news |date=February 13, 1980 |title=Pan Am Is Considering Selling New York City Headquarters Building |page=16 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134459071}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter |date=February 13, 1980 |title=Pan Am Weighs Sale of Its Building; Pan Am Weighs Sale of Its Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/02/13/archives/pan-am-weighs-sale-of-its-building-pan-am-weighs-sale-of-its.html |url-access=registration |access-date=August 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809192117/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/02/13/archives/pan-am-weighs-sale-of-its-building-pan-am-weighs-sale-of-its.html |url-status=live }}</ref> About half the leases were scheduled to expire in three or four years.<ref name="newsday19800729" /><ref name="Clausen p. 349">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=349|ps=.}}</ref> Many lessees were exempt from paying the building's operating costs, which made the Pan Am Building only marginally profitable for the airline.<ref name="newsday19800729" /> Amid high fuel costs and a lack of income from airfare, Pan Am decided in April 1980 that it would definitely sell the building.<ref name="Clausen p. 350">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=350|ps=.}}</ref>

=== Sale to MetLife and renovations ===
[[File:MetLife.JPG|thumb|alt=The MetLife Building as viewed from the south|Seen from the south, with [[Grand Central Terminal]] in the foreground and the [[Pershing Square Building]] at right]]
When the Pan Am Building officially went on the market in May 1980, ''Business Week'' magazine predicted that it might be sold for as much as $200 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|fmt=c|value=200|start_year=1980}} million in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}).<ref name="Clausen p. 347">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=347|ps=.}}</ref> The sale was so complex that Landauer Associates published a 65-page brochure just to describe the terms of the sale.<ref name="Clausen p. 351" /> Nine bidders submitted offers, five of whom were selected for further consideration: the [[MetLife|Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]] (MetLife), the [[Equitable Holdings|Equitable Life Assurance Society]]; [[Donald Trump]]; [[Paul Milstein]]; and [[Olympia and York]].<ref name="nyt19800928">{{Cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=September 28, 1980 |title=$400 Million Sale, A 'Morale Booster,' Causes Concern Too |language=en-US |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/09/28/114140355.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>{{efn|Additional firms were invited to bid on the property, though some chose not to bid, while the others were eliminated in the first round of consideration. The other bidders included the [[Prudential Life Insurance Company]]; Corporate Property Investors; the Fisher Brothers; the [[Aetna|Aetna Life Insurance Company]]; the [[RREEF America LLC|Rreef Corporation]]; and an investment group which included [[Bernard H. Mendik]], [[Robert Tishman]], and [[Jerry Speyer]].<ref name="nyt19800928" />}} In July 1980, Pan Am sold the building to MetLife for $400 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US-GDP|fmt=c|value=400|start_year=1980}} million in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}).<ref name="nyt19800729" /><ref name="newsday19800729" /><ref name="Clausen p. 347" /> At the time, it was the highest-priced sale of an office building in Manhattan. This was attributed not only to a rezoning of the surrounding area, allowing developers to erect higher buildings there, but also to a strong office market.<ref name="Clausen p. 347" /> The sale price amounted to {{convert|177|$/ft2}}, more than any other office building in Manhattan.<ref name="Clausen p. 349" /> MetLife did not plan to move any offices to the building, and Pan Am planned to keep its headquarters there.<ref name="nyt19800729" /><ref name="Clausen p. 347" /> As a condition of the sale, the building would retain Pan Am's name until the airline ceased to be the building's anchor tenant.<ref name="Clausen p. 349" />

