View source for Lever House

{{Short description|Office building in Manhattan, New York}}
{{For-multi|the building in South Carolina|Lever Building|the building in London|Unilever House}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox building
| name                     = Lever House
| image                    = Lever House 390 Park Avenue.jpg
| alt                      = Lever House, a 23-story tower with a green-glass facade, as seen from the intersection of Park Avenue and 53rd Street
| caption                  = Seen from Park Avenue and 53rd Street
| location                 = 390 [[Park Avenue]]<br>[[Manhattan|New York]], [[New York (state)|New York]] 10022<br>U.S.
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| coordinates              = {{Coord|40|45|35|N|73|58|22|W|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| start_date               = {{start date and age|1950}}
| floor_count              = 21
| owner                    = Brookfield Properties, WatermanClark
| opened_date              = {{start date and age|1952|04|29}}
| architect                = [[Gordon Bunshaft]] and [[Natalie de Blois]] of [[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill]]
| height                   = {{cvt|307|ft}}
| main_contractor          = [[George A. Fuller Company]]
| website                  = {{URL|https://leverhousenyc.com/}}
| embedded                 = {{Infobox NRHP
 |name                     = Lever House
 |embed                    = yes
 |nrhp_type                =
 |image                    =
 |caption                  =
 |built                    = 1950–1952
 |architect OR builder     =
 |architecture             = [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]]
 |added                    = October 2, 1983<ref name="nris" />
 |refnum                   = 83004078<ref name="nris" />
 |designated_other1        = New York State Register of Historic Places
 |designated_other1_abbr   = NYSRHP
 |designated_other1_date   = August 11, 1983<ref name="Cultural Resource Information System">{{cite web | title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) | publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] | date=November 7, 2014 | url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ | access-date=July 20, 2023 | archive-date=April 4, 2019 | archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20190404141934/https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
 |designated_other1_number = 06101.001710<ref name="Cultural Resource Information System"/>
 |designated_other1_num_position = bottom
 |designated_other2        = New York City Landmark
 |designated_other2_date   = November 9, 1982<ref name="NYCL p. 1"/>
 |designated_other2_abbr   = NYCL
 |designated_other2_number = 1277
 }}
}}

'''Lever House''' is a {{convert|307|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} office building at 390 [[Park Avenue]] in the [[Midtown Manhattan#Neighborhoods|Midtown East]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]]. Constructed from 1950 to 1952, the building was designed by [[Gordon Bunshaft]] and [[Natalie de Blois]] of [[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill]] (SOM) in the [[International Style]], a 20th-century modern architectural style. It was originally the headquarters of soap company [[Lever Brothers]], a subsidiary of [[Unilever]]. Lever House was the second high-rise in New York City with a glass [[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain wall]], after the [[United Nations Secretariat Building]].

The building has 21 office stories topped by a triple-height mechanical section. At the ground story is a courtyard and public space, with the second story overhanging the plaza on a set of columns. The remaining stories are designed as a slab occupying the northern one-quarter of the site. The slab design was chosen because it conformed with the city's [[1916 Zoning Resolution]] while avoiding the use of [[Setback (architecture)|setbacks]]. There is about {{convert|260,000|ft2}} of interior space in Lever House, making it much smaller than comparable office buildings in Midtown Manhattan.

The construction of Lever House changed Park Avenue in Midtown from an avenue with [[masonry]] apartment buildings to one with International-style office buildings. Several other structures worldwide copied the building's design. Lever House was intended solely for Lever Brothers' use, and its small size had prompted proposals to redevelop the site with a larger skyscraper. The building was nearly demolished in the 1980s, when Fisher Brothers proposed a 40-story tower on the site; afterward, it was narrowly approved as a [[New York City designated landmark]] in 1982 and was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] the next year. In 1997, Unilever relocated most of its offices out of Lever House, and [[Aby Rosen]]'s RFR Realty took over the building. After SOM renovated the building between 2000 and 2001, Lever House was used as a standard office building with multiple tenants. [[Brookfield Properties]] and WatermanClark obtained a majority ownership stake in the building in 2020 and hired SOM to conduct another renovation in the early 2020s.

== Site ==
Lever House is at 390 [[Park Avenue]], on the western sidewalk between [[53rd Street (Manhattan)|53rd Street]] and [[54th Street (Manhattan)|54th Street]], in the [[Midtown Manhattan#Neighborhoods|Midtown East]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web |title=390 Park Avenue, 10022 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1289/36#16.39/40.759589/-73.970764 |url-status=live |access-date=September 7, 2020 |publisher=New York City Department of City Planning |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033343/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1289/36#16.39/40.759589/-73.970764}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=1}}</ref> The [[land lot]] has a [[frontage]] of {{Convert|200|ft}} on Park Avenue, {{Convert|192|ft}} on 54th Street, and {{Convert|155|ft}} on 53rd Street, giving the lot a slight L shape.<ref name="ZoLa" /><ref>{{cite news |date=November 25, 1951 |title=Important Blocks of New York Real Estate |page=2C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1313586114}}}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 106">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=106}}</ref> The lot has an area of {{Convert|34844|ft2}}.<ref name="ZoLa" /><ref name="nyt19830403">{{Cite news |last=Oser |first=Alan S. |date=April 3, 1983 |title=Action on Landmarking Clears the Way for Talks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/03/realestate/action-on-landmarking-clears-the-way-for-talks.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524133840/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/03/realestate/action-on-landmarking-clears-the-way-for-talks.html}}</ref> The [[Banco Santander]] building on 53rd Street abuts Lever House to the west,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 14, 1991 |title=Postings: Lever House Neighbor; A 20-Story Bank Tower |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/14/realestate/postings-lever-house-neighbor-a-20-story-bank-tower.html |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525225555/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/14/realestate/postings-lever-house-neighbor-a-20-story-bank-tower.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 157">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=157}}</ref> and the [[DuMont Building]] and [[Hotel Elysée]] on 54th Street occupy the same [[city block]]. Other nearby buildings include [[399 Park Avenue]] directly across Park Avenue to the east; the [[Seagram Building]] diagonally across Park Avenue and 53rd Street to the southeast; and the [[CBS Studio Building]], [[Park Avenue Plaza]], and [[Racquet and Tennis Club Building]] across 53rd Street to the south.<ref name="ZoLa" /> An entrance to the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station]], served by the {{NYCS trains|Queens 53rd}}, is less than a block west along 53rd Street.<ref>{{Cite NYC neighborhood map|Midtown}}</ref>

The site, which was part of Charles McEvers's farm in the early 19th century, had been developed by the 1870s with four- and five-story row houses.<ref name="NYCL p. 3">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=3}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> By the late 19th century, the [[Park Avenue main line|Park Avenue railroad line]] ran in an [[Cut (earthworks)|open cut]] in the middle of Park Avenue. The line was covered with the [[construction of Grand Central Terminal]] in the early 20th century, spurring development in the surrounding area, which was known as [[Terminal City (Manhattan)|Terminal City]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 14, 1930 |title=Grand Central Zone Boasts Many Connected Buildings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/14/archives/grand-central-zone-boasts-many-connected-buildings-pedestrians-may.html |access-date=June 14, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422193931/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/14/archives/grand-central-zone-boasts-many-connected-buildings-pedestrians-may.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite NY1900|pages=353–354}}</ref> The adjacent stretch of Park Avenue became a wealthy neighborhood with upscale apartments. Twenty-two rowhouses on 53rd and 54th Streets, owned by [[Robert Walton Goelet]], formerly stood on Lever House's site.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> Twenty of these were demolished in 1936 and replaced by the [[Art Deco]] Normandie Theater, as well as a one-story "[[Taxpayer (building)|taxpayer]]" building that was intended to preserve the site for future development. The two rowhouses at 62 and 64 East 54th Street remained standing.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Cooper |first=Lee |date=October 9, 1949 |title=Office Facilities Expanding Rapidly in Park Ave. Zone |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|1016020692}}}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
Lever House was designed by [[Gordon Bunshaft]] and [[Natalie de Blois]] of [[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill]] (SOM) in the [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]], a 20th-century modern architectural style.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=July 31, 2013 |title=An Architect Whose Work Stood Out, Even if She Did Not |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/nyregion/an-architect-whose-work-stood-out-even-if-she-didnt.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402090530/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/nyregion/an-architect-whose-work-stood-out-even-if-she-didnt.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author1-link=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |author1=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |author2-link=Andrew Dolkart |author2-last=Dolkart |author2-first=Andrew S. |author3-last=Postal |author3-first=Matthew A. |editor1-last=Postal |editor1-first=Matthew A. |year=2009 |title=Guide to New York City Landmarks |edition=4th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-28963-1 |pages=115–116}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Norval |last1=White |author-link1=Norval White |last2=Willensky |first2=Elliot |last3=Leadon |first3=Fran |title=[[AIA Guide to New York City]] |edition=5th |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19538-386-7 |page=320}}</ref> Lever House, the Seagram Building, the former [[270 Park Avenue (1960–2021)|Union Carbide Building]], and the [[500 Park Avenue|Pepsi-Cola Building]] are considered part of a grouping of International Style structures developed on Park Avenue from 46th to 59th Street during the mid-20th century.<ref name="p132975788">{{cite news |last=Penn |first=Stanley W. |date=February 16, 1964 |title=Glass Buildings: Is Fashion Over? |page=14 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132975788}}}}</ref> The building was constructed by main contractor [[George A. Fuller]] Company, with Jaros, Baum & Bolles as mechanical engineers and Weiskopf & Pickworth as structural engineers.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="AR p. 131" /> Raymond Loewy Associates designed the interiors,<ref name="AF p. 103">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=103}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 131" /> since SOM had no interior design team when the building was completed in 1952.<ref name="Krinsky p. 22">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=22|ps=.}}</ref> 

Lever House was built and named for the Lever Brothers Company, a soap company that was an American subsidiary of [[Unilever]].<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|p=1}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=5}}</ref> Lever House is {{convert|307|ft}} tall<ref name="Emporis">{{Cite web |title=Lever House |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115090/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033357/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/115090/lever-house-new-york-city-ny-usa |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Emporis}}</ref> and has 21 usable office stories topped by a triple-height mechanical space.<ref name="Emporis" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> The design largely incorporates ideas first proposed by [[Le Corbusier]] and [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]] in the 1920s.<ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=338–339}}</ref> The building's glass-and-metal facade was similar to Mies's designs, while its raised-on-stilts courtyard was influenced by Le Corbusier's teachings.<ref name="Krinsky p. 23">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=23|ps=.}}</ref>

