The 55 buildings in New York City you need to see in your lifetime
CITIGROUP CENTER: This Manhattan Skyscraper stands on pillars that stem from the middle of the building rather than the corners. Initially, the novel design was structurally unsound, but three months of secret overnight repairs fixed the engineering crisis.
SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: Some artists feared that the museum building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, would overshadow the artwork inside when it opened in 1959.
1071 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan.
THE DAKOTA: The popular story is that this Upper West Side apartment building was called "The Dakota" when it was built because at the time it was so far north and so far west that it might as well have been in the Midwestern states, though that's probably not true. John Lennon lived here when he was shot.
1 West 72nd Street, Manhattan.
ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL: The seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York is also one of the most famous churches in the city. Several famous people have had requiem masses at the cathedral, including Babe Ruth, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ed Sullivan.
5th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets, Manhattan.
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL: The brightly lit Art Deco exterior is part of Rockefeller Center complex. It's most famously home to the Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
1260 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan.
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL: The beautiful green ceiling and the starry constellations that adorn it was almost totally covered up by decades of smoke and grime by the 1980s. A lengthy restoration process uncovered the true colors of the terminal, but they left one small square untouched as a reminder.
89 East 42nd Street, Manhattan.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON U.S. CUSTOMS HOUSE: This ornate building was constructed in the early 1900s. Duty collection for the Port of New York operated out of the building, though nowadays it houses the National Archives in New York City as well as a bankruptcy court.
1 Bowling Green, Manhattan.
THE PLAZA HOTEL: This luxury hotel and condo complex is one of the most famous in the world. Located right on the corner of Central Park, it's the setting of the beloved "Eloise" children's book series.
768 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan.
CHRYSLER BUILDING: The Chrysler Building only held the title of World's Tallest for 11 months before the Empire State Building topped it, but the Art Deco icon is probably the most beautiful building in the city.
405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan.
SPRING STREET SALT SHED: This odd-shaped building, which was created by Dattner Architects with WXY architecture + urban design, just opened at the end of last year, but it's a marvel in making functional utility structures beautiful.
336 Spring Street, Manhattan.
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: MSG is the first "bad" building on this list, because the old, beautiful Penn Station was torn down so that this rather generic stadium could take its place and force the new, dismal replacement station underground. Despite (or perhaps, because of) this, it's a New York icon.
4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: The Met is best known for the many, many priceless works of art that rest inside its many halls, but it's also known for the front steps, which are a popular gathering place for tourists and Upper East Siders alike.
1000 5th Avenue, Manhattan.
THE CLOISTERS: This branch of the Met sits at the top of the Island of Manhattan. It consists of French monasteries and abbeys that were excavated and rebuilt in New York.
99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Manhattan.
FLATIRON BUILDING: This triangular landmark has an entire neighborhood named after it. When it was first built, legend holds that men would linger around it to try to glimpse the winds around the oddly shaped building lift a woman's skirt — the "23 skidoo."
175 5th Avenue, Manhattan.
MCGRAW-HILL BUILDING: The green tower in Hell's Kitchen was the only building in New York that was featured in the Museum of Modern Art's International Style exhibition in 1932, making it a seminal example of the style.
330 West 42nd Street, Manhattan.
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART: The new Whitney museum sits between the Hudson River and the south end of the High Line. It's home to the largest column-free museum exhibition space in New York.
99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan.
GRANT'S TOMB: The final resting place of President of Ulysses S. Grant (though he certainly isn't buried there), Grant's tomb stands resolutely in Riverside park.
West 122nd Street and Riverside Drive, Manhattan.
ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER: The centerpiece of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex isn't without it's architectural critics, but at 1,776 feet tall, it stands proudly as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
285 Fulton Street, Manhattan.
TRINITY CHURCH: This historic church is nestled right in the heart of the financial district at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street. Alexander Hamilton is buried here.
75 Broadway, Manhattan
BATTERY WEED: Staten Island might not have the towering glitz of Manhattan, but this fort that protected the city from any possible invaders from the Atlantic Ocean is an important reminder of New York's history.
North Weed Road, Staten Island.
METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE: Arguably the centerpiece of Lincoln Center, the Met is home to the Metropolitan Opera Company and, during the summer, the American Ballet Theater.
30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan.
30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA: It's not just a TV show. As it's technically called these days, the Comcast Building stands in the center of Rockefeller. It's home to NBC Studios and boasts a stellar observation deck.
30 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan.
BARCLAYS CENTER: This recent addition to Brooklyn is the home stadium of the New York Islanders and the Brooklyn Nets, and it hosts major concerts too.
620 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY TOWER: Though these days its easy to overlook this 50-story skyscraper nested just-south of Midtown, it was the tallest building in the world from 1909 to 1911.
1 Madison Avenue, Manhattan.
DOMINO SUGAR REFINERY: At one point this was the largest sugar refinery in the world, but industrial use stopped in 2004. Parts of the complex have since been given landmark status
Kent Avenue, Brooklyn.
40 WALL STREET: This emerald-tipped skyscraper has gone through many name changes (it's currently the Trump Building), and it was the tallest building in the world for just one short month in 1930 before the rival architects working on the Chrysler Building added a spire to steal the title.
40 Wall Street, Manhattan.
THE WALDORF ASTORIA: The Waldorf Astoria is one of the most prestigious and famous hotels in the world, though earlier this month the owners announced that they plan on converting part of the hotel to condos.
301 Park Avenue, Manhattan.
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE: This massive, ornate cathedral in the city's Morningside Heights neighborhood is the fourth-largest church in the world. It's technically unfinished.