The sale was finalized in 1981 when Pan Am transferred [[Share capital|stock]] in the building to MetLife, a move that let the airline avoid paying most of the estate transfer tax.<ref name="Clausen p. 351" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dionne | first=E. J. Jr. |date=August 8, 1981 |title=New York Closes Loophole in City Realty Transfer Tax |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/08/nyregion/new-york-closes-loophole-in-city-realty-transfer-tax.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126050123/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/08/nyregion/new-york-closes-loophole-in-city-realty-transfer-tax.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Pan Am normally would have paid a $4 million tax, but it ultimately paid only $125.<ref name="Clausen p. 351" /> Cross & Brown assumed the responsibility of leasing the building's space.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hinds |first=Michael Decourcy |date=July 21, 1985 |title=Tenants Get the Edge in Office Market |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/21/realestate/tenants-get-the-edge-in-office-market.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125184024/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/21/realestate/tenants-get-the-edge-in-office-market.html |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, leases for much of the interior space were set to expire all at once during the early 1980s.<ref name="nyt19850227" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 143">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=143}}</ref> Starting in 1984, MetLife renovated about half of the space as the original tenants' leases expired. The deteriorating lobby, used by 100,000 pedestrians a day, was extensively reconfigured by Warren Platner. In addition, some mechanical systems were upgraded to comply with building codes, and retail spaces were added.<ref name="nyt19850227" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 143" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Linscott |first=Judy |date=April 1, 1984 |title=Building born again |pages=63, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74443216/ 64] |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74443122/building-born-again/ |access-date=March 26, 2021}}</ref> [[Asbestos]] fireproofing on the office stories was removed in advance of an [[Asbestos and the law (United States)|anti-asbestos regulation]] passed by the city government in 1985.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCain |first=Mark |date=January 15, 1989 |title=Commercial Property: Asbestos; Cleanup Worries Tenants Renting Out Surplus Space |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/realestate/commercial-property-asbestos-cleanup-worries-tenants-renting-out-surplus-space.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221005223/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/realestate/commercial-property-asbestos-cleanup-worries-tenants-renting-out-surplus-space.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=McCain |first=Mark |date=May 12, 1986 |title=Chaos Engulfs N.Y. Cleanup on Asbestos |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=2 |issue=9 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|219153431}}}}</ref> The lobby renovation had been completed by 1987<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCain |first=Mark |date=June 7, 1987 |title=Commercial Property: Office Lobbies; Images of Elegance Proving a Magnet to Tenants |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/07/realestate/commercial-property-office-lobbies-images-elegance-proving-magnet-tenants.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109210809/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/07/realestate/commercial-property-office-lobbies-images-elegance-proving-magnet-tenants.html |url-status=live}}</ref> at a cost of $15 million.<ref name="Clausen p. 351" />

By 1991, Pan Am's presence had dwindled to four floors.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /><ref name="nyt19910818" /> MetLife preferred to refer to the building as 200 Park Avenue, its address. At the time, the Pan Am Building was 95 percent occupied, and the public variously referred to the building by the names of its large tenants, such as Mitsui, [[Dreyfus Corporation|Dreyfus]], and [[Rogers & Wells]].<ref name="nyt19910818" /> Pan Am moved its headquarters to Miami that year<ref>{{cite news |last=Pulley |first=Brett |date=August 14, 1991 |title=Pan Am Focus Shifts to the Long Term and Away from Day-to-Day Survival |page=A2 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398219481}}}}</ref> and closed down shortly afterward.<ref name="FinalPanAmDeparture" /> In September 1992, MetLife announced that it would remove Pan Am signage from 200 Park Avenue and add letters bearing its own name.<ref name="chicagotribune.com 1992" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /> According to a MetLife spokesperson, the sign change was taking place because the airline had become defunct.<ref name="chicagotribune.com 1992" /><ref>{{cite news |date=September 4, 1992 |title=Metropolitan Life Says It Will Put Its Name On Pan Am Building |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398399929}}}}</ref> The signs were changed in January 1993.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1993 |title=Postings: Replacing 'Pan Am'; Lighting Up 'MetLife' at 200 Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/10/realestate/postings-replacing-pan-am-lighting-up-metlife-at-200-park.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117165120/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/10/realestate/postings-replacing-pan-am-lighting-up-metlife-at-200-park.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Though 200 Park Avenue subsequently became known as the MetLife Building, its namesake was then headquartered in the [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower]].<ref name="FinalPanAmDeparture" /> As a result, the Park Avenue structure was known specifically as the "MetLife Building 200 Park Avenue".<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" />

