Park? No. Madison? Getting warmer. Avenue of the Americas? That's the ticket. Our mystery building turned out to be No. 1285 on the avenue with the frequently ignored and occasionally despised other name. Built in 1961, and located between 51st and 52nd, the building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and tops out at 545 feet, making it - if not the city's most attractive tower - at least the skyline's 128th tallest. Currently answers to the name UBS, although not long ago its dog tags read PaineWebber and it began life as the Midtown home of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Ah, those quaint old corporate names bring a tear to the eye, don't they?
· Curbed BuildingSpotter: Midtown 'State of Mind' [Curbed]
· The Equitable Building II (1285 Sixth Ave.) [NY Skyscrapers]
UPDATE: We have a late-breaking comment from some poor soul chained to his desk inside ol' Equitable 2: "I'm in that building right now ... I watched the lighting of the Rockefeller tree from a floor near the top." At least they give 'em enough slack to peer out the windows at the twinkly lights one night a year.