CBS Studio Building

CBS Studio Building
CBS Studio Building
General information
Type	Office
Location	49 East 52nd Street,Midtown Manhattan,New York City,New York,United States; 10022
Coordinates	40°45′33″N73°58′27″W/ 40.759164°N 73.974123°W
Completed	1908
Technical details
Floor count	7
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Warren & Wetmore

TheCBS Studio Buildingis a seven-story office building at 49 East52nd StreetinMidtown Manhattan,New York City. It has had various uses at different times, including serving as aVanderbilt familyguest house, the first graduate school of theJuilliard School,CBS Radiostudios, andColumbia Recordsstudio.

It is currently owned by theFisher Brothers,who converted it to an office building in conjunction with construction of the 45-storyPark Avenue Plazato its east.

Vanderbilts[edit]

It was built in 1908 as a guest house for the Vanderbilts who had a home a block away atFifth Avenueand 52nd. It was designed byWarren and Wetmore.^[1]

Juilliard[edit]

In 1924 the Vanderbilts sold it to the Juilliard Musical Foundation where it became Juilliard's first graduate school.^[2]

CBS Radio[edit]

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.

ArchitectsFellheimer & Wagnerextensively 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 Godfreybroadcast from Studio 21 in the building and had his main office there.^[1]

Columbia Records[edit]

With the advent of television, large radio studios that could accommodate audiences were no longer needed. Radio operations moved to theCBS Broadcast Centerat 524 West 57th Street.^[3]By 1966 the facility had become recording studios forColumbia Records.^[4]Frank Sinatra,Barbra Streisand,Leonard Cohen,Laura Nyro,^[5]Bob Dylan(in spring 1970 for part of hisNew Morningalbum),^[6]Paul Simon,Paul McCartneyandMahavishnu Orchestra(Birds Of Fire) recorded music there.^[1]

The facility contained Columbia's "Studio B" on the second floor and "Studio E" on the sixth floor.^[7]From 1974 until 1982,CBS Radio Mystery Theatrewas recorded in Studio 27, renamed Studio G in honor ofArthur Godfrey.

Fisher Brothers[edit]

In 1979 the Fisher Brothers acquired the land under the building in conjunction with construction of the Park Avenue Plaza building to its east. However, CBS retained ownership of the building itself. In 1988 the building was leased to Sony, which had purchased CBS Records,^[8]and aDuane Readestore opened on the ground level and second floor. For several years CBS used studio space as offices.^[1]CBS eventually sold the building to Fisher Brothers in 1993,^[9]and in 1996 Fisher Brothers undid the 1930s Art Moderne style, replacing the windows and replicating the original Vanderbilt appearance.^[8]

References[edit]

^^a ^b ^c ^dGray, Christopher,"STREETSCAPES: CBS Studio on 52d; At One Time, the 'Last Word in Broadcasting Design'",The New York Times,August 7, 1988
^The Juilliard School: A Brief History^{[permanent dead link]}
^"CBS RADIO NETWORK'S NEW AUTOMATED BROADCAST CENTER OPENS; NEWSROOM, STUDIOS, OFFICES AT TWO LOCATIONS VACATED"(PDF)(Press release). New York: CBS Radio. July 27, 1964.RetrievedApril 3,2019.
^"TALENT".Billboard.October 29, 1966. p. 26.RetrievedApril 3,2019.BARBRA STREISAND and CBS/Columbia Group president Goddard Lieberson bid farewell to Columbia's Recording Studios at 799 Seventh Avenue, New York. Miss Streisand's recording session on Oct. 14 marked the studio's last use. In the future, Columbia artists will use the new facilities located at 49 East 52d Street.
^[1]Laura Nyro at the Columbia 49 East 52nd Street studio
^Heylin, Clinton,Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions 1960–94.Penguin. UK; St Martin's Press, US, 1995.ISBN 0-312-13439-8.Cf. p.84 on use of Studio B and Studio E in New York City in 1970 which were at the Columbia Studio Building.
^Simons, David (2004).Studio Stories – How the Great New York Records Were Made.San Francisco: Backbeat Books.
^^a ^bGarbarine, Rachelle (October 20, 1996)."A Mansion Will Wake Up To Find It's 1908 Again".New York Times.New York.RetrievedApril 3,2019.Fisher Brothers acquired the land under the Vanderbilt building, but not the building itself, in 1979 as part of the site assemblage for the Park Avenue Plaza office tower, using its air rights to build the 44-story tower that flanks the smaller building on two sides.
^"POSTINGS: Home of the Arthur Godfrey Show; Old CBS Studios Sold".New York Times.New York. October 24, 1993.RetrievedApril 3,2019.The nine-floor, 58,000-square-foot building, at 49 East 52d Street, was bought for an undisclosed sum by Park Avenue Plaza Company, an affiliate of Fisher Brothers, a Manhattan real estate company.