One Astor Plaza

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One Astor Plaza
One Astor Plaza May 2010.JPG
One Astor Plaza
General information
TypeOffice
Location1515 Broadway, Manhattan, New York 10036
Coordinates40°45′28″N 73°59′11″W / 40.75778°N 73.98639°W / 40.75778; -73.98639Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′11″W / 40.75778°N 73.98639°W / 40.75778; -73.98639
Construction started1969
Completed1972
Openingcirca 1972
OwnerSL Green Realty (53%) Allianz (47%)[1]
Height
Roof227 m (745 ft)
Technical details
Floor count54
Floor area179,487 m2 (1,931,980 sq ft)
Design and construction
ArchitectDer Scutt
DeveloperSam Minskoff & Sons, Inc.
The set of Total Request Live in the Uptown Studio.
Uptown, Midtown and Downtown Studios & Aeropostale, Billabong, Element and Oakley store.

One Astor Plaza is a skyscraper located in the Times Square area of Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building is 54 stories tall and stands at a height of 745 ft (227 m). It was designed by Der Scutt of Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs. It is located at 1515 Broadway between West 44th and 45th Streets and is currently the headquarters for ViacomCBS and houses the MTV Studios, Minskoff Theatre, the former PlayStation Theater, and some retail outlets. The Hotel Astor had occupied the site from 1904 to 1967. Construction of the building began in 1969 and was completed in 1972. The building was the headquarters of the W. T. Grant retail chain, which leased almost 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of space on the building's top 14 floors, but only occupied it for four years until their 1976 liquidation.[2]

It is owned and managed by SL Green Realty Corporation. The building engineers are Shmerykowsky Consulting Engineers.[3][4]

Floors[]

Third Floor: Minskoff Theatre[]

Main article: Minskoff Theatre

The Minskoff is a Broadway theatre named after its developers, a prominent local real estate family. Accessible from the middle arcade in the center of the building, it opened in 1973 with 1,621 seats.

Second Floor: ViacomCBS[]

The mezzanine second story of the building is occupied by ViacomCBS; Viacom acquired the space in 1997 to act as a facility for MTV Networks. It was initially split into three major studios all located by the floor-to-ceiling windows and window shades. The three studios were named the Uptown Studio, the Midtown Studio, and the Downtown Studio. They are so named because they are proportional to the real-life sizes of the Upper, Midtown, and Downtown sections of Manhattan.

The Uptown Studio was home to MTV's Total Request Live during the show's run from 1998 to 2008 along with VH1 and was later converted into an Aéropostale store. The Midtown Studio is used by various MTV programming, MTV News, and was used by VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live, and on rare occasion Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. The smallest studio, the Downtown Studio, is occasionally used for other countdown shows, and productions from some of the smaller Viacom networks. It is occasionally used as a temporary green room if the actual green room is occupied. The MTV Studios also include dressing rooms, control rooms, a cafeteria, and some offices.

In 2020, after Viacom merged back into CBS Corporation, CBS News converted part of the MTV Studios space into a studio for its coverage of the presidential election.[5] In May 2021, CBS announced that it would be re-locating its morning show CBS This Morning from the CBS Broadcast Center to the studio, joining its rival Good Morning America in broadcasting from Times Square.[6][7] In August 2021, CBS announced that it would be rebooting its morning show upon the move to One Astor Plaza, with CBS Mornings premiering at the studio on September 7, 2021.[8] The studio is being referred to as "Studio 1515", in reference to One Astor Plaza's address, and is largely a redressing of the set used for the election coverage.[9]

On September 13, 2021, Comedy Central's news comedy show The Daily Show with Trevor Noah also moved to One Astor Plaza.[10][11]

Street-level retail[]

The first floor includes various retailers, and has included Oakley, Billabong, Element Skateboards, Aéropostale store, and a Junior's restaurant. It houses Oakley, Ray-Ban, Skechers, Tissot Watches, , Line Friends and a Junior's restaurant.

Lower Level: PlayStation Theater[]

Main article: PlayStation Theater

The Loews Astor Plaza movie theater originally occupied the building's public space below street level, accessible from West 44th St. It opened on June 26, 1974, and was the city's largest capacity cinema at 1,440 seats. The theater's single screen often drew large crowds on opening nights until it closed in 2004.

After a nine-month, $21 million renovation, the space reopened as a music venue under the ownership of Anschutz Entertainment Group, most recently known as PlayStation Theater (formerly Nokia Theatre Times Square and Best Buy Theater).[12][13] The PlayStation Theater closed on December 31, 2019.[14]

2010 car bombing attempt[]

Main article: 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt

On the evening of May 1, 2010, a failed car bomb was defused by the New York City Police Department on West 45th Street and Broadway near the northeastern corner of the building.[15] The authorities briefly investigated a possible connection between the bomb and the 200th episode of Comedy Central's South Park, which had included depictions of a man in a bear suit (labeled 'Bears') that the South Park kids pointed at, calling him Muhammad.[16] The attempt was traced to Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistan-born resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who had become a U.S. citizen in April 2009.[17]

See also[]

  • List of tallest buildings in New York City
  • List of tallest buildings in the United States

References[]

  1. ^ "Allianz deal values 1515 Broadway at $1.95B". November 14, 2017.
  2. ^ Staff. "News of the Realty Trade; Astor Plaza Lease Signed", The New York Times, December 13, 1970. Accessed April 15, 2016.
  3. ^ "One Astor Plaza - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "New York Architecture Images- Astor Plaza". www.nyc-architecture.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Steinberg, Brian (October 15, 2020). "CBS News Will Spend Election Night in Times Square (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Johnson, Ted (May 20, 2021). "'CBS This Morning' To Move To Times Square Studio At ViacomCBS Headquarters". Deadline. Retrieved May 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 8, 2020). "CBS Has Considered Times Square Studio for Morning Show (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Steinberg, Brian (August 31, 2021). "CBS News to Launch 'Mornings' in Bid to Capture A.M. Viewers Across The Week". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "'CBS Mornings' debuts from Times Square studio with fresh new look". NewscastStudio. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Steinberg, Brian (September 13, 2021). "Trevor Noah Brings 'Daily Show' to Times Square as TV's Late-Night Crowd Starts to Shrink". Variety. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Weprin, Alex (September 13, 2021). "'The Daily Show' Moving to ViacomCBS Times Square HQ in Return to Studio". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Sisario, Ben (August 18, 2010). "Best Buy Takes Its Brand to a Times Square Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  13. ^ "Best Buy Theater Is Now the PlayStation Theater". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  14. ^ Aswad, Jem (August 20, 2019). "New York's PlayStation Theater to Close (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Suspicious car leads to closure of Times Square". CNN. May 2, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  16. ^ "Police Won't Rule Out 'South Park' Link in Times Square Bomb Attempt". Fox News. May 3, 2010.
  17. ^ William K. Rashbaum; Mark Mazzetti & Peter Baker (May 4, 2010). "Arrests in Pakistan Widen Bombing Case". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
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