=== Form ===
[[File:Lever House Nov 2025 20.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=View along Park Avenue, showing the columns supporting Lever House|The columns on Park Avenue are set {{Convert|10|ft}} behind the lot boundary to avoid interfering with the walls of the Park Avenue railroad tunnel.<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" />]]
The ground level of Lever House consists predominantly of an outdoor plaza, paved in light- and dark-colored terrazzo, with some indoor sections.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 2" /> A rectangular planted garden with a pool is at the center of the plaza.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> Lever House's plaza is legally a [[privately owned public space]]. To prevent [[adverse possession]], wherein the city government takes over ownership of the plaza, the building's owners have closed the plaza to the public for one day every year since its completion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=October 29, 2011 |title=Closing for a Spell, Just to Prove It's Ours |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/nyregion/lever-house-closes-once-a-year-to-maintain-its-ownership-rights.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305060522/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/nyregion/lever-house-closes-once-a-year-to-maintain-its-ownership-rights.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=October 28, 2011 |title=Lever House courtyard closes so RFR can assert ownership |url=https://therealdeal.com/2011/10/28/lever-house-courtyard-at-390-park-avenue-closes-so-rfr-realty-can-assert-ownership/ |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418215036/https://therealdeal.com/2011/10/28/lever-house-courtyard-at-390-park-avenue-closes-so-rfr-realty-can-assert-ownership/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Within the ground-story plaza are rectangular columns clad in stainless steel, which support the second story.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|p=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref name="Krinsky p. 19">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=19|ps=.}}</ref> The columns, which extend to the underlying rock, are set {{Convert|10|ft}} behind the lot boundary to avoid interfering with the walls of the Park Avenue railroad tunnel.<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The column layout gives the appearance that the upper stories are floating above ground<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="AF p. 86" /> and resembles an architectural [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=September 7, 1958 |title=New Skyscrapers Are Reviving Classical Street Arcade: Purpose Unchanged, but Styling Reflects Modern Design |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|114464589}}}}</ref> The second story has an opening at its center, overlooking the planted garden;<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 2" /><ref name="nyht19500430">{{cite news |date=April 30, 1950 |title=Lever Brothers Plans Unusual Office Building: Structure at Park and 53d to Have Glass-Steel Face, Seemingly No First Floor |page=46 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327216432}}}}<br />{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1950 |title=Lever Bros. Home Features Arcade; New Offices for Lever Bros. Company |language=en-US |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/04/30/113154867.pdf |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033252/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/04/30/113154867.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AR 1950-06">{{cite magazine |date=June 1950 |title=19 Stories Held to One Fourth of Site to Achieve Light and Air for 280,000 Sq Ft Without Setbacks |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1950-06.pdf |journal=Architectural Record |issn=0003-858X |volume=107 |pages=12 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808042210/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1950-06.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> the opening creates the impression of a [[courtyard]].<ref name="Krinsky p. 19" />

The third through twenty-first stories consist of a rectangular slab atop the northern portion of the site, occupying a quarter of the total lot area. The slab is only {{Convert|53|ft}} wide along Park Avenue,<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS pp. 2, 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|p=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|pp=2, 4}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 339-340">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=339–340}}</ref> allowing all offices to be within {{Convert|25|ft}} of a window and thereby providing large amounts of natural light to tenants.<ref name="AF p. 107">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=107}}</ref><ref name="Murray p. 35">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|p=35}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 340">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=340}}</ref> Along 54th Street, the slab is {{Convert|180|ft}} wide<ref name="AF p. 106" /> and is set back {{Convert|40|ft}} from the street.<ref name="Krinsky p. 20">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=20|ps=.}}</ref> The slab's positioning, with the shorter side along Park Avenue, allowed more natural light from the north and south facades<ref name="nyt19520427">{{Cite news |last=Louchheim |first=Aline B. |author-link=Aline B. Saarinen |date=April 27, 1952 |title=Newest Building in the New Style |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/27/archives/newest-building-in-the-new-style.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033343/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/27/archives/newest-building-in-the-new-style.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and permitted natural light to illuminate the buildings to the south.<ref name="Krinsky p. 20" /> This design also served a technical purpose, as it complied with the [[1916 Zoning Resolution]], intended to prevent new skyscrapers in New York City from overwhelming the streets with their sheer bulk.<ref name="NYCL p. 1" /><ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 339-340" /> As a result of the slab's small size, Lever House has a [[floor area ratio]] (FAR) of 6:1, compared to a FAR of 12:1 at [[Rockefeller Center]] and a FAR of 25:1 at the [[Empire State Building]].<ref name="AF p. 86" />

The building's [[Form (architecture)|form]] was influenced by the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which required buildings to feature [[Setback (architecture)|setbacks]] at progressively higher levels if the floor plates covered more than 25% of the land lot.<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="Kayden p. 8" /><ref name="Krinsky pp. 19–20">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|pages=19–20|ps=.}}</ref> Conversely, buildings could rise without setbacks if their floor plates covered at most 25% of their site.<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="Kayden p. 8">{{harvnb|ps=.|Kayden|The Municipal Art Society of New York|2000|p=8}}</ref>{{efn|name=zoning}} This theoretically allowed the construction of slab-like high-rises of unlimited height; in practice, Lever House was the city's first high-rise building to take advantage of this provision.<ref name="NYCL p. 1" /><ref name="Emporis" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roth |first=Leland M |title=A concise history of American architecture |date=1979 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-438490-2 |pages=278 |language=English |oclc=4496712 }}</ref> Previous skyscrapers developed under this [[zoning]] code had been developed with setbacks as they rose.{{Efn|As per the 1916 Zoning Act, the wall of any given tower that faces a street could only rise to a certain height, proportionate to the street's width, at which point the building had to be set back by a given proportion. This system of setbacks would continue until the tower reaches a floor level in which that level's floor area was 25 percent that of the ground level's area. After that 25 percent threshold was reached, the building could rise without restriction.<ref name="Kayden p. 8" /> This law was superseded by the [[1961 Zoning Resolution]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Kayden|The Municipal Art Society of New York|2000|pp=11–12}}</ref>|name=zoning}} If all stories had contained the same area as the land lot, Lever House would have been equivalent to an eight-story structure.<ref name="AF p. 106" /><ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 339-340" /><ref name="Murray p. 35" /> While Rockefeller Center's buildings had somewhat similar slab-like designs, the vast majority of the city's previous skyscrapers had been designed to fill the maximum volume allowed under the 1916 Zoning Resolution.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 340" /><ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1950|ps=.|p=85}}</ref> Because Lever House is shorter than many other New York City skyscrapers, historian [[Carol Herselle Krinsky]] wrote that the building "barely qualifies as a skyscraper".<ref name="Krinsky p. 19" />

=== Facade ===
[[File:Lever House Curtain wall.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|alt=View of the curtain wall on the upper stories, with heat-absorbing glass panes as well as stainless steel|Upper stories]]
About 30% of the ground story is enclosed by glass and marble walls.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 2" /><ref name="nyht19500430" /> Three revolving doors lead to a ground-level lobby near the northern half of the lot. The elevators and an auditorium and display area on the same floor are within a black marble enclosure at the northwestern corner of the building.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="AF p. 86">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1950|ps=.|p=86}}</ref> At the lot's northwestern corner, a vehicular ramp from the western section of the 54th Street frontage leads to the basement garage and a loading dock.<ref name="AF p. 86" /> A white marble enclosure with stainless steel doors encloses an emergency exit stair at the southeastern corner of the ground floor.<ref name="NPS p. 2" />

Above the ground floor, all [[Elevation (architecture)|elevations]] of the facade contain a [[Curtain wall (architecture)|curtain wall]] with heat-absorbing glass panes and [[stainless steel]].<ref name="Murray p. 31"/> The curtain wall, the second to be installed in New York City after that of the [[United Nations Secretariat Building]],<ref name="Nast 2010 i300">{{cite magazine |last=Tyrnauer |first=Matt |title=Forever Modern |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=June 14, 2010 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/10/leverhouse200210 |access-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128034749/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2002/10/leverhouse200210 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Hilburg2022/> was fabricated and installed by General Bronze, which had just completed the Secretariat Building's curtain wall.<ref name="Murray p. 31">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|p=31}}</ref> Unlike at the Secretariat, where the narrower elevations were faced in solid material, all elevations of Lever House are faced in glass.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="Krinsky p. 23" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339" /> The curtain wall spans most of the facade but is interrupted at the building's northwestern corner,<ref name="Krinsky pp. 19–20" /> where there is a service core with masonry cladding.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS pp. 2, 4" />