=== 21st century ===
Further renovations to 200 Park Avenue's exterior and lobby were undertaken during 2001 and 2002.<ref name="nyt20011007">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian) |date=October 7, 2001 |title=Streetscapes/The MetLife Building, Originally the Pan Am Building; Critics Once Called It Ugly; Now They're Not Sure |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/realestate/streetscapes-metlife-building-originally-pan-am-building-critics-once-called-it.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308153600/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/realestate/streetscapes-metlife-building-originally-pan-am-building-critics-once-called-it.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Low-pressure compressed air was used to clean the facade, while Kohn Pedersen Fox renovated the lobby.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 145" /> In 2005, MetLife moved its board room from the Metropolitan Life Tower to 200 Park Avenue.<ref name="newsday20050217">{{cite news |last=Sanger |first=Elizabeth |date=February 17, 2005 |title=MetLife mulls sale of 2 icons, Deals for former Pan Am building and One Madison Avenue would help pay for purchase of Travelers Life & Annuity |page=A50 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|279895445}}}}</ref><ref name="wsj20150319">{{Cite news |last1=Scism |first1=Leslie |last2=Morris |first2=Keiko |date=March 19, 2015 |title=MetLife to Unify at Namesake Tower |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/metlife-returning-to-its-namesake-nyc-building-1426690840 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603182144/https://www.wsj.com/articles/metlife-returning-to-its-namesake-nyc-building-1426690840 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, the company considered selling 200 Park Avenue to pay for its acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity.<ref name="newsday20050217" /> Ultimately, MetLife sold the building that April for $1.72 billion, to a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Properties, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, and the New York City Teachers' Retirement System.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |date=April 2, 2005 |title=MetLife Sells Second Tower in a Week |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/nyregion/metlife-sells-second-tower-in-a-week.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203031158/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E5DA113FF931A35757C0A9639C8B63 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 4, 2005 |title=MetLife Inc.: Landmark Building to Be Sold To Tishman Speyer-Led Group |page=1 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398923814}}}}</ref> At the time, the sale was the largest ever transaction involving an office building.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=December 7, 2006 |title=A Big Deal, Even in Manhattan: A Tower Goes for $1.8 Billion |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/nyregion/a-big-deal-even-in-manhattan-a-tower-goes-for-18-billion.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The company still retained a boardroom and corporate suite at 200 Park Avenue.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=September 15, 2006 |title=Metlife Plans a Return to Midtown From Queens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/nyregion/15metlife.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042638/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/nyregion/15metlife.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

MetLife announced in 2015 that it was consolidating its operations at 200 Park Avenue, with {{Convert|500,000|ft2}} in its namesake building.<ref name="wsj20150319" /><ref>{{cite web |date=March 18, 2015 |title=MetLife returning to namesake Midtown tower |url=https://therealdeal.com/2015/03/18/metlife-returning-to-namesake-midtown-tower/ |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122172559/https://therealdeal.com/2015/03/18/metlife-returning-to-namesake-midtown-tower/ |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, Donald Bren, the billionaire owner of the real estate firm [[Irvine Company]], held a 97.3 percent ownership stake in the building. While Tishman Speyer remained the managing partner of the property, its ownership stake had been reduced to less than 3 percent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mulholland |first1=Sarah |last2=de Jong |first2=David |date=March 11, 2015 |title=Billionaire Bren Is Secret Owner of NYC's MetLife Tower |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-11/billionaire-bren-is-secret-owner-of-nyc-s-metlife-tower |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=Bloomberg |archive-date=January 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116043521/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-11/billionaire-bren-is-secret-owner-of-nyc-s-metlife-tower |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2015 |title=Real owner of MetLife Building is a Calif. billionaire |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150311/REAL_ESTATE/150319971/calif-billionaire-is-secret-owner-of-metlife-building |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=Crain's New York Business |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517124302/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150311/REAL_ESTATE/150319971/calif-billionaire-is-secret-owner-of-metlife-building |url-status=live}}</ref> Plans to renovate the lobby were devised in 2016.<ref name="nyt20190923" /> The next year, the neon light sources for the signs atop the building were swapped with LED light sources to conserve energy.<ref name="Gannon 2017" /><ref name="Crain's New York Business 2017" /> A renovation of 200 Park Avenue's lobby started in late 2018. The work included simplifying the lobby's layout by removing storefronts and restoring direct connections to some of Grand Central's platforms.<ref name="nyp20181211">{{Cite web |date=December 17, 2018 |title=Tishman Speyer Announces Transformative Renovation of MetLife Building's Lobby at 200 Park Avenue, in Midtown East |url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2018/12/tishman-speyer-announces-transformative-renovation-of-metlife-buildings-lobby-at-200-park-avenue-in-midtown-east.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |website=New York YIMBY |language=en-US |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028084620/https://newyorkyimby.com/2018/12/tishman-speyer-announces-transformative-renovation-of-metlife-buildings-lobby-at-200-park-avenue-in-midtown-east.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Krisel |first=Brendan |date=December 14, 2018 |title=MetLife Building Revamp To Restore 'Original Grandeur': Developer |url=https://patch.com/new-york/midtown-nyc/metlife-building-lobby-be-renovated-developer-says |access-date=July 2, 2021 |website=Midtown-Hell's Kitchen, NY Patch |language=en |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182608/https://patch.com/new-york/midtown-nyc/metlife-building-lobby-be-renovated-developer-says |url-status=live}}</ref> Three restaurant owners leased space in the building in mid-2022,<ref>{{cite web |title=MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue to Debut Exciting New Dining Options |website=Real Estate Weekly |date=May 23, 2022 |url=https://rew-online.com/metlife-building-at-200-park-avenue-to-debut-exciting-new-dining-options/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524003752/https://rew-online.com/metlife-building-at-200-park-avenue-to-debut-exciting-new-dining-options/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2022 |title=Capital Grille Signs With Tishman Speyer, Irvine at MetLife |url=https://therealdeal.com/2022/05/23/capital-grille-signs-with-tishman-speyer-irvine-at-metlife-building/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526023407/https://therealdeal.com/2022/05/23/capital-grille-signs-with-tishman-speyer-irvine-at-metlife-building/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and MetLife extended its lease the next year.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rizzi |first=Nicholas |date=December 21, 2023 |title=MetLife Keeping Its 400K-SF Offices in Namesake Tower |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2023/12/metlife-extension-metlife-tower/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=Commercial Observer}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 22, 2023 |title=MetLife extends lease at Midtown headquarters |url=https://cdn.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/metlife-extends-lease-midtown-manhattan-headquarters |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=Crain's New York Business}}</ref>

