One Astor Plaza
Encyclopedia
One Astor Plaza is a 745 ft (227.1 m) high skyscraper
in Times Square
in Midtown Manhattan
, New York City
. Completed in 1972, the building is 54 stories tall and was designed by Der Scutt
of Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs
. Originally known as the W. T. Grant
Building as headquarters of the eponymous, now-defunct retailer, it is currently the headquarters for Viacom
and houses the MTV
Studios, Minskoff Theatre
, Best Buy Theater, and some retail outlets. It is located at 1515 Broadway between West 44th & 45th Streets. Previously, the Astor Hotel
occupied this location. It was built in 1904 and closed in 1967. Construction of the W. T. Grant Building began in 1968 and was completed in 1972.
It is owned and managed by SL Green Realty Corp. The building engineers are Shmerykowsky Consulting Engineers.
The first floor includes a Bank of America
branch, Billabong
, Element Skateboards
, and a shop selling official MTV
merchandise.
Second Floor: MTV
Astor Plaza houses the MTV
Studios, which is owned by Viacom, the building's primary tenant. The studios are located on the mezzanine
second story of the building. MTV acquired it in 1997. It is split into three major studios all located by the floor-to-ceiling windows and iconic window shades. The three studios are named after the three sections of Manhattan
: the Uptown Studio, the Midtown Studio, and the Downtown Studio. They are named so because they are proportional to the real sections of Manhattan. The Uptown Studio was home to MTV's former flagship program, Total Request Live
, during the show's run from 1998 to 2008. The Midtown Studio is used by MTV News. The smallest studio, the Downtown Studio, is occasionally used for other countdown shows, such as Direct Effect and Big Ten. It is occasionally used as a temporary green room
if the actual green room is occupied. The MTV Studios also include dressing rooms, control room
s, a cafeteria
, and some offices.
MTV also uses the seventh floor roof and many upstairs floors in the building.
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.
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 New York's largest capacity cinema at 1,440 seats. The theater's single screen often drew large crowds on opening nights. It closed in 2004, making Clearview's Ziegfeld Theatre New York's current largest cinema. After a nine month $21 million renovation, the space reopened as the Nokia
Theatre at Times Square
. Holding approximately 2,100, it is now known as Best Buy Theater, a live music venue operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group
.
The authorities briefly investigated a possible connection between the bomb and the 200th episode
of South Park
, which had included depictions of a guy in a bear suit (labeled 'Bears') that the South Park kids pointed at, calling him Muhammad
. South Park airs on Comedy Central
, which is owned by Viacom.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Completed in 1972, the building is 54 stories tall and was designed by Der Scutt
Der Scutt
Der Scutt was the architect and designer of major buildings throughout New York City and the United States....
of Ely J. Kahn & Jacobs
Ely Jacques Kahn
Ely Jacques Kahn was an American commercial architect who designed numerous skyscrapers in New York City in the twentieth century. In addition to buildings intended for commercial use, Kahn's designs ranged throughout the possibilities of architectural programs, including facilities for the film...
. Originally known as the W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant
W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States-based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns.-History:...
Building as headquarters of the eponymous, now-defunct retailer, it is currently the headquarters for Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and houses the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Studios, Minskoff Theatre
Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre, located at 1515 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan. It is now showing the musical The Lion King, based on the Disney animated film of the same name....
, Best Buy Theater, and some retail outlets. It is located at 1515 Broadway between West 44th & 45th Streets. Previously, the Astor Hotel
Astor Hotel
The Hotel Astor was a hotel located in the Times Square area of Manhattan, in operation from 1904 through 1967. The former site of the hotel, the block bounded by Broadway, Astor Plaza, West 44th Street, and West 45th Street, is now occupied by the high-rise 54-story office tower One Astor Plaza.-...
occupied this location. It was built in 1904 and closed in 1967. Construction of the W. T. Grant Building began in 1968 and was completed in 1972.
It is owned and managed by SL Green Realty Corp. The building engineers are Shmerykowsky Consulting Engineers.
Street Level: Retail Outlets
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
branch, Billabong
Billabong (clothing)
Billabong International is a clothing company traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 11 August 2000. Billabong was founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant....
, Element Skateboards
Element Skateboards
Element Skateboards is a skateboard manufacturer and surfwear retailer based in Irvine, California. It is a subsidiary of Australian clothing giants Billabong International....
, and a shop selling official MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
merchandise.
Second Floor: MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Studios
Astor Plaza houses the MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Studios, which is owned by Viacom, the building's primary tenant. The studios are located on the mezzanine
Mezzanine
Mezzanine may refer to:* Mezzanine , an intermediate floor between main floors of a building* Mezzanine, in technology, can refer to a thin sheet of plastic insulating different parts of circuitry from each other in cramped environments, such as laptop interiors* Mezzanine board, or daughterboard,...
second story of the building. MTV acquired it in 1997. It is split into three major studios all located by the floor-to-ceiling windows and iconic window shades. The three studios are named after the three sections of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
: the Uptown Studio, the Midtown Studio, and the Downtown Studio. They are named so because they are proportional to the real sections of Manhattan. The Uptown Studio was home to MTV's former flagship program, Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
, during the show's run from 1998 to 2008. The Midtown Studio is used by MTV News. The smallest studio, the Downtown Studio, is occasionally used for other countdown shows, such as Direct Effect and Big Ten. It is occasionally used as a temporary green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
if the actual green room is occupied. The MTV Studios also include dressing rooms, control room
Control room
A control room is a room serving as an operations centre where a facility or service can be monitored and controlled. Examples include:*in television production, the master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations, television networks...
s, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, and some offices.
MTV also uses the seventh floor roof and many upstairs floors in the building.
Third Floor: Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff is a Broadway theatreBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
named after its developers, a prominent local real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
family. Accessible from the middle arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
in the center of the building, it opened in 1973 with 1,621 seats.
Lower Level: Best Buy Theater
The LoewsLoews Cineplex Entertainment
Loews Theatres, aka Loews Incorporated , founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew and Brantford Schwartz, was the oldest theater chain operating in North America until it merged with AMC Theatres on January 26, 2006. From 1924 until 1959, it was also the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The...
Astor Plaza movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
originally occupied the building's public space below street level, accessible from West 44th St. It opened on June 26, 1974 and was New York's largest capacity cinema at 1,440 seats. The theater's single screen often drew large crowds on opening nights. It closed in 2004, making Clearview's Ziegfeld Theatre New York's current largest cinema. After a nine month $21 million renovation, the space reopened as the Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
Theatre at Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. Holding approximately 2,100, it is now known as Best Buy Theater, a live music venue operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group
Anschutz Entertainment Group
The Anschutz Entertainment Group is a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports events, the owner of the world’s most profitable sports and entertainment venues, and under AEG Live the world's...
.
2010 Times Square car bomb attempt
On the evening of May 1, 2010, a failed car bomb was defused by the New York Police Department on West 45th St. and Broadway, near the eastern corner of the Viacom headquarters building.The authorities briefly investigated a possible connection between the bomb and the 200th episode
200 (South Park)
"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 200th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010...
of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, which had included depictions of a guy in a bear suit (labeled 'Bears') that the South Park kids pointed at, calling him Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. South Park airs on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, which is owned by Viacom.