945 Madison Avenue

The modernist structure at 945 Madison Avenue features granite walls, concrete surfaces, and angular forms rising five stories above Madison Avenue at 75th Street.

Marcel Breuer and Hamilton Smith designed this building in 1966 as the third location of the Whitney Museum of American Art until 2014.

The building has housed three major art institutions: the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Frick Collection.

Starting in 2024, Sotheby's will transform the building into its global headquarters, continuing the location's connection to the art market.

The structure's inverted ziggurat form and raw material selection stand as an example of brutalist architecture among traditional Manhattan buildings.

Location: Manhattan

Inception: 1966

Architects: Marcel Breuer, Hamilton P. Smith, Marcel Breuer & Associates

Architectural style: brutalist architecture

Floors above the ground: 5

Made from material: concrete, granite, terrazzo, bluestone, walnut wood

Part of: Upper East Side Historic District

Address: 945 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

GPS coordinates: 40.77341,-73.96384

Latest update: May 27, 2025 09:57