CBRE took over as the building's leasing manager in mid-2024, succeeding Tishman Speyer as leasing manager. Irvine bought out Tishman Speyer's ownership stake at this time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hallum |first=Mark |date=July 11, 2024 |title=CBRE Keeping Its 180K SF at MetLife Building for Another 13 Years |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2024/07/cbre-lease-extension-metlife-building/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=Commercial Observer}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kalinoski |first=Gail |date=July 12, 2024 |title=CBRE Extends Manhattan Lease, Takes On Triple Duty at Trophy Tower |url=https://www.commercialsearch.com/news/cbre-extends-manhattan-lease-takes-on-triple-duties-at-trophy-tower/ |access-date=July 12, 2024 |website=Commercial Property Executive}}</ref> The building was 97 percent occupied by that October,<ref>{{cite web |last=Elstein |first=Aaron |date=October 28, 2024 |title=MetLife Building refills after losing big tenant |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/metlife-building-almost-full-after-losing-big-tenant |access-date=October 30, 2024 |website=Crain&#039;s New York Business}}</ref> at which point another restaurateur had leased space in the lobby.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hallum | first=Mark | title=La Pecora Bianca Opening 11K-SF Italian Eatery at MetLife Building | website=Commercial Observer | date=October 30, 2024 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2024/10/la-pecora-bianca-guilietta-metlife-building/ | access-date=October 31, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Small | first=Eddie | title=MetLife Building gets another boost as Italian restaurant heads to tower | website=Crain&#039;s New York Business | date=October 30, 2024 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/metlife-building-getting-new-italian-restaurant-giulietta | access-date=October 31, 2024}}</ref> The Irvine Company refinanced the building in early 2025 with a $1.5 billion mortgage loan.<ref>{{cite web | last=Coen | first=Andrew | title=MetLife Building Slated for $1.5B Refi at 6.25% Interest Rate | website=Commercial Observer | date=February 5, 2025 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2025/02/metlife-building-refi-manhattan-office/ | access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Elstein | first=Aaron | title=MetLife Building nears $1.5B refinancing | website=Crain&#039;s New York Business | date=February 4, 2025 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/metlife-building-200-park-ave-nears-refinancing | access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref>