==== Curtain wall ====
The curtain wall contains vertical steel [[mullion]]s, which are connected to the building's floor plates. Each pair of mullions is separated by glass window panes, which cannot be opened.<ref name="Murray p. 35" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|p=7}}; {{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 88">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1950|ps=.|p=88}}</ref> These consist of greenish panes for windows on each floor, as well as opaque bluish panels for [[spandrel]]s between floors.<ref name="Emporis" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4" /> The spandrel panels are glazed, and black cinderblock walls behind the spandrels give them a dark hue.<ref name="Krinsky p. 21">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=21|ps=.}}</ref> They are separated from the window panes by horizontal mullions and [[muntin]] grilles.<ref name="AR p. 131" /> When installed, the spandrel panels were intended to conceal the masonry construction of the [[superstructure]].<ref name="Murray p. 35" /><ref name="Krinsky p. 21" /> The window panes are {{convert|7|ft|2|in|m}} tall, with the [[window sill|sill]] being {{convert|30|in}} above the top of each floor plate, thereby concealing air-conditioning units beneath each window.<ref name="AF p. 88" /> The mullions are nearly flush with the glass, projecting about {{convert|1|in}} from the outer surface of the glass panels.<ref name="AF p. 88" /> During nighttime, one of every five mullions is lit.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="NYCL p. 8">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> Venetian blinds were used to reduce glare.<ref name="AF p. 107" /> During a renovation in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the curtain wall was moved forward by {{Convert|1/4|in}}.<ref name="Skidmore 2009 p.">{{cite book |last=Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |title=Architecture of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1997–2008 |date=2009 |publisher=Monacelli Press |isbn=978-1-58093-224-0 |page=56 |oclc=299708729 |url=https://archive.org/details/architectureofsk0000skid |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The curtain wall was intended to reduce the cost of operating and maintaining the property and, as designed, was intended to filter out thirty percent of heat from sunlight.<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref name="AR 1950-06" /> The fixed-pane windows were cheaper to install and reduced the amount of particulate matter that entered the building, and they kept air conditioning costs down.<ref name="AR p. 131" /><ref name="AF p. 89">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1950|ps=.|p=89}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 340-341">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=340–341}}</ref> Additionally, Unilever commissioned a window-washing scaffold, suspended from a {{Convert|10.5|ST|LT t|adj=on}} "power plant car" on the roof.<ref name="AF 1952-04">{{cite magazine |date=April 1952 |title=Lever House Window Washing Solved by Mobile Elevator |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1952-04.pdf |journal=Architectural Record |issn=0003-858X |volume=96 |pages=43 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808041931/https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1952-04.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt19520401">{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1952 |title=Window Washers in Gondola Car Speed Cleaning of Glass Building |language=en-US |page=31 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/04/01/92665887.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033252/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/04/01/92665887.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 134">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1952|p=134}}; {{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=110}}</ref> The first such device in the city,<ref name="Nast 2013 t504">{{cite magazine |last=Higginbotham |first=Adam |title=Life at the Top |magazine=The New Yorker |issn=2163-3827 |date=January 28, 2013 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/02/04/life-at-the-top |access-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221162206/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/02/04/life-at-the-top |url-status=live }}</ref> it could move vertically along steel rails embedded in the mullions.<ref name="Murray p. 35" /><ref name="AF 1952-04" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|1983|ps=.|p=4}}</ref> Kenneth M. Young of SOM designed the scaffold,<ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 340-341" /> having searched in vain for existing machinery that he could adapt for the building.<ref name="Krinsky p. 21" /> Lever Brothers wanted the building to be "a symbol of everlasting cleanliness",<ref name="Nast 2013 t504"/> and, according to ''[[Curbed]]'', the scaffold was used for a publicity stunt that "used Lever-brand Surf soap to scrub the windows clean".<ref>{{cite web |last=Sisson |first=Patrick |date=May 9, 2017 |title=Modernist cool: Air conditioning's impact on modern architecture |url=https://archive.curbed.com/2017/5/9/15583550/air-conditioning-architecture-skyscraper-wright-lever-house |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Curbed |archive-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503124346/https://archive.curbed.com/2017/5/9/15583550/air-conditioning-architecture-skyscraper-wright-lever-house |url-status=live}}</ref> Two window washers were hired to clean the facade every six days.<ref name="nyt19520401" /><ref name="AR p. 134" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=341}}</ref> Each of the building's 1,404 windows could be cleaned within ninety seconds; because the window panes were fixed, they could be cleaned in less than one-third of the time it took to wash a [[sash window]].<ref name="nyt19520401" />

The fixed-position window panes required that the building be air-conditioned, so steel grilles are also installed on the facade for ventilation intake.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> The curtain wall cost $28,000 more compared to normal [[sash windows]], while the double glazing cost $135,000 and the window-washing equipment cost $50,000. However, the air conditioning system saved $90,000 in upfront costs, and it also saved $3,600 per year on energy costs and $1,000 per year on costs caused by hot and cold air escaping. The fixed window panes also saved $2,000 a year on window-washing costs compared to sash windows.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |author-link=Ada Louise Huxtable |date=January 11, 1965 |title=Does Good Architecture Pay?; Does Good Architecture Pay? |language=en-US |page=125 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/01/11/94958014.pdf |access-date=April 10, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033257/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/01/11/94958014.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Structural features ===
[[File:Lever House ground floor lobby-crop.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|alt=The ground-floor plaza of Lever House from the north|Ground-floor plaza]]

The internal superstructure consists of a skeleton of steel [[cellular beam]]s,<ref name="AF p. 89" /><ref name="AF p. 109">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=109}}</ref> with floor plates made of reinforced concrete.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> Small sections of the floor plates outside the restrooms, elevator lobbies, and service core are supported by concrete arches.<ref name="AF p. 89" /> The [[dropped ceiling]]s on each story are about {{convert|9|ft}} high. The floor-to-floor height, as measured between the floor plates of adjacent stories, is {{convert|12|ft|4|in}}.<ref name="AF p. 88" /> The west end of the slab is [[cantilever]]ed {{convert|5|ft}} from the furthest column while the east end is cantilevered {{convert|9|ft|8.5|in}}.<ref name="AF p. 87" /> Lever House's wind bracing system consists of transverse bents placed at intervals of {{Convert|28|ft}}, with one set of columns through the interior of the slab.<ref name="AF p. 106" /> The interior columns divide the office space asymmetrically into a wide [[Bay (architecture)|bay]] and a narrower bay.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638">{{cite web |last=Murphy |first=Jack |date=December 1, 2023 |title=SOM's Lever House receives a $100 million refresh |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/marmol-radziner-reed-hilderbrand-soms-lever-house-100-million-refresh/ |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203234406/https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/marmol-radziner-reed-hilderbrand-soms-lever-house-100-million-refresh/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The building's utilities run through the service core on the west side of the slab<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref name="AR 1950-06" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS pp. 2, 4" /> and underneath each of the floor plates.<ref name="Krinsky p. 21" /> Six elevators are provided in the service core: five serving the office stories and one service elevator between the first and third floors.<ref name="AF p. 89" /><ref name="AF p. 109" /> A seventh elevator shaft was provided in the building to serve the upper stories if an additional elevator cab was deemed necessary.<ref name="AF p. 109" /> The core was placed on the west end of the slab so that, if Lever Brothers had ever built a westward addition to the tower, the elevators could serve the addition.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339" /> An emergency stair was placed near the center of the building rather than in the core, thereby providing additional office space along the northern frontage of the building.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" />

=== Interior ===
According to the [[New York City Department of City Planning]], Lever House has a gross floor area of {{Convert|262,945|ft2}}.<ref name="ZoLa" />{{efn|Other sources give a different floor area. Media reports of the building's design, in 1950, indicated that it was supposed to contain about {{Convert|280,000|ft2}}.<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref name="AR 1950-06" /> The [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] states that Lever House was planned with {{convert|290,000|ft2}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|pp=6–7}}</ref><ref name="nyt19530707" />}} All of the space was intended for Lever Brothers, which, in exchange for a more prominent structure, had been willing to forgo additional space that could have been rented to other tenants.<ref name="AR p. 131">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1952|ps=.|p=131}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 1, 1950 |title=Lever Building Seen Major Step In Good Design: Magazine Calls New Tower Best Recent Structure |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327262586}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Louchheim |first=Aline B. |author-link=Aline B. Saarinen |date=September 24, 1950 |title=Architecture of and for Our Day; Museum of Modern Art Singles Out Work Of One Firm |language=en-US |page=X9 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/09/24/306337102.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033252/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/09/24/306337102.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> The lack of shops highlighted Lever's status as the building's only tenant;<ref name="Krinsky p. 22" /> as a Lever spokesperson said, "The fact is shops don't rent for much on Park Avenue. People buy on [[Fifth Avenue|Fifth]] or [[Madison Avenue|Madison]] [Avenues]. All they do on Park is walk."<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 340" /><ref name="The New Yorker 1952">{{cite magazine |date=April 26, 1952 |title=The Talk of the Town: Clean |url=https://archive.org/details/New_Yorker_Magazine_1952-04-26/page/n29/mode/2up |magazine=The New Yorker |issn=2163-3827 |volume=28 |pages=27–28 |access-date=March 20, 2021}}</ref> A further consideration was that Lever Brothers wished for the building to be a corporate symbol for itself, rather than being shared with other tenants.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="nyt19520427" /> In addition to its 21 usable stories and triple-height mechanical space, the building contained an employees' parking garage in the basement.<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref name="AR 1950-06" />

