52 Vanderbilt Avenue. Vanderbilt Concourse Building.
1917
52 Vanderbilt Avenue. Vanderbilt Concourse Building.
Vanderbilt Concourse Building, 1917.
Designed by one of Grand Central's architectural firms, Warren & Wetmore, between 1914 and 1916, the Vanderbilt Concourse Building was one of the early office buildings of Terminal City. At 20 stories it has a limestone base and brick facade. The building is topped on all facades by a three-story loggia (covered exterior corridor) and a simple, though decorative, cornice. In 1971, as the railroad company, by then Penn Central, was suffering financial instability, this building as sold along with at least five other parcels owned by the railroad. In recent years this building has been suggested for landmark designation due to its Terminal City history, in an attempt to preserve a number of older buildings at risk with the rezoning of east Midtown.