==Reception==

=== Contemporary commentary ===
[[File:Grand Central Terminal MetLife Building Park Ave viaduct Summer Streets.jpg|thumb|upright|right|View from the south, with [[Grand Central Terminal]] in front]]
When the octagonal design for 200 Park Avenue was first announced in 1959, it was controversial.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360" /> Architectural historian [[Sibyl Moholy-Nagy]] wrote in ''Progressive Architecture'' magazine that the original tower plans "provided human scale and architectural personality", which were "lost" in the revision.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Moholy-Nagy |first=Sibyl |date=May 1959 |title=Quantity vs Quality |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1959-05.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=40 |pages=60 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072419/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1959-05.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Walter McQuade, writing for ''[[The Nation]]'', found even the drawings for the building to be dissatisfying.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 360" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McQuade |first=Walter |date=January 30, 1960 |title=Architecture |magazine=The Nation |volume=190 |pages=104–106}}</ref> Grand Central City was lambasted internationally by Italian critic [[Gillo Dorfles]] and Romanian architect Martin Pinchis.<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=364}}</ref> Architect [[Victor Gruen]] questioned the parking garage's necessity given the site's proximity to a major railroad terminal,<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 364-365" /> while ''Progressive Architecture'' editor Thomas H. Creighton suggested the space would be better left as an open plaza.<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 364-365" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |author-link=Ada Louise Huxtable |date=January 24, 1960 |title=Marvel or Monster? Grand Central City Is Mass Architecture |language=en-US |page=X13 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/01/24/119093459.pdf |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Critics also expressed concerns that the building would burden existing transit infrastructure.<ref name="wsj19630306" /> The plan also had its defenders, such as Natalie Parry, who wrote in rebuttal to Moholy-Nagy that the plans preserved Grand Central's "star-studded" Main Concourse, "together with the precious air space above it".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Parry |first=Natalie |date=Aug 1959 |title=in defense of Grand Central City Building design |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1959-08.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=40 |pages=49, 54 |access-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072413/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1959-08.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Historian [[Paul Zucker]] defended the building's urbanism, and urban planner [[Charles Abrams]] and ''Architectural Record'' editor Emerson Goble also defended the plan as an addition to the cityscape.<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 364-365">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=364–365}}</ref>

Upon its completion, the Pan Am Building received largely negative feedback,<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 366-369">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=366, 369}}</ref> in large part because of its central location.<ref name="Clausen p. 216" /><ref name="p133071383" /> Most critics deprecated the building's bulk, which was exacerbated by the design of the facade and its horizontal alignment.<ref name="Stichweh 2016" /><ref name="Nash 20052" /> Gropius said the 1916 Zoning Resolution justified the building's large size, telling television presenter [[Dave Garroway]] that "every citizen has the right to use the law as far as he can";<ref name="Clausen p. 193">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=193|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="AF 1960-04">{{cite magazine |date=Apr 1960 |title=Gropius and Garroway |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1960-04.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=104 |page=177 |access-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509185109/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1960-04.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> this only prompted further negative reviews.<ref name="Clausen p. 193" /> James T. Burns Jr. wrote in ''Progressive Architecture'' that the placement of the base, tower, parking garage, and Grand Central Terminal were "occasionally inexcusably jarring" and considered the lobby to be a continuation of the exterior's "monolithism".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Burns | first=James T. Jr. |date=Apr 1963 |title=The Pan Am Building: A Behemoth Is Born |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1963-04.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |volume=44 |pages=60–61 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072426/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1963-04.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ada Louise Huxtable]] called the building "a colossal collection of minimums", with the lobby artwork being a "face-saving gimmick".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |author-link=Ada Louise Huxtable |date=April 14, 1963 |title=Architecture Stumbles on; Recent Buildings Are Nothing Much to Brag About Other Newcomers "Sixth" Avenue Coming Up |language=en-US |page=119 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/04/14/89917966.pdf |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Many observers viewed the monolithic design as obstructing vistas down Park Avenue.<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 366-369" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian) |date=December 19, 2014 |title=Park Avenue, Interrupted |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html |access-date=March 25, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303165637/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Art historian [[Vincent Scully]], speaking in 1961, expressed his belief that the Pan Am Building was a "fatal blow" to Park Avenue's continuity,<ref>{{cite magazine |date=Jan 1962 |title=Arch. League Forums Find 'Architecture in Decline' |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-01.pdf |magazine=Architectural Record |volume=131 |pages=28 |number=1 |access-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072448/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-01.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Claes Oldenburg]] mocked the building's positioning on Park Avenue with his 1965 artwork ''Proposed Colossal Monument for Park Avenue, NYC: Good Humor Bar.''<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=369}}</ref> The building's own engineers had not expected any praise for the building, which had been developed solely for the purpose of making money.<ref name="Clausen p. 188" />

