Pyatidesyatietazhny skyscraper General Motors Building, attended by most visitors to New York - there is a shop Apple. But, of course, the building is interesting not only that.

It is worth it on Fifth Avenue, in front of the Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza. If you look closely, you can see why the American architectural community was unhappy when the skyscraper appeared here in 1968.

Grand Army Plaza, finalized in 1916, was the idea of ​​the sculptor Bitter. He is thoroughly thought through the whole composition area on three sides tightly framed by the buildings for the average height of New York, and a fourth - the trees of Central Park. Standing on the eastern side of the house with luxury apartments, "Savoy-Plaza", located directly on Fifth Avenue. It was demolished and built by General Motors Building. Skyscraper, one of the few in Manhattan, took the whole quarter, but down Fifth Avenue from the line went deep into the pavement and thereby change the space of the Grand Army Plaza, as if pushing one of the "wall" area.

Architects angered not only that - he kind of high-rise buildings built in the international style and partially "sunk" into the ground, it seemed wrong. The design of the building, designed by Edward Stone Dyurellom, laconic: stretching into the sky parallel bands of white marble alternate stripes of black glass. The lobby is lavishly decorated with marble from the Greek quarries. Critics wrote that because of this marble veneer as thin man in body fat, locked herself architecture that begs her release.

However, over the past decade in the form of a skyscraper striped rectangle became an integral part of Manhattan. He had not belong to "General Motors", it is now an office and shopping center. His office space - one of the most popular in New York, and the rent - the highest (not least because of the stunning views of Central Park). From an architectural perspective drawing entrance to the underground Apple store partly revives the idea Bitter - a cube made of transparent glass with a greenish bitten apple image creates the impression of a missing piece of the "wall."

When it was the only skyscraper built on its ground floor exhibition salon cars produced "General Motors". Now at this point - the oldest in the US Schwarz toy store, famous for its huge soft toys, hand-made, and the giant "Pleasure Piano" (the keys you can walk, thus removing sounds). It was on him play the hero of Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia in the movie "Big."