The drawn-out saga of the One57 crane is finally coming to a close, nearly one year after the original was mangled into a twisted wreck by Hurricane Sandy’s high winds. After the extremely complicated ordeal of removing and replacing the boom – all at 1,000 feet in the air, an unprecedented occurrence – the crane is finally descending, as the tower’s facade is almost finished. The above photos were submitted by YIMBY reader Andrew.
Besides a few missing panels, the cladding is now complete, and the ‘waterfall’ effect that architect Christian de Portzamparc intended to create is quite visible – though with significantly-taller neighbors set to rise on both sides of One57, the supertall’s lot-line walls will soon be mostly hidden. It appears that protective plastic remains on the top-most portion of the tower, as well as a slice of the base; as construction continues wrapping up, the sheathing should be removed, but at the moment, One57 appears to be molting.
At 1,005 feet, One57 has taken the title of New York’s tallest residential tower from 8 Spruce Street, and is also the first to break the 1,000-foot mark. This feat will soon be surpassed by the nearby 432 Park Avenue, which will surpass One57 by nearly 400 feet; the height race has only just begun, as both 111 West 57th Street and 217 West 57th will also top One57 by similar numbers.
With work coming to a close, one thing is certain; Extell will leave the largest mark on the skyline of the 57th Street developers, as it will eventually have two residential towers that soar to unprecedented heights. While One57 will eventually be lost amongst its larger neighbors, it is still the first truly large anchor of the 57th Street skyline, which will soon be the tallest and densest skyscraper canyon in both Manhattan and the entire world; an example of astronomical real estate prices producing an insane extrusion of the built environment, entirely driven by market-rate prices and actual demand, and a true testament to the strength of New York City as the globe’s first and foremost economic powerhouse.
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Congratulations
Brilliant post on a great building.
Luiz Fernando
Brazil
This is great, but I question whether or not it will be the tallest and densest skyscraper canyon in the world. Not that I like it, but I believe there are a couple of sections in Dubai that are taller and denser.
Dubai has The Marina, which contains several residential supertalls, but the layout isn’t such that they truly have canyons, or any impressive urbanity. There is no scale to appreciate the density, which is something most cities lack, and a quality unique to only New York and Hong Kong.
Of course Hong Kong doesn’t have New York’s island-spanning grid, which is why 57th Street is such a unique situation.
I agree. Prior to visiting Dubai, I had expectations of being overwhelmed with the heights. As you say, the layout is such that you never have the impression of a Manhattan, Hong Kong or even a Chicago skylne, There is no sense of scale and your lucky to see any skyline through the dust storms! That said though, when you are at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, or driving through The Marina area, the height is unbelievable.