Hearst Tower

1928, 2006

Architects: Joseph Urban, Norman Foster
Address: 959 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan

Begun by film legend William Randolph Hearst in 1928 just before the Great Depression, the Hearst Tower was completed in 2006 by British Starlord Sir Norman Foster. It's at least a LEED-Gold Certified structure for those of you who hate this building, but I think it's a great addition to the skyscraper palette of the city; the addition works well against the original limestone of the first six stories. I'd vote for Foster to finish up the Metropolitan Life North Building overlooking Madison Square now that he's done this--70 more stories to go on that one. I'll probably go and reshoot this as a vertical at some point but I like the raked angle and horizontal framing here. Call me crazy.