The CBS Studio Building is a seven-story office building at 49 East 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It has had various uses at different times, including serving as a Vanderbilt family guest house, the first graduate school of the Juilliard School, CBS Radio studios, and Columbia Records studio.
It is currently owned by the Fisher Brothers, who converted it to an office building in conjunction with construction of the 45-story Park Avenue Plaza to its east.
Video CBS Studio Building
Vanderbilts
It was built in 1908 as a guest house for the Vanderbilts who had a home a block away at Fifth Avenue (Manhattan) and 52nd. It was designed by Warren & Wetmore.
Maps CBS Studio Building
Juilliard
In 1924 the Vanderbilts sold it to the Juilliard Musical Foundation where it became Juilliard's first graduate school.
CBS Radio
In 1939, CBS, which had its corporate headquarters around the corner at 485 Madison Avenue, bought the building at 49 East 52nd Street, to move its radio operations, except for the main network newsroom.
Architects Fellheimer & Wagner extensively renovated the building--including eliminating the earlier Vanderbilt ornate external features and eliminating windows for soundproofing--and carved up the building into seven studios, including one which could accommodate audiences of 300 as well as symphony orchestras that could broadcast. Arthur Godfrey broadcast from Studio 21 in the building and had his main office there. From 1974 until 1982, "CBS Radio Mystery Theatre" originated in Studio 27, renamed Studio G in honor of Arthur Godfrey.
Columbia Records
With the advent of television, large radio studios that could accommodate audiences were no longer needed. The facility became recording studios for Columbia Records. Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Leonard Cohen, Laura Nyro, Bob Dylan (in spring 1970 for part of his New Morning album), and Paul Simon recorded music there.
The facility contained Columbia's "Studio B" on the second floor and "Studio E" on the sixth floor.
Fisher Brothers
In 1965 CBS sold its 485 Madison Avenue headquarters building as well as the 49 East 52nd Street studios and moved to a new office tower two blocks west at 51 West 52nd Street in the CBS Headquarters Building. Radio operations moved to the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street.
In 1979 the Fisher Brothers acquired the building in conjunction with construction of the Park Avenue Plaza building to its east. In 1988 the building was leased to Sony. A Duane Reade store opened on the ground level and second floor. For several years CBS used studio space as offices. In 1995 Fisher undid the 1930s Art Moderne style, replacing the windows and restoring the building to its original Vanderbilt appearance.
See also
- CBS 30th Street Studio
References
Further reading
- Cogan, Jim; Clark, William, Temples of sound : inside the great recording studios, San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8118-3394-1. Cf. chapter on Columbia Studios, pp. 181-192.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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