General Motors Building, 50-floor skyscraper at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, Manhattan, United States.
The General Motors Building is a 215-meter-tall skyscraper located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan. Its facade features distinctive vertical bands of white Georgia marble alternating with glass panels that run the full height of the structure.
Construction of this building began in 1965 after the Savoy-Plaza Hotel was demolished, with completion in 1968 as General Motors' headquarters. The project represented a major shift in how the Fifth Avenue area evolved during the post-war decades.
The ground floor originally served as a General Motors showroom where visitors could view the latest car models on display. After that era ended, it became home to the FAO Schwarz toy store, which drew shoppers and families to the space for decades.
The building contains 35 elevators serving its office and commercial spaces, with direct access to Fifth Avenue shops and Central Park nearby. The corner location makes it easy to reach and explore the surrounding neighborhood.
In 2008, this building sold for 2.8 billion dollars, among the highest prices ever paid for a single office building in North America. The sale reflected the extraordinary value of its prime Fifth Avenue location.
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