Graybar Building

Graybar Building
Viewed from the northeast, across the intersection of 44th Street and Lexington Avenue
General information
Type	Office
Architectural style	Art Deco
Location	420–430 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York
Coordinates	40°45′09″N 73°58′33″W / 40.752626°N 73.975700°W / 40.752626; -73.975700
Construction started	1925
Completed	1927
Owner	SL Green Realty
Height
Architectural	351 feet (107 m)
Technical details
Floor count	30
Design and construction
Architect(s)	John Sloan
Architecture firm	Sloan & Robertson
Developer	Graybar
Engineer	Clyde R. Place
New York City Landmark
Designated	November 22, 2016[1]
Reference no.	2554[1]

The Graybar Building, also known as 420 Lexington Avenue, is a 30-story office building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Sloan & Robertson in the Art Deco style, the Graybar Building is at 420–430 Lexington Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.

The building was erected within "Terminal City", a collection of buildings above Grand Central's underground tracks. As such, it occupies the real-estate air rights above these tracks. The building's superstructure is constructed entirely above the tracks of the terminal. The ground floor includes the "Graybar Passage", a publicly accessible passageway that leads from Lexington Avenue to Grand Central Terminal. On upper stories, the Graybar Building contains office space with setbacks and "light courts" to conform with the 1916 Zoning Resolution.

When the building's construction started in 1925, it was known as the Eastern Terminal Office Building. The structure was renamed after Graybar, one of its original lessees, the next year. The Graybar Building opened in April 1927 and was fully leased within less than a year. Ownership of the building passed several times before the current owners, SL Green Realty, bought it in 1998. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Graybar Building as an official landmark in 2016.