The
Time Warner Center is a mixed-use skyscraper developed by
AREA Property PartnersAREA Property Partners is a New York City headquartered international real estate fund manager, that has been investing in the United States since 1993, and globally since 1995...
(formerly known as Apollo Real Estate Advisors) and
The Related CompaniesThe Related Companies L.P. is a real estate developer, manager and financier. The developer of numerous high-profile projects in New York City and around the United States, Related is best known for its historic 2.8 million-square-foot $1,700,000,000 Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its design, by
David ChildsDavid M. Childs is the Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He is best known for his redesign of the new One World Trade Center in New York....
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, consists of two 750 ft (229 m) towers bridged by a multi-story
atriumIn modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
containing upscale retail shops. Construction began in November 2000, following the demolition of the
New York ColiseumThe New York Coliseum was a convention center that stood on Columbus Circle in New York City from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon and Lionel Levy in a modified international style, and included both a low building with exhibition space and a 26-story office block.-History:The...
, and a topping-out ceremony was held on February 27, 2003. The property had the highest-listed market value in New York City, $1.1 billion, in 2006.
Originally constructed as the
AOL Time Warner Center, the building encircles the western side of
Columbus CircleColumbus Circle, named for Christopher Columbus, is a major landmark and point of attraction in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South , and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It is the point from...
and straddles the border between Midtown and the
Upper West SideThe Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
. The total floor area of 260,000 m² (2.8 million ft²) is divided between offices (notably the offices of
Time WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
Inc. and an R&D Center for
VMwareVMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
), residential condominiums, and the
Mandarin Oriental, New YorkMandarin Oriental, New York is a five-star hotel located in Manhattan's Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. A part of the multi-use Time Warner Center development, the hotel opened its doors in December 2003...
hotel. The
Shops at Columbus CircleThe Shops at Columbus Circle is an urban shopping mall in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, New York City — a complex of skyscrapers that was completed in 2003. It is located at Columbus Circle, next to the southwestern corner of Central Park...
is an upscale shopping mall located in a curving arcade at the base of the building, with a large
Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
grocery store in the basement. The complex is also home to a 1,200 seat theater for
Jazz at Lincoln CenterJazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
as well as
CNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
studios, from where
Anderson Cooper 360°Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
, among other shows, are broadcast live. CNN's
Jeanne MoosJeanne Moos is a national news correspondent for CNN. She is based at the network's studios in Manhattan.A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Moos originally wanted to pursue a career in print journalism, but while attending Syracuse University , she decided to go into the television business...
, known for her offbeat "
man on the streetVox populi , a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people, is a term often used in broadcasting for interviews with members of the "general public".-Vox pop, the man on the street:...
" reporting, frequently accosts her interview subjects just outside the building. In 2005,
Jazz at Lincoln CenterJazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
announced a partnership with
XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
which gave XM studio space at Frederick P. Rose Hall to broadcast both daily jazz programming and special events such as an Artist Confidential show featuring
Carlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
.
Design and construction
Construction was delayed for nearly 15 years after
Mortimer ZuckermanMortimer Benjamin "Mort" Zuckerman is a Canadian-born American business magnate with interests primarily in magazines, publishing, and real estate. He is now a naturalized citizen of the United States....
's
Boston PropertiesBoston Properties, Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust based in Boston, Massachusetts. Its primary focus is "Class A" office space which it acquires, develops, and manages in the major markets of Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco...
initially won a bidding contest to buy the property from the Coliseum's owners, the
Metropolitan Transit AuthorityThe Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
. Boston proposed to build two 63-story buildings to be designed by
Moshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
on the 4.5 acres (18,210.9 m²) Coliseum site in 1985. Unsuccessful competitors for the site included
Donald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
who proposed building a 137-story, 1600-foot (488 m) high building which would have been the world's tallest at the time.
Boston's winning bid was $455 million for the site. It was to be the headquarters of
Salomon BrothersSalomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
. The building ran into intense opposition (including most prominently
Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisJacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
) who were concerned it would cast a shadow on Central Park. In 1988 a court ruled that the building violated the city's own zoning ordinances. At about the same time, Salomon Brothers backed out.
A renegotiated deal called for the building to be 52 stories with Boston paying a lower price of $357 million for the site.