==== Ground and second stories ====
The enclosed section of the ground floor was largely oriented toward public use, with space for displays, a waiting room, a display kitchen, and an auditorium.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 340" /><ref name="AR p. 132" /> Within the lobby are glass display cases with steel edges, which originally showcased Lever Brothers' products.<ref name="Davidson 2023 x395">{{cite web |last=Davidson |first=Justin |date=June 9, 2023 |title=Lever House Gets a Squeaky-Clean Restoration |url=https://www.curbed.com/2023/06/lever-house-restoration-skidmore-owings-merrill.html |access-date=July 13, 2023 |website=Curbed |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713201220/https://www.curbed.com/2023/06/lever-house-restoration-skidmore-owings-merrill.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, the building's owner [[Aby Rosen]] has used the plaza and lobby as a gallery for the Lever House Art Collection.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 17, 2010 |title=In the Loftiest of Buildings, High Art Still Finds a Home |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/12/30/realestate/1230ART_index.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102161222/http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/12/30/realestate/1230ART_index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Exhibitions have included such works as ''Virgin Mother'' by [[Damien Hirst]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=June 2, 2014 |title=Neighbors Protest 33-Foot Statue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/arts/design/collectors-new-face-off-giant-nude-statue-in-old-westbury.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304060150/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/arts/design/collectors-new-face-off-giant-nude-statue-in-old-westbury.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Bride Fight'' by [[E.V. Day]],<ref>{{cite web |title=E.V. Day |url=https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/ev-day |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Lever House Art Collection |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518010517/https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/ev-day |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Hulks'' by [[Jeff Koons]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yablonsky |first=Linda |date=February 2, 2011 |title=Artifacts; A Snow Queen for Our Time |url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/artifacts-a-snow-queen-for-our-time/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=T Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930172157/https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/artifacts-a-snow-queen-for-our-time/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jeff Koons |url=https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/jeff-koons |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Lever House Art Collection |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518013841/https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/jeff-koons |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Snow Queen'' by [[Rachel Feinstein (sculptor)|Rachel Feinstein]],<ref>{{cite web |date=January 28, 2011 |title=André Leon Talley on Rachel Feinstein's 'The Snow Queen' |url=http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/andre-leon-talley-on-rachel-feinsteins-the-snow-queen/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201055036/http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/andre-leon-talley-on-rachel-feinsteins-the-snow-queen/ |archive-date=February 1, 2012 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Vogue |issn=0042-8000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Colman |first=David |date=March 11, 2011 |title=Rachel Feinstein and John Currin, Their Own Best Creations |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/fashion/13CurrinFeinstein.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126122853/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/fashion/13CurrinFeinstein.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Robert Towne'' by [[Sarah Morris]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Sarah Morris |url=https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/sarah-morris |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Lever House Art Collection |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033359/https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/sarah-morris |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Westall 2006 r624">{{cite web |last=Westall |first=Mark |title=Sarah Morris, Robert Towne |website=FAD Magazine |date=August 30, 2006 |url=https://fadmagazine.com/2006/08/30/sarah-morris-robert-towne/ |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033356/https://fadmagazine.com/2006/08/30/sarah-morris-robert-towne/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and several sculptures by [[Keith Haring]]<ref>{{cite web |date=February 16, 1990 |title=Keith Haring |url=https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/keith-harring |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Lever House Art Collection |archive-date=July 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709141354/https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/keith-harring |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Tom Sachs (artist)|Tom Sachs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Sachs |url=https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/tom-sachs |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Lever House Art Collection |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518013013/https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/commissions/tom-sachs |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 14, 2008 |title=Tom Sachs 'Bronze Collection' Party at Lever House |url=https://www.papermag.com/tom-sachs-bronze-collection-party-at-lever-house-1425426433.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Paper |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125182349/https://www.papermag.com/tom-sachs-bronze-collection-party-at-lever-house-1425426433.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> A {{convert|6500|ft2|adj=on}} portion of the ground story was converted into a restaurant in 2003, with rounded walls, five dining niches, and a 22-seat private balcony.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 157" /><ref name="nyt-2003-07-11">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 11, 2003 |title=New Restaurant To Add Zing To Lever House |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/nyregion/new-restaurant-to-add-zing-to-lever-house.html |access-date=July 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726163912/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/nyregion/new-restaurant-to-add-zing-to-lever-house.html |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, the restaurant space is occupied by Casa Lever, whose design includes alcoves with black leather upholstery, black-and-white terrazzo floors, and banquette booths with wood frames.<ref name="Silva 2023 e154">{{cite web |last=Silva |first=Rachel |date=June 14, 2023 |title=New York's Famed Casa Lever Restaurant Receives a Sensational Makeover |url=https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a44041789/casa-lever-new-york/ |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=Elle Decor |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713201230/https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a44041789/casa-lever-new-york/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The second and largest floor contained fan, stock, mail, and stenography rooms, in addition to the employees' lounge and medical suite.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="AR p. 132" /> It contains {{Convert|22000|ft2}} of space.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=339}}</ref> The second floor has also been used for art installations, such as in 2018, when the second and ground floors were lit as part of [[Peter Halley]]{{'s}} ''New York, New York''.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGrath |first=Katherine |date=September 20, 2018 |title=Midtown Manhattan Is Bathed in Yellow Light Thanks to This Artist's Installation |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/peter-halley-lever-house-installation |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308025430/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/peter-halley-lever-house-installation |url-status=live}}</ref>

Above the southern three-quarters of the building was a third-story roof terrace clad with red tile, which was outfitted with shuffleboard courts for employees.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lubasch |first=Arnold H. |date=January 28, 1968 |title=Skyscraper Setbacks Serve as Play Areas: New Yorkers Find Many Recreation Areas Atop Setbacks |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|118456397}}}}</ref> The terrace originally functioned as a [[roof garden]],<ref name="Krinsky p. 21" /> adjoining an employee kitchen, dining room, and cafeteria inside.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="AR p. 132" /> In the early 2020s, the third-story terrace was integrated into Lever Club,<ref name="Real Estate Weekly 2022">{{cite news |date=March 30, 2022 |title="Lever Club" Coming to Park Avenue's Iconic Lever House |url=https://rew-online.com/lever-club-coming-to-park-avenues-iconic-lever-house/ |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=Real Estate Weekly |issn=1945-8347 |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525165758/https://rew-online.com/lever-club-coming-to-park-avenues-iconic-lever-house/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Real Deal 2022">{{cite web |date=December 4, 2022 |title=Can private clubs bring New York workers back to the office? |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2022/12/04/can-private-clubs-bring-new-york-workers-back-to-the-office |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=The Real Deal |archive-date=August 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827163604/https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2022/12/04/can-private-clubs-bring-new-york-workers-back-to-the-office/ |url-status=live}}</ref> a {{convert|13540|ft2|adj=on}} amenity area for the building's tenants.<ref name="Smith 2023">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Ray A. |date=February 22, 2023 |title=How Hybrid Work Is Changing Offices of the Future |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-hybrid-work-is-changing-offices-of-the-future-275d7368 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222121853/https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-hybrid-work-is-changing-offices-of-the-future-275d7368 |url-status=live}}</ref> The space was designed by Los Angeles–based architectural firm [[Marmol Radziner]],<ref name="Real Estate Weekly 2022" /><ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089">{{cite web |last=Baird-Remba |first=Rebecca |date=November 17, 2023 |title=Park Avenue's Iconic Lever House Gets a Fresh Renovation |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2023/11/lever-house-renovation-som-brookfield-watermanclark-390-park-avenue/ |access-date=December 18, 2023 |website=Commercial Observer |archive-date=December 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218163558/https://commercialobserver.com/2023/11/lever-house-renovation-som-brookfield-watermanclark-390-park-avenue/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and is operated by Sant Ambroeus Hospitality Group {{as of|2023|lc=y}}.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" /><ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089" /> Lever Club is decorated with green marble walls and floors;<ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089"/> the space includes conference rooms, lounge seats, and a bar and restaurant.<ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089" /><ref name="Peng 2022">{{cite magazine |last=Peng |first=Michelle |date=June 23, 2022 |title=Reimagining Lever House, a New York City Landmark, for the Future of Work |url=https://time.com/charter/6190058/lever-house/ |access-date=February 22, 2023 |magazine=Time |archive-date=February 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221114402/https://time.com/charter/6190058/lever-house/ |url-status=live}}</ref> White birch trees were planted on the terrace during the 2020s renovation.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" /><ref name="Budds 2023 m011">{{cite web |last=Budds |first=Diana |date=November 17, 2023 |title=Lever House in New York gets a 21st-century makeover |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/lever-house-new-yok |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=wallpaper.com |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203234406/https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/lever-house-new-yok |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Office stories ====
The offices of Unilever and its subsidiaries occupied the remaining floors, and there was an executive penthouse on the 21st floor.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="nyht19500430" /> Each of the upper stories within the slab contains {{Convert|8700|ft2}} of gross floor area.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339" /><ref name="AF p. 87" /> The triple-story mechanical penthouse is atop the 21st floor and includes air conditioning machinery, elevator machinery and a water tower.<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref name="AR 1950-06" /><ref name="AR p. 132" />

On each story, about {{convert|6000|ft2}} is used for office space, excluding area taken up by closets, elevators, restrooms, and walls.<ref name="AF p. 87" /> At Lever House's completion, much of Lever Brothers' staff was female, so the offices were designed as spaces that "women would enjoy working in".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /><ref name="The New Yorker 1952" /> As such, the building used nine primary color schemes, and the floors, linoleum, desks, and acoustic-tile ceilings were colored gray-beige. Each of the executive offices had their own style, and four of these offices had fireplaces.<ref name="The New Yorker 1952" /> Gypsum partitions on each of the office floors were attached to the mullions.<ref name="AF p. 109" /> The building was also constructed with air conditioning on each floor, an automatic fire alarm system, and a mail conveyor system.<ref name="AF p. 103" /><ref name="AR p. 132" /><ref name="nyt19520430">{{cite news |date=April 30, 1952 |title=Doors Swing Open in House of Glass: Mayor Calls New Building of Lever Brothers on Park Ave. 'Manhattan Showplace' |page=46 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|112504852}}}}</ref> During the building's 2020s renovation, the ceiling heights were increased, and the curtain wall was thinned, creating slightly more office space at the perimeter.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" />

== History ==
Unilever was formed in 1929 from the merger of British soap company [[Lever Brothers]] Limited and Dutch margarine firm [[Margarine Unie]]. Unilever's United States subsidiary was known as Lever Brothers Company and was initially headquartered in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Charles Henry |title=The History of Unilever: A Study in Economic Growth and Social Change |publisher=Cassell |year=1954 |pages=228–230 |issue=v. 1}}</ref> The subsidiary opened offices at 445 Park Avenue, three blocks north of the present building's site, in 1947.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 21, 1947 |title=Lever Bros, Co. Rents Quarters On Park Avenue: Soap Concern Takes Large Space in New Tishman Building at 57th Street |page=39 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1291363484}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 21, 1947 |title=Lever Lease Ends Tishman Renting; Soap Manufacturers Get Last Space in New Park Avenue Building – Other Deals |language=en-US |page=39 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/10/21/104351956.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033252/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1947/10/21/104351956.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref>

=== Development and early years ===
[[File:Park Av 53 St Mar 2021 75.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|alt=The facade as seen from 54th Street. Most of the facade is made of green glass, but there is a masonry "spine" visible at center right.|54th Street facade, showing the masonry "spine" at center right]]
The company began acquiring land on Park Avenue from 53rd to 54th Street around June 1949, leasing the lots from Robert Walton Goelet's estate. The negotiations were made in secret, involving fourteen sets of lawyers, numerous [[broker]]s, and several [[Shell corporation|shell companies]].<ref name="nyt19491005">{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Lee E. |date=October 5, 1949 |title=Lever Bros. to Build on Park Ave.; Plans 20-Story, $6,000,000 Office |language=en-US |page=1 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/10/05/84280283.pdf |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033255/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/10/05/84280283.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |url-status=live}}</ref> As finalized, the lease was to run for sixty years.<ref name="nyt19830403" /> The main broker behind the transaction, S. Dudley Nostrand, won the award for the "most ingenious and beneficial Manhattan real estate transaction of 1949" from the Title Guarantee and Trust Company.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 5, 1950 |title=Nostrand Wins $1,000 Award For Lever Deal on Park Ave. |page=D1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325395628}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 5, 1950 |title=Park Ave. Site Lease to Lever Brothers Wins $1,000 Award for New York Broker |language=en-US |page=195 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/02/05/87015481.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033254/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/02/05/87015481.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref>

