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Photo by YoungKing11. .

Top 10 Unknown Facts about Hearst Tower

The Hearst Tower is a building at Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is the world headquarters of media conglomerate Hearst Communications. The tower therefore hosts many of its publications and communications companies. With 46 stories, Hearst Tower stands at 146 meters.

Hearst Tower has two sections. The six lowest stories form the Hearst Magazine Building. This part was designed by Joseph Urban and George B. Post & Sons. It was completed in 1928. Above it is the Hearst Tower addition which was completed in 2006. This was designed by Norman Foster. Have a look at the Top 10 Unknown Facts about Hearst Tower.

1. It was designed by various architects

Joseph Urban. Photo by Unknown Photographer. .

The original six-story structure is known as the Hearst Magazine Building or the International Magazine Building. It was designed by architect Joseph Urban and architecture firm George B. The Hearst Magazine Building was designed in an early form of the Art Deco style. Post & Sons. On the other hand, the tower was designed by Norman Foster.

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2. Hearst Tower is a designated New York City landmark

In he New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) started considering city-landmark designation for the Hearst Magazine Building in 1928. Follow up discussions of landmark status occurred in 1987. The landmark status was finally granted to the building’s façade the next year.

3. It was the first to receive a LEED Gold certification for its overall design

Photo by Justin A Wilcox. .

The tower has several design features that are intended to meet green building standards. This is part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED program provides a framework for carbon and cost saving green buildings.

The tower is therefore certified as a green building. This is part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. After completion, the Hearst Tower was the first New York City building to receive a LEED Gold certification for its overall design.

4. After it’s construction, the Hearst Tower was not so popular

Before the construction of Hearst Tower, the Hearst Magazine Building was viewed as peculiar. Christopher Gray, also for the Times, wrote that “the Hearst building looked as much like some Wagnerian funerary monument as the headquarters of a publishing empire.”

Critics also highlighted the newer tower’s contrast with the older base. It was described as seeming to ‘float above and behind the original shell.’ Nicolai Ouroussoff of The New York Times said, “Past and present don’t fit seamlessly together here; they collide with ferocious energy.”

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5. The building was developed by William Randolph Hearst

Photo by Unknown.

William Randolph Hearst is responsible for the development of the building. Hearst acquired the site for a theater. This is because he strongly believed that the area would become the city’s next largest entertainment district.

Randolph was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician. A man who goes for opportunities.  Hearst is well known for developing the nation’s largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications.

6. The tower was completed right decades after the base was constructed

Photo by Alex Maisuradze. .

 Hearst Magazine Building was completed in 1928. This original building was developed as the base for a larger tower. However, the construction was postponed due to the Great Depression. A subsequent expansion proposal during the 1940s also failed.

Finally, the tower was developed during the first decade of the 21st century. The tower, designed by Norman Foster, was completed in 2006, almost eight decades after the base was built.

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7. The tower’s window cleaning rig took three years to plan

The facade’s intricate design made the tower’s window cleaning rig take three years and 3 million dollars to plan. A window cleaning deck hangs from the hydraulic boom arm. It is supported by six wire-rope strands.

The device was installed in April 2005 on 130 meters of elevated steel track looping the roof of the tower. The rig snapped in a 2013.  Two window cleaners were trapped due to this accident.

8. The original intention was to build an opera

Photo by Leonard J. DeFrancisci. .

William Randolph Hearst had acquired the site with the intentions of constructing a theater. This is because he believed that the area would become the city’s next thriving entertainment district.

He was interested in theater in part because of his mistress who was actress. One  Marion Davies. During the early 20th century, Hearst hired Joseph Urban for the purposes of overseeing several theater projects.

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9. The tower was the first major skyscraper built after the September 11 attacks

The Hearst Tower was the first major skyscraper in Manhattan to be built after the September 11 attacks. The September 11 attacks were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaedan against the United States.

This was on September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States to California.

10. The Hearst Tower has received many awards

The Hearst Tower addition received the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper Award. This award was given for the best skyscraper in the world completed that year. Further, the tower received a British Construction Industry Award in 2007.

It was also a runner-up for the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Lubetkin Prize. In 2016, the Hearst Tower received the 10-Year Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The council recognized the tower’s “structural complexity” as a consideration in its value and performance.