Paramount Plaza

Paramount Plaza
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office, Broadway theatre
Location	1633 Broadway
Coordinates
Construction started	Late 1967
Opening	1970
Owner	Paramount Group
Height
Roof	670 feet (204 meters)
Technical details
Floor count	48
Floor area	208,200 m2 (2,241,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Emery Roth & Sons
Developer	Uris Brothers

Paramount Plaza (formerly the Uris Building or 1633 Broadway) is a 48-story skyscraper on Broadway in New York City that houses two Broadway theatres. In 2007 it was listed as number 46 on the list of tallest buildings in New York City.

History

File:Gershwin Theatre NYC.jpg

Gershwin Theatre

The sunken plaza with subway entrance

The Uris Building, designed by Emery Roth and Sons, was built in 1970 on the site of the former Capitol Theatre movie palace. It was developed by the Uris brothers, who, at the time, claimed to be the largest private real estate developers in New York City. Building the tower demonstrated a confidence in the Times Square neighborhood, which was then in decline and dominated by sex-related businesses.

The 204 metres (669 ft) tower that occupies most of the block west of Broadway between West 51st and West 50th Streets has interior space of 208,200 square metres (2,241,000 sq ft).

It was originally called the Uris Building for the developers, and the associated Uris Theatre (later renamed the Gershwin Theatre) is one of the largest Broadway houses. A smaller theatre operated by the non-profit Circle in the Square company is also in the space.

After the death of his brother, Harold Uris sold Uris Building Corp, including this building, to the National Kinney Corporation which in 1974 faced with 30 percent vacancy rates took the building into bankruptcy before it was taken over by the Paramount Investment Group.

Paramount renamed the building. Portions of The King of Comedy and Silent Movie were shot there. The Uris Theatre was eventually renamed the Gershwin. The southern of the two sunken plazas on Broadway has a gymnasium and an entrance to the 50th Street subway station (1 2 trains) of the New York City Subway. Between November 1998 and January 2012, the northern one housed Mars 2112, a theme restaurant that catered to tourists.

The name of German financial services company Allianz was recently affixed to the top of the building on all four sides. Other tenants include Warner Music Group, Showtime Networks, and the law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.

External links

• Official website