On October 5, 1949, Lever Brothers announced a wide-ranging expansion program within the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1949 |title=Lever Brothers Busy With Expansion Plans |pages=1 |work=The Journal News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73867019/lever-brothers-busy-with-expansion-plans/ |access-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033358/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73867019/lever-brothers-busy-with-expansion-plans/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyht19491005">{{cite news |date=October 5, 1949 |title=Lever Brothers To Move Offices Here on Dec. 1: Will Erect $6,000,000 20-Story Building Here |page=32 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327502292}}}}</ref><ref name="wsj19491005">{{cite news |date=October 5, 1949 |title=Lever Brothers to Move Offices to New York City, Put Up 20-Story Building |page=13 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|131821377}}}}</ref> The company's president, [[Charles Luckman]], announced the executive offices would be moved from Cambridge to New York City that December, taking temporary space at two buildings in Manhattan. A new executive headquarters known as Lever House, to be built on Park Avenue from 53rd to 54th Street, was planned to the firm's subsidiaries upon its expected completion in late 1951.<ref name="nyht19491005" /><ref name="wsj19491005" /> SOM was hired to design Lever House when it was announced.<ref name="nyt19491005" /> Luckman, who also held an architect's license, helped influence the design,<ref name="nyt19491005" /> though he did not make any formal proposals.<ref name="Krinsky p. 19" /> Although SOM had prepared plans for slab-like buildings in Chicago for a Lever Brothers headquarters, the company decided upon a New York City headquarters because "the price one pays for soap is 89 percent advertising [...] and the advertising agencies of America were there."<ref name="Krinsky p. 19" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339" /> 

In designing Lever House, SOM focused on Lever Brothers' desire for {{convert|150000|ft2}} of office space all to itself.<ref name="AF p. 87">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1950|ps=.|p=87}}</ref> After months of deliberation, Bunshaft drew up plans for a slab occupying 25% of the site; to permit larger floor sizes, Lever Brothers bought an additional {{Convert|3,300|ft2}} of land to the west.<ref name="Krinsky p. 20" /> Luckman left Lever Brothers in January 1950 because of unspecified disagreements with Unilever executives.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 19, 1950 |title=Luckman Resigns as Head of Lever |language=en-US |page=41 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/01/19/102269715.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033256/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/01/19/102269715.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=January 19, 1950 |title=Luckman Resigns $300,000 Job In Lever Brothers Policy Clash |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327216432}}}}</ref> He went to design several buildings of his own,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |author-link=Herbert Muschamp |date=January 28, 1999 |title=Charles Luckman, Architect Who Designed Penn Station's Replacement, Dies at 89 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/28/arts/charles-luckman-architect-who-designed-penn-station-s-replacement-dies-at-89.html |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202072117/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/28/arts/charles-luckman-architect-who-designed-penn-station-s-replacement-dies-at-89.html |url-status=live}}</ref> initially prompting false speculation that Lever Brothers had fired him due to Lever House's design.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 339" /> Final plans for Lever House were filed with the [[New York City Department of Buildings]] in April 1950.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 20, 1950 |title=Lever Bros. Building to Cost $4,500,000 |language=en-US |page=52 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/04/20/113152908.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033301/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/04/20/113152908.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> The plans were publicized the same month.<ref name="nyht19500430" /><ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=338}}</ref> Demolition of the four buildings on Lever House's site was scheduled to commence immediately after the plans were announced.<ref name="nyht19500430" /> The [[George A. Fuller Company]] received the contract to construct Lever House in August.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 23, 1950 |title=Fuller Gets Contract On Lever Bros. Offices. |language=en-US |page=50 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/08/23/91632069.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033301/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/08/23/91632069.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=August 23, 1950 |title=G.A. Fuller to Build Main Lever Office |page=30 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326843884}}}}</ref> A [[topping out]] ceremony for the steel frame occurred in April 1951.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 15, 1951 |title=Offices Going Up on Park Avenue |language=en-US |page=218 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/15/87237551.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033303/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/15/87237551.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 15, 1951 |title=Framework of New Tower on Park Avenue |page=1C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1291315059}}}}</ref>

The building officially opened on April 29, 1952, with a tour and a ceremony attended by mayor [[Vincent R. Impellitteri]].<ref name="nyt19520430" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Lever House Dedicated; 250 Taken on Tour: 24-Story Building of Steel and Blue Glass Called as 'Sound as It Is Daring' |first=Bernard Jr. |last=Peyton |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |date=April 30, 1952 |page=19 |id={{ProQuest|1322203381}}}}</ref> Lever Brothers leased the building from the [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]], taking over the responsibility of maintaining it.<ref name="nyt19830403" /> ''The New York Times'' estimated that the promotional value of Lever House amounted to $1&nbsp;million per year, substantially more than the estimated $200,000 annual loss due to the lack of retail shops. The building also had an average of 40,000 yearly visitors, many of whom were architecture students, and [[employee turnover]] was just over one-third of the average turnover for the city's other large companies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ennis |first=Thomas W. |date=August 7, 1960 |title=Company Edifices 'Sell' Products; Businesses Find That It Pays to Advertise With Good Architecture |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/08/07/99773857.pdf |page=R1 |access-date=April 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In Lever House's early years, the enclosed ground-story space was used for art exhibitions.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 340" /> These included the [[Sculptors Guild]]'s annual exhibit<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=April 7, 1959 |title=Lever House Gets Sculpture Show; Guild of Artists Finds Glass Lobby Ideal Place to Put Annual Exhibit |language=en-US |page=35 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/04/07/437050662.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033302/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/04/07/437050662.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> as well as an annual [[heliography]] exhibition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Deschin |first=Jacob |date=August 11, 1963 |title=Two New Exhibits; Group Show Offered by Heliographers – Color Prints on Staten Island |language=en-US |page=105 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/08/11/89951354.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033302/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/08/11/89951354.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> Lever Brothers commissioned Robert Wiegand in 1970 to paint a {{Convert|37|by|52|ft|adj=on}} mural, ''Leverage'', along a wall adjacent to the third-story courtyard.<ref>{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Glueck |first=Grace |author-link=Grace Glueck |date=October 20, 1970 |title=Park Ave. Area Gets. Outdoor Mural |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/20/archives/park-ave-area-gets-outdoor-mural.html |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033407/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/20/archives/park-ave-area-gets-outdoor-mural.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Late 20th century ===
[[File:Park Avenue at 53rd Street - Newyork1973 15.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|alt=Northward view along Park Avenue in 1973. Lever House can be seen on the left, in the distance.|The building in 1973, at left]]

Lever House's small floor–area ratio became a drawback for real estate developers in the years after its completion, even though that aspect remained popular among the public. The Lever Brothers Company rejected numerous rumors that the building would be replaced by a larger structure, even advertising the building's 25th anniversary in 1977 with a full-page ''[[New York Times]]'' ad.<ref name="nyt19821121">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |date=November 21, 1982 |title=Architecture View; Lever House Awaits the Decision on Its Future |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/21/arts/architecture-view-lever-house-awaits-the-decision-on-its-future.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524112155/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/21/arts/architecture-view-lever-house-awaits-the-decision-on-its-future.html}}</ref> At that time, Lever House had hosted more than 250 exhibitions.<ref name="nyt19770428">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |date=April 28, 1977 |title=Design Notebook |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/28/archives/westchester-opinion-design-notebook-lever-house-has-a-birthday.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033410/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/28/archives/westchester-opinion-design-notebook-lever-house-has-a-birthday.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Proposed demolition and preservation ====
Until the 1980s, relatively few preservationists were concerned about the demolition of curtain walls that had been completed between the 1950s and the 1970s.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 153">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=153}}</ref> Preservationists only started to express concern in 1982, after Fisher Brothers had signed a contract to purchase the [[Fee simple|fee position]] for the underlying land.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 153" /><ref name="nydn19821128" /><ref name="nyt-1982-11-17">{{Cite news |last=Henry |first=Diane |date=November 17, 1982 |title=About Real Estate; Lever House Mystery: Proposals for a New Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/17/business/about-real-estate-lever-house-mystery-proposals-for-a-new-building.html |access-date=July 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726160614/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/17/business/about-real-estate-lever-house-mystery-proposals-for-a-new-building.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The firm wished to replace Lever House, as well as the neighboring Jofa Building on 53rd Street,<ref name="nyt-1982-11-17" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 153-154">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=153–154}}</ref> with a 40-story building<ref name="nydn19821128">{{Cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=November 28, 1982 |title=Surprise! Big money talks along Park Ave. |pages=59 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73915000/surprise-big-money-talks-along-park/ |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033348/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73915000/surprise-big-money-talks-along-park/ |url-status=live}}</ref> containing three times the floor area.<ref name="nyt19821121" /><ref name="record19821112">{{Cite news |last=Hampton |first=Rick |date=November 12, 1982 |title=Lever House a short-lived landmark? |pages=50 |work=The Record |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73905927/lever-house-a-short-lived-landmark/ |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033413/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73905927/lever-house-a-short-lived-landmark/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lever Brothers rejected media reports that it was considering moving to New Jersey. Bunshaft said at the time that he never thought the building's small size would have resulted in its demolition.<ref name="record19821112" />

