New York Media Towers of Babel
New York City is rotten with giant buildings dedicated to media companies, both new and old. It's particularly surprising how many of these have sprung up in the last decade or less (the buildings and the companies). The New York Times moved from their storied space in favor of an austere new temple, while others like the Daily News had to bail out of their classic home and make do with a cement bunker by the railyards. To straighten out the newcomers and the maneuverings of the oldsters, here's a guide to where the heavyweights of New York media do their daily deeds, from the ink-stained wretches to the Internet hipster kids.
[Photo: Getty]
Columbus Tower
1775 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Also known as 1775 Broadway, or more commonly just the Newsweek Building (not to be confused with the original Newsweek Building at 49th and Madison). The 26-floor … structure dating from 1928 is undergoing a mass exterior renovation to make it all glassy and pretty, to be completed circa 2009. Sometimes it gets stinky on the inside, though. [link]
1211 Avenue of the Americas
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Part of the sprawling Rockefeller Center complex, 1211 -- formerly the Celanese Building -- serves as the lair for various of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. tentacles, such … as the New York Post and Fox News. They have funny Australian elevators! [link]
One Astor Plaza
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
Pity the poor drones of Viacom -- crap health insurance, Times Square location, a building dating from the early seventies, and any entry or exit involves plunging … through the mob of witless tween refuse that collects at the orifice of MTV on the second floor. The less said or seen, the better. [link]
IAC Building
11th Ave & W 19th St
New York, NY 10011
Frank Gehry designed the new headquarters for Barry Diller's InterActive Corp., bringing his signature melty style to the 10-story cold-warped agglomeration of glass … curtain walls. IAC's humming beehive of incongruous brands are right at home, gradually spackling up their niches with waxlike secretions while Diller dines on royal jelly. I actually like the looks of this building, though the interior seems to be a half-baked mishmash of Google-ish toyland and staid corporate blanditude. [link]
