Iwalked New York City's Sony Building

Iwalked New York City's Sony Building - Along our Upper Midtown audio tour, IWalked shares the tale of a number of well recognized skyscrapers along Midtown’s skyline including the Sony Building. This 647 foot tower surprisingly only has thirty-seven stories and was designed by famed architect Philip Johnson in 1984. Johnson, who also designed the nearby Seagram Building, was a surprising selection since technically he was not even amongst the twenty-five firms which originally submitted proposals. It wasn’t until later that Johnson was eventually convinced to provide a delinquent submission which was embraced and selected. Johnson’s most recognizable element on the building is often coined its “Chipendale” top. Chipendale is a reference to Thomas Chipendale, a former London furniture designer noted for topping his works with a central opening.

New York City's Sony Building

The Sony Building was originally erected to serve as the headquarters of AT&T. AT&T maintained its headquarters here from 1984 to 1992 before leasing out the building to Sony Corporation and relocating to 32 Sixth Avenue. Four years later AT&T decided to completely offload the building and sold it to Sony for the sum of $236 million. Sony continues to maintain their national headquarters within this building today.

Inside of the building Sony maintains an interactive museum known as the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. The hands-on museum provides an opportunity for kids and adults alike to explore technology in creative ways. The Lab is open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.and admission is free.

• Website: http://sonywondertechlab.com/
• Address:550 Madison Avenue, New York City, NY
• Cost: Free.
• Hours: Tues-Sat 9:30 am – 5:30 pm