667 Madison Avenue

New York, NY
Hartz Mountain Industries

This tower, on the edge of the Upper East Side Historic District, marks the transition between commercial Midtown and the residential Upper East Side. Its stone detailing recalls New York’s great 1920s skyscrapers, and the triple-height storefront windows revolutionized retail display in New York. Helpern Architects designed 667 Madison for the development arm of Hartz Mountain.

Named “Best of the Year” by The New York Times and “Best New Building” by the Fifth Avenue Association, 667 Madison is – according to the AIA Guide to New York City – a “vigorous yet carefully controlled design that gracefully turns a corner within the complex rules of the Zoning Resolution.”

The limestone-clad lobby and the street-level retail spaces have 23½-ft ceilings, while ceiling height on the office floors ranges from 9 feet to a generous 11 feet, important to the financial service firms that are the main tenants. The top nine floors are column-free. Seven usable terraces offer views of nearby Central Park.

Elegance and attention to detail were the key selling points to tenants. The façade is Spanish granite and limestone. Features include a 41-ft-high entrance portal, custom lighting fixtures, mahogany-paneled elevators, and wrought-iron metalwork on elevator doors and terrace railings.