The plans prompted preservationists to request that the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) consider designating the building as a city landmark.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 154">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=154}}</ref><ref name="Forgey19822">{{Cite news |last=Forgey |first=Benjamin |date=December 17, 1982 |title=The House That Lever Built |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/12/18/the-house-that-lever-built/a2bf6a9b-4388-44fe-a94f-90920ab3401a/ |access-date=September 8, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222145644/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/12/18/the-house-that-lever-built/a2bf6a9b-4388-44fe-a94f-90920ab3401a/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 9, 1982, the LPC designated Lever House as a landmark. LPC rules specified that New York City individual landmarks be at least 30 years old, making Lever House the city's youngest landmark at that time.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 154" /><ref name="wsj19821110">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Randall |date=November 10, 1982 |title=Famed Lever House May Be Demolished For Redevelopment: Glass-Slab Edifice in New York Is Object of a Row Between Two Real-Estate Interests |page=19 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134674875}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=November 10, 1982 |title=Lever House Office Tower Declared a City Landmark |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/10/nyregion/lever-house-office-tower-declared-a-city-landmark.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830124515/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/10/nyregion/lever-house-office-tower-declared-a-city-landmark.html |archive-date=August 30, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was also the first time that the LPC had ever granted landmark status to a building that was exactly 30 years old.<ref name="Forgey19822" /> Fisher Brothers opposed the landmark status.<ref name="nydn19821128" /><ref name="record19821112" /> The firm in charge of designing Fisher Brothers' proposed building, [[Swanke Hayden Connell Architects]], prepared a [[white paper]] for the LPC, which described Lever House as "undistinguished and not worthy of preservation".<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 154" /> George Klein, who was in contract to buy the lease on the building itself from Metropolitan Life, favored landmark status.<ref name="nydn19821128" /><ref name="record19821112" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 154" /> At the time, Klein was trying to develop a structure on the Jofa Building site and incorporate Lever House into the new development.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 154" /><ref name="wsj19821110" /> Lever Brothers also supported the designation, but it had hired its own architectural firm, [[Welton Becket]] and Associates, to prepare plans for the Jofa site.<ref name="nyt19830403" /><ref name="wsj19821110" /><ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=155}}</ref>

The landmark status had to be ratified by the [[New York City Board of Estimate]] to become binding. If the landmark status was ratified, the building could not be demolished unless the landmark status caused significant economic hardship even with tax exemptions.<ref name="wsj19830321">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Randall |date=March 21, 1983 |title=Lever House Status As Landmark Site Is Upheld by Panel: Manhattan Tower's Prospects Hinge on Fight Among Developers, Unilever Unit |page=19 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134900702}}}}</ref> The Board of Estimate was to vote on the landmark designation in January 1982,<ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 154-155">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=154–155}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1983-01-26"/> but this was delayed.<ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 154-155" /> It was unknown whether the Board of Estimate had enough votes to uphold the building's landmark designation, since several board members had expressed their wish that the site be redeveloped more lucratively.<ref name="nyt-1983-01-26">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=January 26, 1983 |title=Lever House Landmark Up for a Vote |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/nyregion/lever-house-landmark-up-for-a-vote.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524143606/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/nyregion/lever-house-landmark-up-for-a-vote.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=John J. |last=Goldman |date=March 21, 1983 |title=New Yorkers Seek to Save Lever House Skyscraper |pages=20 |work=The Daily News |oclc=
10218986 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73917982/new-yorkers-seek-to-save-lever-house/ |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033403/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73917982/new-yorkers-seek-to-save-lever-house/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Among the reasons Fisher Brothers had cited in their attempt to replace Lever House was the structure's deteriorated condition.<ref name="nyt19830403" /><ref name="nydn19821128" /> Welton Becket and Associates estimated the cost of restoring Lever House at between $12 and 15 million.<ref name="nyt19830403" />

In February 1983, Fisher Brothers publicized plans for its 40-story tower, which they claimed would create 1,500 jobs and generate $9.4 million annually in taxes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=February 9, 1983 |title=Unveil plan for Lever site |pages=81 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73931162/unveil-plan-for-lever-site/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033351/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73931162/unveil-plan-for-lever-site/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |date=February 10, 1983 |title=Tower Plan for Lever House: Three-Way Struggle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/10/nyregion/tower-plan-for-lever-house-three-way-struggle-an-appraisal.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524135913/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/10/nyregion/tower-plan-for-lever-house-three-way-struggle-an-appraisal.html}}</ref> The same month, several hundred preservationists, such as architect [[Philip Johnson]] and former U.S. first lady [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]], protested in favor of ratifying Lever House's landmark designation.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name="nyt-1983-02-23">{{Cite news |last1=Herman |first1=Robin |last2=Johnston |first2=Laurie |date=February 23, 1983 |title=New York Day by Day |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-250393.html |access-date=July 26, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726160604/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/23/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-250393.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Mayor [[Ed Koch]], a member of the Board of Estimate, published a letter to the other board members in which he asked them to support designation.<ref name="nyt-1983-02-23" /> The Board of Estimate ratified the landmark status that March.<ref name="wsj19830321" /><ref name="nyt19830319">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=March 19, 1983 |title=Board Sustains Lever Building as a Landmark |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/19/nyregion/board-sustains-lever-building-as-a-landmark.html |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709201526/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/19/nyregion/board-sustains-lever-building-as-a-landmark.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The landmark status was approved with a slim 6–5 majority,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name="nyt19830319" /> as all five of the city's [[borough president]]s voted against the designation.<ref name="nyt19830319" /> Lever House's preservation was described by ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' as "sparking heated debate only in New York City" because, nationally, there was a trend in favor of preservation at the time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morehouse |first=Ward III |date=April 10, 1983 |title=Landmark Status of the Lever House Still a Controversy |pages=156 |work=The Palm Beach Post |issn=2689-4238 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73930648/landmark-status-of-the-lever-house/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033402/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73930648/landmark-status-of-the-lever-house/}}</ref> Lever House was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 2, 1983.<ref name="nris">{{cite web |date=February 7, 1984 |title=Federal Register: 49 Fed. Reg. 4459 (Feb. 7, 1984) |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/fedreg/fr049/fr049026/fr049026.pdf |access-date=March 8, 2020 |publisher=Library of Congress |page=4653 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126190956/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/fedreg/fr049/fr049026/fr049026.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Building decay and ownership changes ====
[[File:Lever House (2).JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|alt=Lever House as seen in 2014. The main tower is to the right, while the building's three-story base occupies the foreground. Several other buildings are visible at left.|Seen in 2014]]

As a result of Lever House's relatively small floor area, the land lot had {{Convert|315000|ft2}} of unused [[Air rights|development rights]], which under New York City zoning code could be transferred to nearby buildings.<ref name="nyt19830403" /><ref name="wsj19830321" /> However, the LPC had not yet determined whether such a transfer would be applicable to Lever House.<ref name="nyt19830403" /> Accordingly, the landmark designation caused an impasse between the Fisher Brothers, Klein, and Lever Brothers. Both developers' plans were based on full control of the building and land, as well as lease negotiations with Lever Brothers, whose lease was still active for another twenty-seven years.<ref name="nyt19830403" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Randall |date=March 18, 1983 |title=Lever House Status As Landmark Seen Being Upheld Today: But the Long-Term Future Of Famed New York Tower Clouded by 3-Way Struggle |page=17 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134903343}}}}</ref>

Lever Brothers sued the Fisher Brothers in June 1983, alleging the latter was still attempting to gain ownership of Lever House so it could be demolished, thereby breaking Lever Brothers' lease.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 9, 1983 |title=The City; Lever House Sues Over Its Lease |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/09/nyregion/the-city-lever-house-sues-over-its-lease.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524135508/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/09/nyregion/the-city-lever-house-sues-over-its-lease.html}}</ref> The Fisher Brothers relented that October, agreeing to sell its fee position to Klein.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 4, 1983 |title=Lever House in New York May Avert Destruction |page=12 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134803513}}}}</ref> Sarah Korein acquired the land under Lever House from the Goelet estate in 1985, though Unilever continued to lease the building.<ref name="nyt19990127">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=January 27, 1999 |title=Commercial Real Estate; After One-Tenant History, Lever House Opens Up |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/27/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-after-one-tenant-history-lever-house-opens-up.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915054844/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/27/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-after-one-tenant-history-lever-house-opens-up.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Clarke 2017">{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Katherine |date=June 9, 2017 |title=Meet the family that's got Aby Rosen over a barrel at Lever House |url=https://therealdeal.com/2017/06/09/meet-the-family-thats-got-aby-rosen-over-a-barrel-at-lever-house/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103220546/https://therealdeal.com/2017/06/09/meet-the-family-thats-got-aby-rosen-over-a-barrel-at-lever-house/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Her daughter, Elysabeth Kleinhans, recalled that Korein referred to Lever House as her "Mona Lisa".<ref name="nyt19990127" />

Through the 1980s, the building's blue-green glass facade deteriorated due to weather and the limitations of the original fabrication and materials. Water seeped behind the vertical mullions, causing the carbon steel within and around the glazing pockets to rust and expand. This corrosion led to most of the spandrel glass panels breaking.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name="nyt19960728" /> At least some of these structural failures were attributed to the relatively new technologies used at Lever House.<ref name="nyt19960728">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian) |date=July 28, 1996 |title=Streetscapes/Lever House;Park Avenue's First Glass House to Get a Face-Lift |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/realestate/streetscapes-lever-house-park-avenue-s-first-glass-house-to-get-a-face-lift.html |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019000706/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/realestate/streetscapes-lever-house-park-avenue-s-first-glass-house-to-get-a-face-lift.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to documents filed with the city government in 1995, forty to fifty percent of the original glass had been replaced;<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1995 |title=Postings: Landmark's Curtain Wall Is Deteriorating; Aging Lever House May Get a New Skin |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/22/realestate/postings-landmark-s-curtain-wall-deteriorating-aging-lever-house-may-get-new.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526150848/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/22/realestate/postings-landmark-s-curtain-wall-deteriorating-aging-lever-house-may-get-new.html}}</ref> many of these replacements took place without SOM's knowledge and were visibly different from the original panes.<ref name="Krinsky p. 24">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=24|ps=.}}</ref> Consulting engineer Vincent Stramandinoli proposed erecting a new glass curtain wall in front of the original curtain wall, which was planned to be removed.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name=":0" /> In 1996, Unilever proposed replacing the curtain wall with an identical wall designed by [[David Childs]] of SOM.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name="nyt19960728" /> Childs said at the time that only one percent of the original glass remained.<ref name="nyt19960728" /> The LPC approved Childs's plan,<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /> but the proposal was not further acted upon in 1999.<ref name="nyt19990127" />

