{"nrhp_refnum":"05000087","name":"Look Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"488 Madison Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.75878260800005,"lon":-73.97534981499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 23-story brick office building at 488 Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan, occupying the whole Madison Avenue block front between 51st and 52nd Streets. It was built in 1949-50 for the Uris brothers to designs by Emery Roth & Sons.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A in communications as the long-time headquarters of Look magazine, a leading American photojournalism publication. Under Criterion C it is an intact, early post-World War II International Style office building by the prolific Roth firm, noted for its streamlined bands of glass and white brick and its asymmetrical setbacks.","narrative":"Occupying the entire Madison Avenue block front between 51st and 52nd Streets, this 23-story brick office tower was built in 1949-50 for developers Harold and Percy Uris and designed by Emery Roth & Sons. Its setbacks, curved corners and continuous ribbons of glass alternating with white brick give it a streamlined, factory-like International Style appearance. It was the first major Roth building completed after Emery Roth's death and served as a model for about half a dozen similar buildings. The building is also tied to publishing and advertising on Madison Avenue. It was fully leased before opening, with tenants including Esquire, Seventeen and Cowles Magazines, publisher of Look. Look, founded in 1937, was one of the two dominant photojournalism magazines in the country, and it was produced here during its so-called golden years until it closed in 1971. A late 1980s renovation obscured the ground floor, and a 1997-98 restoration repaired the brickwork and replaced windows with units similar to the originals, preserving the overall design.","period_of_significance":"1949-1955","architect_builder":"Emery Roth & Sons","architectural_style":"Modern Movement / International Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial office use. It was renovated and restored in 1997-98 by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates after a late 1980s renovation obscured the ground floors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.595694-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000087.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000087/db782844e8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000087/db782844e8-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Epicgenius","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Look_Building_Mar_2021_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Epicgenius</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Look_Building_Mar_2021_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319702","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/488_Madison_Avenue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106422421"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/look-building-05000087/"}