383 Madison Avenue

.

The building has an octagonal tower that rises out of a rectangular base to a 20 m (70 ft) crown made of glass which is illuminated at night.

The building has not been a hit with some critics. New York Magazine said, "This is a building you wouldn't want to get anywhere near at a cocktail party. Dressed nearly head to toe in dour granite, and geometrically proper, it's stiff to the point of pass-out boredom. Out of character with SOM's (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's) current work, the design recalls the firm's unfortunate postmodern interlude a decade ago." [http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/architecture/reviews/5815/]

A 72-story tower proposed by G Ware Travelstead for the site during the 1980s was never built. The building (also being referred as Travelstead Tower [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=8332] ) was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox.

The building changed hands in 2008 during JP Morgan's takeover of Bear Stearns. On their second-quarter 2008 conference call, JP Morgan estimated the building's value at $1.1 - $1.4 Billion.

ee also

*List of tallest buildings in New York City

External links

* [http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/383madison/default.htm Wired New York]
* [http://www.jhmodels.com/pages/383.htm Model of the building]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=100372 Emporis.com] - Building ID 100372
* [http://dealbreaker.com/2008/03/does_bear_stearns_own_383_madi.php Article on Bear Stearns' Ownership Structure]