=== Restoration and office tenancies ===
====RFR operation====
[[File:Lever House Nov 2025 34.jpg|thumb|Ground-floor plaza with dining area, looking toward the courtyard]]
Unilever announced in September 1997 that it was moving its Lever Brothers division to [[Greenwich, Connecticut]]. Following the announcement, Lever Brothers slowly began vacating the building, leaving Unilever on only the top four floors.<ref name="nyt19990127" /> At the time, Lever Brothers had been the building's only tenant.<ref name="nyt19990127" /> Shortly before Korein's death in 1998,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=November 4, 1998 |title=Sarah Korein, 93, Whose Dainty Bearing Masked a Tough Property Investor, Is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/nyregion/sarah-korein-93-whose-dainty-bearing-masked-a-tough-property-investor-is-dead.html |access-date=December 2, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101211423/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/nyregion/sarah-korein-93-whose-dainty-bearing-masked-a-tough-property-investor-is-dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref> real estate magnates [[Aby Rosen]] and Michael Fuchs acquired the building lease, although Korein's family retained the land lease.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 155" /><ref name=":1" /> Under the agreement, Rosen's company RFR Holding was obliged to perform a comprehensive restoration of the facade. RFR negotiated a lease-back deal allowing Unilever to remain on the top four floors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Grant |first=Peter |date=October 27, 1998 |title=Lever House sold |pages=129 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73980911/lever-house-sold/ |access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref> The Korein family remained the owner of the land.<ref>{{cite web |last=Geiger |first=Daniel |date=December 31, 2016 |title=Ground wars: Surging property values are upending commercial landlords' ground leases |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170101/REAL_ESTATE/161229915/ground-wars-surging-property-values-are-upending-commercial-landlords-ground-leases |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414231300/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20170101/REAL_ESTATE/161229915/ground-wars-surging-property-values-are-upending-commercial-landlords-ground-leases |url-status=live}}</ref> RFR hired graphic designer [[Michael Bierut]] to expand the building's typeface, which previously had only included the seven unique letters in the name "Lever House".<ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 155-156">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=155–156}}</ref><ref name="nyt19991229">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=December 29, 1999 |title=Commercial Real Estate; Designing a Restoration, and Words to Describe It |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/29/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-designing-a-restoration-and-words-to-describe-it.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919021016/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/29/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-designing-a-restoration-and-words-to-describe-it.html |archive-date=September 19, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1999, RFR Holding announced that it planned to spend $25 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|25|1999}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}) on capital improvements, including a restoration of the building's curtain wall and public spaces, designed by SOM.<ref name="nyt19991229" /> Work began in 2000, at which point curtain wall specialist Gordon H. Smith estimated that the building only retained about a half-dozen of its original spandrel panels.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 156">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|p=156}}</ref> The deteriorated steel subframe and rusted mullions and caps were replaced.<ref name="Skidmore 2009 p." /><ref name="nyt19991229" /> New panes of {{Convert|1/4|in|mm|-thick|adj=mid}} vision glass were installed, which were nearly identical to the originals but met modern energy codes. The curtain wall was also moved {{Convert|1/4|in}} outward on all sides.<ref name="Skidmore 2009 p." /> The curtain wall's design caused condensation to accumulate in the cracks of the curtain wall over the years.<ref name="Davidson 2023 x395" /> The renovation also included the addition of marble benches, as well as a sculpture garden with works by [[Isamu Noguchi]], to the building's plaza.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 156" /> [[Ken Smith Landscape Architect]] had proposed revising one of Noguchi's two unbuilt designs for a sculpture garden, but the Noguchi Foundation had rejected the proposals, leading Smith to redesign the garden using eight of Noguchi's sculptures.<ref name="Stern (2006) p. 156" /> These elements had been part of the original plans for the building and were never realized.<ref name="Perl 2009 p. ">{{cite book |last=Perl |first=Jed |title=New Art City: Manhattan at Mid-Century |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |series=Vintage |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-307-53888-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93XShyZT2FYC |page=408 |access-date=September 20, 2023 |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003125713/https://books.google.com/books?id=93XShyZT2FYC |url-status=live}}</ref>

