The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 8 (April, 1971)

i ,1, i A,4 1I..i ICI C, CIi I-eInol$570 Lexington Avenue, 1931Cross and Cross, architectsA building noteworthy for its highly original decorative treatment, this midtowntower became the headquarters of RCA until that company moved toRockefeller Center several years later. It is now the General Electric Building,and the designs executed for the original occupant continue to express theidentity of the new tenant. The terracotta crown of this brick tower, strikinglylighted at night, symbolized the radiowaves and electric power of RCA.These radiating sparks of energy are repeated throughout the structure'sdecoration, in spandrels and in the friezelike ornament that runs above thefirst story. The sculpted figures in the crown go as unnoticed as the beautifullydetailed clock at the corner of Fifty-first Street and Lexington Avenue.