David ChildsDavid M. Childs is the Consulting Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He is best known for his redesign of the new One World Trade Center in New York....
was tapped to redesign the building.
The building still languished until 2000 when the Coliseum was finally demolished. The Center, which now has 55 floors, markets it as an 80-story building.
The Time Warner Center was the first major building to be completed in Manhattan after the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, although it was already under construction in 2001. While some New Yorkers noted the uncanny resemblance of the Time Warner Center to the fallen
Twin TowersThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, the building's developer disclaimed to the press any intentional similarity.
The Sunshine Group was in charge of marketing the building. Sandie N. Tillotson bought the top floor of the then uncompleted north tower for $30 million shortly after the September 11 Attacks. It was a record for a condominium at the time. That sale would be eclipsed in 2003 when Mexican financier
David MartinezDavid Martinez Guzman is managing partner of Fintech Advisory, a firm that specializes in corporate and country debt. Fintech has offices in London and New York. David Martinez studied and earned an electrical engineer title at the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, and received an...
paid $54.7 million for a
penthouseA penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
condo, then a record for New York residential sales.
The building has several street addresses, including 10 Columbus Circle for offices, 25 Columbus Circle for the south tower that was named "One Central Park" and 80 Columbus Circle for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental. The address One
Central Park WestCentral Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
, meanwhile, belongs to the
Trump International Hotel and Tower__notoc__The Trump International Hotel and Tower is a high-rise building, located at 1 Central Park West on Columbus Circle between Broadway and Central Park West, in Manhattan, New York City. It is owned by The Trump Organization and features hotel rooms and residential condominiums. The...
across the street, which is owned by
Donald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
. Upon the completion of the Time Warner Center, Trump made a "little joke" at the Time Warner Center’s expense by hanging a large sign on his building gloating, "Your views aren’t so great, are they? We have the real Central Park views and address."
Tenants
The center has ground floor tenants including designer shops and restaurants.
Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
operates the Columbus Circle store in the Time Warner Center. The 68000 square foot store opened on February 5, 2004. In 2005 the wine shop in the store closed after the store pleaded no contest to state charges of illegal operation. Whole Foods planned to replace the center with an expanded coffee bar, a gelato counter, and additional checkout lines. Upper floors include the restaurants
Masais a Japanese and sushi restaurant in New York City's Time Warner Center. The restaurant was opened by Chef Masa Takayama in 2004 and is considered one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. Located next door to the restaurant is Bar Masa, a less expensive and more accessible restaurant...
and
Per SePer Se is a restaurant located at Columbus Circle in New York City, on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center. It has been called the best restaurant in New York City by the New York Times...
.
In popular culture
- In the 2007 film Enchanted, Robert's office is shown to be inside Time Warner Center.
- Late in the 2008 film Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
, one of the building's towers has fallen over against the other. The characters climb the undamaged building and crawl across to the fallen tower to effect a rescue.
- In the 2009 NBC TV series Kings
Kings is an American television drama series which aired on NBC. The series' narrative is loosely based on the Biblical story of King David, but set in a kingdom that culturally and technologically resembles the present-day United States....
, the King's Hall is located in an unnamed building and was filmed in the Allen Room, part of Jazz at Lincoln CenterJazz at Lincoln Center is part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. JALC's performing arts complex, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at West 60th Street and Broadway in New York City, slightly south of the main Lincoln Center campus and directly adjacent to Columbus Circle. Frederick P....
which overlooks Columbus Circle from the sixth floor of the Time Warner Center.
- Appears in the opening credits for CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
.
See also
- Buildings and architecture of New York City
A building form closely associated with New York City is the skyscraper, which has controversially shifted many commercial and residential districts from low-rise to high-rise...
- Tallest buildings in New York City
- Masa (restaurant)
is a Japanese and sushi restaurant in New York City's Time Warner Center. The restaurant was opened by Chef Masa Takayama in 2004 and is considered one of the most expensive restaurants in the world. Located next door to the restaurant is Bar Masa, a less expensive and more accessible restaurant...
- Per Se (restaurant)
Per Se is a restaurant located at Columbus Circle in New York City, on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center. It has been called the best restaurant in New York City by the New York Times...
Further reading
- Dirk Stichweh: New York Skyscrapers. Prestel Publishing, Munich 2009, ISBN 3791340549
External links