Goble, a close friend of Gropius and Belluschi, defended the building in a 1960 ''New York Times'' article in which he praised the pedestrian passageways in and around the building.<ref name="nyt19600626" /><ref name="Clausen p. 188" /> Goble was one of the few people speaking in favor of the Pan Am Building in its early years, and he wrote another article praising the building in 1962.<ref name="Clausen p. 190">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=190|ps=.}}</ref> Gropius himself wrote a speech in which he praised the building but provided few specific details.<ref name="Clausen p. 189">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|p=189|ps=.}}</ref> This speech was published in the June 1960 version of ''Architectural Record'' with no modifications.<ref name="Clausen p. 189" /><ref name="AR 1961-06">{{cite magazine |last=Gropius |first=Walter |date=Jun 1961 |title=True Architectural Goals Yet to be Realized |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1961-06.pdf |magazine=Architectural Record |volume=129 |pages=147–152 |access-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-date=July 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716231832/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1961-06.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Gropius had asked [[Paul Zucker]] of [[the New School]] to write an article that responded to criticism of the building on "an objective and professional level", although there is no evidence that Zucker ended up writing such an article.<ref name="Clausen pp. 194-195">{{harvnb|Clausen|2005|pp=194–195|ps=.}}</ref>

=== Retrospective commentary ===
The Pan Am Building was also highly criticized after its 1980s lobby renovation. Carter Wiseman compared the new decorations as being gaudy in a similar manner to performer [[Liberace]], except that "even Liberace would have blushed at the vulgarity".<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 144" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Sep 1987 |title=Pan Am Building: Seven Reactions |magazine=Interior Design |volume=58 |pages=262}}</ref> [[Paul Goldberger]] of ''The New York Times'' said that even though the previous design was "stark and unwelcoming", the new decorations created "a space that is so forced in its joy, so false and so disingenuous, that they make one yearn for some good old-fashioned coldness".<ref name="nyt19861211" /> In 1987, ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine conducted a poll of "more than 100 prominent New Yorkers", asking which buildings they preferred to see demolished, and the Pan Am Building ranked at the top of that list.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Story |first1=Richard David |title=The Buildings New Yorkers Love to Hate |magazine=New York Magazine |date=June 15, 1987 |pages=30–35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901124005/https://books.google.com/books?id=ruMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |url-status=live}}</ref> Architect [[Robert A. M. Stern]] said in 1988 that the building, a "wrong-headed dream badly realized", warranted preservation from the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=October 25, 1988 |title=Landmark Is Debated By Experts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/25/nyregion/landmark-is-debated-by-experts.html |access-date=March 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130090729/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/25/nyregion/landmark-is-debated-by-experts.html |url-status=live}}</ref> although he rhetorically suggested tearing down the building when the Pan Am sign was replaced several years later.<ref name="nyt20011007" /><ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=144–145}}</ref>

By the beginning of the 21st century, some onetime critics expressed ambivalence toward the building's presence, while preservationists advocated the protection of mid-20th century buildings such as the MetLife Building.<ref name="nyt20011007" /> ''[[ArchDaily]]'' magazine described it in 2016 as "commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces, as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it".<ref name="ArchDaily 2016" /> Furthermore, the building's reputation and presence made it the setting of several films and TV shows during its history.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alleman |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_0Z5SxTKLkC&pg=PA51 |title=New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York |publisher=Crown |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8041-3778-2 |page=53}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Architecture|New York City}}
* [[Architecture of New York City]]
* [[List of tallest buildings in New York City]]

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite magazine |title=Six Offices From New York's Pan Am Building |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1964-01.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=120 |pages=102–109 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1964}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clausen |first=Meredith |year=2005 |title=The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6qRuyzOogIC |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=9780262033244 |oclc=803843211}}
* {{cite book |last=Schlichting |first=Kurt C. |title=Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Architecture and Engineering in New York |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8018-6510-7 |location=Baltimore |author-link=Kurt C. Schlichting}}
* {{cite New York 1960}}
* {{cite New York 2000}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|MetLife Building}}
* {{official|https://200parkavenue.com/#/}}

{{MetLife|state=autocollapse}}
{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{Grand Central Terminal}}
{{Park Avenue}}
{{Walter Gropius}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metlife Building}}
[[Category:1960s architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:1963 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Aviation in New York City]]
[[Category:Emery Roth buildings]]
[[Category:Grand Central Terminal]]
[[Category:Heliports in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Insurance company headquarters in the United States]]
[[Category:International style architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:MetLife|Building]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1963]]
[[Category:Park Avenue]]
[[Category:Pan Am]]
[[Category:Pietro Belluschi buildings]]
[[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Terminating vistas in the United States]]
[[Category:Walter Gropius buildings]]