275 Madison Avenue (also known as the Johns-Manville Building, American Home Products Building, and 22 East 40th Street) is a 43-story office building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is along the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 40th Street, near Grand Central Terminal. The building, constructed from 1930 to 1931, was designed by Kenneth Franzheim in a mixture of the Art Deco and International styles.
275 Madison Avenue's three-story base is made of polished granite and contains large openings. On all the other floors, the facade contains vertical pilasters of white brick, as well as dark spandrels between windows, which were intended to give a vertical emphasis to the exterior. The 4th through 23rd floors contain several setbacks to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The building tapers to a rectangular cross-section on the 24th through 43rd floors. The interior of the base is designed with a main entrance lobby on 40th Street, as well as storefronts. Floor areas above the base range from 2,300 to 10,000 square feet (210 to 930 m2).
275 Madison Avenue was developed by Houston Properties, a firm headed by Texas entrepreneur Jesse H. Jones. It was originally known as 22 East 40th Street. The skyscraper opened at the onset of the Great Depression, and Houston Properties sold the skyscraper in 1933 to the New York Trust Company. In the mid-20th century, 275 Madison Avenue had several owners and was also known for major tenants Johns Manville and American Home Products. It has been owned by the RPW Group since 2016. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 275 Madison Avenue as an official landmark in 2009.
275 Madison Avenue is in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, just outside of Midtown. It is bounded by Madison Avenue to the west and 40th Street to the north.[2][3] The "L"-shaped land lot covers 12,350 square feet (1,147 m2)[2][4] with a frontage of 74.08 feet (22.58 m) on Madison Avenue and 150 feet (46 m) on 40th Street.[2][5] Nearby buildings include the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library and 10 East 40th Street to the west, 461 Fifth Avenue and 18 East 41st Street to the northeast, the Lefcourt Colonial Building to the north, and 101 Park Avenue to the northeast. Grand Central Terminal is two blocks to the north.[2]
In the mid-19th century, the surrounding section of Murray Hill was developed as an upscale residential district, with the estates of many prominent families.[6][7] Among these estates were three houses at 273, 275, and 277 Madison Avenue, all built in 1862 on lots measuring 25 feet (7.6 m) wide. The three residences served as "the homes of many distinguished citizens of New York".[8][9][a] Also on the site were two stables built before 1910 at the addresses 24 and 26 East 40th Street.[11] By 1920, commercial concerns had relocated to the area,[8] which The New York Times called "a great civic centre".[12] The New York Trust Company acquired the old mansion at 277 Madison Avenue in 1922, where it opened a banking branch,[8][13] and antique bookstore Rosenbach Company occupied number 273 starting in 1920.[10][14] The Metropolitan Realty Company had planned a 14-story building at 24 and 26 East 40th Street in 1925, but it was not built.[15]
275 Madison Avenue was designed by Kenneth Franzheim[3][1][16] and built by the Dwight P. Robinson Company for Houston Properties.[17][18][19] It has also been known as 22 East 40th Street, the Johns-Manville Building,[b] and the American Home Products Building.[21] The building was designed in the Art Deco style with elements of the International Style.[22] It consists of 43 stories[1][16] and measures 503 feet (153 m) from ground level to the roof.[16] The New York Herald Tribune gave a slightly different figure of 42 stories and 505 feet (154 m).[23][24]