1047 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING: A handful of daredevil climbers have scaled this building because of its inviting ladder-like facade. It's tied with the Chrysler Building for the fifth-tallest building in New York.
620 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan.
1 COURT SQUARE: This tower in Queens is the tallest building in all of New York State outside of Manhattan, but even then it's only the 66th tallest in the city. Manhattan has a lot of tall buildings.
1 Court Square, Queens.
BROOKLYN MUSEUM: The third-largest museum in New York is home to 1.5 million works of art. The front entryway of the building is a cool blend of old and new styles of design.
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.
SMALLPOX HOSPITAL RUINS: This abandoned hospital sits on Roosevelt Island between Manhattan and Queens. They are the only ruins in New York City that have been given landmark designation.
E Road, Roosevelt Island.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS: The UN is located in New York City, but it's technically not under control of the U.S. government, though local laws are followed on the premises.
760 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan.
ONE TIMES SQUARE: The focal point of Times Square was originally built to be the headquarters of the New York Times, though they moved out after less than a decade. Currently, the building is almost totally unoccupied, but the revenue it brings in from the famous billboards make it one a extremely valuable piece of real estate.
1475 Broadway, Manhattan.
BLOCKHOUSE NO. 1: This small fort in the northern end of Central Park was one of several built to defend New York from a possible British attack in the war of 1812. It is the only one that's still standing.
Central Park, Manhattan.
MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION: Originally built in 1765, this old, lavish house served as a a headquarters for both sides during the Revolutionary War. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote part of the musical "Hamilton" here.
65 Jumel Terrace, Manhattan.
432 PARK AVE: This incredibly skinny, incredibly tall residential skyscraper is terrible. It's the second-tallest building in the city, and the first of many supertall skyscrapers that are going to totally upend the skyline and dwarf icons like the Empire State Building.
432 Park Avenue.
APOLLO THEATER: This venue was originally a "White's Only" theater when it was built in 1913 and 1914, but after it fell into disrepair and reopened in the '30s it became an icon of Black Harlem.
253 West 125th Street, Manhattan.
CASTLE WILLIAMS: This circular fort sitting on a corner of Governors Island off of the southern tip of Manhattan defended the city with an almost 360-degree assortment of 26 cannons.
Governors Island.
HOOK & LADDER NO. 8: This century-old firehouse is most famous for being the headquarters of the Ghostbusters in the original film. There were plans to demolish it in 2011, but locals, along with help from the then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and actor/former firefighter Steve Buscemi helped avert this.
14 North Moore Street, Manhattan.
HARLEM FIRE WATCH TOWER: This is the only surviving example of the 11 cast-iron towers that were built around the city in the 1850s to spot fires that broke out regularly in the city when it was largely made of wooden buildings.
Marcus Garvey Park, East 122 Street, Manhattan.
41 COOPER SQUARE: This academic building is part of Cooper Union, and was a controversial addition to the East Village when it was originally built. It was designed to represent the school's focus on art, engineering, and design.
41 Cooper Square, Manhattan.
ELLIS ISLAND: For millions of immigrants to the United States in the first half of the 20th Century, the main complex at Ellis Island was the first building they ever entered in America.
Ellis Island.
8 SPRUCE STREET: This swirling residential tower was designed by famed architect Frank Gehry. It was widely praised after it was constructed in 2011.
8 Spruce Street, Manhattan.
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: The trading floor within the Stock Exchange building is very high tech, but the exterior harkens back to the ancient Greeks with its imposing marble columns.
11 Wall Street, Manhattan.
WOOLWORTH BUILDING: Another one-time holder of the Tallest Building in the World title, standing higher than any other building from 1913 to 1930.
233 Broadway, Manhattan.
MUNICIPAL ASPHALT PLANT: Though it's now a pool and fitness center overlooking a small park, it was originally an industrial building. Robert Moses, the city planner who is largely responsible for creating the New York City we know today, dismissively called it a "Cathedral of Asphalt."
555 East 90th Street, Manhattan.
TWA FLIGHT CENTER: Now known as Terminal 5, this sweeping, wing-shaped transportation hub was designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen. It was called the "Grand Central of the jet age," by admirers.
John F. Kennedy Airport, Queens.
HAMILTON GRANGE: This was the home of Alexander Hamilton, an especially popular founding father. It has been moved a couple times, but currently resides in Hamilton Heights.
414 West 141st Street, Manhattan
SEAGRAM BUILDING: This iconic downtown building is an early example of "functionalist aesthetic" and was — until this month — home to the famed Four Seasons Restaurant, where the "power lunch" originated.
375 Park Avenue, Manhattan.
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY: The main branch of the NYPL is home to the famous Rose Main Reading Room. It also appeared in "Ghostbusters."
5th Avenue at 42nd Street, Manhattan.
LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE: This wee lighthouse is officially called Jeffrey's Hook Light, and it stands underneath the George Washington Bridge. After the bridge was completed in 1931, the lighthouse became obsolete, but it still stands as a lovable landmark.
Fort Washington Park, Manhattan.
LOW MEMORIAL LIBRARY: The mighty centerpiece of the main Columbia University campus hasn't been an actually library since 1934, and it now houses the schools administrative offices. This has led to the joke that the Low Library is "neither low nor a library."
Columbia University, 116th Street, Manhattan.
CARNEGIE HALL: Practice hard enough and you might just get to Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious venues in all the world.
881 7th Avenue, Manhattan.
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: There's not much more that can be said about the Empire State Building at this point. The 102-story skyscraper (and famed King Kong haunt) was the tallest building in the world from 1931 to 1970.
350 5th Avenue, Manhattan.
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