The renovation was completed by 2001.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel |last1=Diamonstein-Spielvogel |first1=Barbaralee |year=2011 |title=The Landmarks of New York |publisher=[[State University of New York|State University of New York Press]] |isbn=978-1-4384-3769-9 |page=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lever House Curtain Wall Replacement |url=http://www.som.com/content.cfm/lever_house_curtain_wall_replacement |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725014813/http://www.som.com/content.cfm/lever_house_curtain_wall_replacement |archive-date=July 25, 2009 |access-date=March 21, 2021 |publisher=Skidmore, Owings & Merrill}}</ref> Following the renovation, Lever House became a standard office building with multiple tenants. Metal processor [[Alcoa]] (later [[Arconic]]) signed a lease in 1999 for five stories in the building.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 26, 1999 |title=Metro Business; Alcoa Will Renew New York Presence |agency=Bloomberg News |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/26/nyregion/metro-business-alcoa-will-renew-new-york-presence.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915000321/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/26/nyregion/metro-business-alcoa-will-renew-new-york-presence.html}}</ref> Other tenants included American General Financial Group, Cosmetics International, and investment bank [[Thomas Weisel Partners]].<ref name="nyt19991229" /> In 2003, Lever House Restaurant became the first restaurant to open at Lever House.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Paumgarten |first=Nick |title=Lever House Restaurant |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/09/29/lever-house-restaurant |access-date=March 20, 2021 |magazine=The New Yorker |issn=2163-3827 |language=en-us |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029091534/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/09/29/lever-house-restaurant |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=William L. |date=August 17, 2003 |title=Tonight's Special: Lever House |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/style/tonight-s-special-lever-house.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306050642/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/style/tonight-s-special-lever-house.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The windowless restaurant space, which was designed by [[Marc Newson]], covered {{convert|6500|ft2}} and was hidden behind the public plaza's western wall.<ref name="nyt-2003-07-11" /><ref name="Stern (2006) pp. 156-157">{{harvnb|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|ps=.|pp=156–157}}</ref> The restaurant closed in early 2009<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kludt |first=Amanda |date=April 8, 2009 |title=Lever House to Shutter for At Least A Few Months |url=https://ny.eater.com/2009/4/8/6770245/lever-house-to-shutter-for-at-least-a-few-months |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Eater NY |language=en |archive-date=March 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316035950/https://ny.eater.com/2009/4/8/6770245/lever-house-to-shutter-for-at-least-a-few-months |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Sifton2010/> and was replaced by Casa Lever, which opened later that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kludt |first=Amanda |date=October 12, 2009 |title=Casa Lever Now Open |url=https://ny.eater.com/2009/10/12/6757071/casa-lever-now-open |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Eater NY |language=en |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033416/https://ny.eater.com/2009/10/12/6757071/casa-lever-now-open |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Sifton2010>{{Cite news |last=Sifton |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Sifton |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/dining/reviews/06rest.html |title=Casa Lever |date=January 5, 2010 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 20, 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127064815/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/dining/reviews/06rest.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 2010s, the administration of mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] proposed the Midtown East rezoning, which allowed the Korein estate to sell the unused development rights from Lever House for up to $75 million.<ref name="nyt20130802">{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=August 2, 2013 |title=Office Tower's Owners May Profit From Plan to Allow Sale of Landmarks' Air Rights |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/nyregion/office-towers-owners-may-profit-from-plan-to-allow-sale-of-landmarks-air-rights.html |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125024209/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/nyregion/office-towers-owners-may-profit-from-plan-to-allow-sale-of-landmarks-air-rights.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The rezoning was passed in 2016, enabling the Korein estate to sell the development rights.<ref name="Clarke 2017" /> At the same time, although RFR had an annual ground lease payment of $6 million, the company faced a steep increase to $20 million when the lease was scheduled to reset in 2023. Because of the ground lease, RFR had trouble refinancing Lever House.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grant |first=Peter |date=November 26, 2019 |title=Why Own a Property When You Can Profit From the Dirt Below? |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-own-a-property-when-you-can-profit-from-the-dirt-below-11574769606 |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121165140/https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-own-a-property-when-you-can-profit-from-the-dirt-below-11574769606 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018">{{cite web |last=Geiger |first=Daniel |date=May 8, 2018 |title=From profit to peril on Park Avenue |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180508/REAL_ESTATE/180509911/from-profit-to-peril-on-park-avenue-lever-house-faces-a-reckoning |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=December 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215053205/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180508/REAL_ESTATE/180509911/from-profit-to-peril-on-park-avenue-lever-house-faces-a-reckoning |url-status=live}}</ref> By early 2018, RFR was three years behind on its rent payments and mortgage bondholders were looking to [[Foreclosure|foreclose]] on the property, a move that could potentially cancel all of the building's office leases.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018" /> Bondholders initiated foreclosure proceedings that May.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2018" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Brenzel |first=Kathryn |date=May 8, 2018 |title=Lever House in 'limbo': Bondholders move to foreclose on troubled property |url=https://therealdeal.com/2018/05/08/lever-house-in-limbo-bondholders-move-to-foreclose-on-troubled-property/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506155656/https://therealdeal.com/2018/05/08/lever-house-in-limbo-bondholders-move-to-foreclose-on-troubled-property/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Brookfield and WatermanClark ownership====
[[File:Park Av 53 St Mar 2021 70.jpg|thumb|View of the ground-floor privately owned public space under Lever House's base|alt=View of the ground-floor privately owned public space under Lever House's base. The space includes a grid of floor tiles. The second floor of the building is held up by steel columns. Park Avenue is visible in the background.]]
A joint venture between [[Brookfield Properties]] and Waterman Interests (later WatermanClark) bought the ground lease from RFR in July 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brenzel |first=Kathryn |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Brookfield, Waterman take over ground lease at Lever House amid RFR's refi woes |url=https://therealdeal.com/2018/07/23/brookfield-waterman-take-over-ground-lease-at-lever-house-amid-rfrs-refinancing-woes/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=June 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612164637/https://therealdeal.com/2018/07/23/brookfield-waterman-take-over-ground-lease-at-lever-house-amid-rfrs-refinancing-woes/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Brookfield and Waterman purchased RFR's debt load in early 2019 for $12.8&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|12.8|2019|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}), a $68&nbsp;million decrease from the debt's original value.<ref>{{cite web |first=David |last=Jeans |date=February 20, 2019 |title=Troubled loan backing Lever House sees $68M in losses |url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/20/troubled-loan-backing-lever-house-sees-68m-in-losses/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509205130/https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/20/troubled-loan-backing-lever-house-sees-68m-in-losses/ |url-status=live}}</ref> RFR filed two lawsuits against Brookfield and Waterman during late 2019. One was related to the lack of sprinklers in the building, in which RFR was threatened with lease termination,<ref>{{cite web |last=Kromrei |first=Georgia |date=November 19, 2019 |title=RFR Sues Brookfield, Waterman over Lever House Sprinklers |url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/19/aby-rosen-makes-it-two-lever-house-lawsuits-in-two-weeks/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306054939/https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/19/aby-rosen-makes-it-two-lever-house-lawsuits-in-two-weeks/ |url-status=live}}</ref> while the other alleged that Waterman Interests had fraudulently taken over the ground lease using confidential information.<ref>{{cite web |last=Small |first=Eddie |date=November 12, 2019 |title=Aby Rosen sues Philip Waterman over Lever House |url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/12/aby-rosen-says-tod-waterman-stabbed-him-in-back-on-lever-house-deal/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301223128/https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/12/aby-rosen-says-tod-waterman-stabbed-him-in-back-on-lever-house-deal/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Miriam |date=November 13, 2019 |title=RFR Realty Sues Tod Waterman Over Disputed Lever House Ground Lease Deal |url=https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/commercial-real-estate/rfr-realty-claims-philip-waterman-used-confidential-information-to-cook-up-new-lease-deal-at-lever-house-101776 |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=Bisnow |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507231147/https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/commercial-real-estate/rfr-realty-claims-philip-waterman-used-confidential-information-to-cook-up-new-lease-deal-at-lever-house-101776 |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2020, RFR gave a majority stake in Lever House's operation to Brookfield and WatermanClark.<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Lois |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Aby Rosen Hands Over Lever House to Tod Waterman, Brookfield |url=https://therealdeal.com/2020/05/27/aby-rosen-hands-over-lever-house-to-tod-waterman-and-brookfield/ |access-date=March 21, 2021 |website=The Real Deal New York |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414205751/https://therealdeal.com/2020/05/27/aby-rosen-hands-over-lever-house-to-tod-waterman-and-brookfield/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The new owners decided to renovate Lever House, as all tenants had left during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="wsj-2022-01-25">{{Cite news |last=King |first=Kate |date=January 25, 2022 |title=Park Avenue Landlords Rush to Upgrade Famous but Aging Office Buildings |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/park-avenue-landlords-rush-to-upgrade-famous-but-aging-office-buildings-11643115604 |access-date=April 10, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410041958/https://www.wsj.com/articles/park-avenue-landlords-rush-to-upgrade-famous-but-aging-office-buildings-11643115604 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2021, SOM proposed restoring the building's historic design elements, replacing non-historic features, and adding an entrance to Casa Lever from the ground story.<ref>{{cite web |first=Edward |last=Gunts |title=Seven decades after designing Lever House, SOM is overseeing its restoration |website=The Architect's Newspaper |date=July 27, 2021 |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2021/07/seven-decades-lever-house-som-is-overseeing-its-restoration/ |access-date=September 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803202249/https://www.archpaper.com/2021/07/seven-decades-lever-house-som-is-overseeing-its-restoration |url-status=live}}</ref> A lounge for tenants and visitors would be created on the third floor, and a new HVAC system would be installed.<ref name="Peng 2022" /><ref name="wsj-2022-01-25" /> Additionally, the architects planned to replace or clean the finishings and re-landscape Lever House's plaza.<ref name="Peng 2022" /> The LPC approved the renovation plans in January 2022, and work started shortly afterward.<ref name=Hilburg2022>{{cite web |first=Jonathan |last=Hilburg |title=After winning approvals, the $100 million Lever House renovation is moving ahead |website=The Architect's Newspaper |date=January 25, 2022 |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2022/01/100-million-lever-house-redevelopment-is-moving-ahead/ |access-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-date=April 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401212717/https://www.archpaper.com/2022/01/100-million-lever-house-redevelopment-is-moving-ahead/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Baird-Remba 2022">{{cite web |last=Baird-Remba |first=Rebecca |title=Brookfield Begins $100M Lever House Renovation |website=Commercial Observer |date=January 27, 2022 |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2022/01/brookfield-begins-100m-lever-house-renovation/ |access-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202004121/https://commercialobserver.com/2022/01/brookfield-begins-100m-lever-house-renovation/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Workers replaced broken pieces of black limestone with slabs from a defunct quarry that had provided the building's original limestone, and they pumped dry air into the curtain wall to remove built-up condensation.<ref name="Davidson 2023 x395" /><ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089" /> The Lever Club amenity space was built on the third floor, and mechanical equipment on the upper stories was upgraded.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" /> The Casa Lever restaurant was also refurbished in early 2023 by the firm David Bucovy Architect,<ref name="Silva 2023 e154" /> reopening that June.<ref name="ELLE Decor 2023 g689">{{cite web |title=New York's Famed Casa Lever Restaurant Receives a Sensational Makeover |website=ELLE Decor |date=June 14, 2023 |url=https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a44041789/casa-lever-new-york/ |first=Rachel |last=Silva |access-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713201230/https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a44041789/casa-lever-new-york/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nyt-2023-06-06>{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=June 6, 2023 |title=Casa Lever, in the Lever House on Park Avenue, Gets a Refresh |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/dining/nyc-restaurant-news.html |access-date=July 13, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713201221/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/dining/nyc-restaurant-news.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Casa Lever's renovation included the new entrance and the restoration of interior architectural features.<ref name="Silva 2023 e154" /> By November 2023, SOM had finished renovating Lever House.<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" /><ref name="Baird-Remba 2023 a089" /> Following the renovation, in early 2025, real estate firm [[CBRE Group]] leased six stories.<ref>{{cite web |last=Small |first=Eddie |title=CBRE partners with Industrious for new Lever House financial headquarters |website=Crain's New York Business |date=January 3, 2025 |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/cbre-partners-industrious-new-lever-house-financial-headquarters |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 4, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hallum |first=Mark |title=CBRE and Industrious Lease 64K SF at Lever House |website=Commercial Observer |date=January 3, 2025 |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2025/01/cbre-industrious-390-park-avenue/ |access-date=January 4, 2025}}</ref>

== Impact ==

=== Reception ===

==== Contemporary ====
[[File:Lever House Courtyard.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|alt=View of offices on the second floor, as seen from the building's courtyard|View from the building's courtyard]]
In 1950, before construction began, ''Architectural Forum'' described Lever House as "infinitely more spirited and dignified than any other commercial office building" in the city.<ref name="AF p. 86" /><ref name="Murray p. 35" /> Upon its completion, the same journal wrote, "it is the shape of this building which is impressive, more even than the gleaming materials".<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1952|ps=.|p=102}}</ref> ''New York Times'' architectural critic [[Aline B. Saarinen|Aline B. Louchheim]] wrote that Lever House was "beautiful as well as functional".<ref name="nyt19520427" /><ref name="NYCL p. 9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=9}}</ref> British art historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] told ''The New York Times'' shortly afterward, "The fact that such an extraordinary building was commissioned from a firm rather than an individual genius [...] is different from" continental Europe.<ref name="nyt19530707">{{Cite news |last=Louchheim |first=Aline B. |author-link=Aline B. Saarinen |date=July 7, 1953 |title=U. S. Architecture Praised by Briton; Nikolaus Pevsner Hails Lever House Here, Notes American Progress Exceeds English |language=en-US |page=25 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/07/07/93607007.pdf |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033310/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/07/07/93607007.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 9" /> ''Architectural Record'' wrote of the plaza: "In this aspect, the entire structure is thoughtful, pleasant, and a decided advance over the average speculative building."<ref name="AR p. 132">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1952|ps=.|p=132}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 10">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> Fellow modernist architect [[Eero Saarinen]] said that Bunshaft "has created one of the finest buildings of our times".<ref name="Krinsky p. 18">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|page=18|ps=.}}</ref>

Although historian [[Carol Herselle Krinsky]] wrote that the building "received universal praise from architects, critics, and laymen" for its unusual style,<ref name="Krinsky p. 18" /> not all of the initial commentary was positive.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /> Luckman reflected in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' that financiers had nicknamed it "Luckman's folly" during its construction,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luckman |first=Charles |date=March 16, 1983 |title=How the Building of Lever House Changed Architecture – and My Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73932714/how-the-building-of-lever-house-changed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033406/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73932714/how-the-building-of-lever-house-changed/ |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |pages=33 |via=newspapers.com |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> while Louchheim found the interiors and the penthouse offices unappealing.<ref name="nyt19520427" /> The architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] called Lever House a "box on sticks" in a 1952 speech at the [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Astoria]],<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /><ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref>{{cite news |date=June 26, 1952 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Ridicules Architectural Schools as Waste |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=17 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1319928021}}}}</ref> and [[Edward P. Morgan]] said the same year that "a 10-year-old boy could have done better with a [[Meccano]] set".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Morgan |first=Edward P. |date=May 1952 |title=They Say: Edward P. Morgan |journal=Journal of the American Institute of Architects |pages=239 |volume=17}}</ref>

==== Retrospective ====
Commentary on the building was mixed.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /> A 1956 ''Architectural Record'' article deemed it the third most significant structure of the past hundred years, and in a poll of 500 architects two years later, Lever House was deemed one of the "seven wonders of American architecture".<ref name="Krinsky pp. 18–19">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|pages=18–19|ps=.}}</ref> In a 1957 article about architecture on Park Avenue, [[Ada Louise Huxtable]] wrote that "the staples of our civilization—soap, whiskey and chemicals" (in reference to Lever House, the Seagram Building, and the [[270 Park Avenue (1960–2021)|Union Carbide Building]]) were represented in the "monuments" then being developed on Park Avenue.<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |author-link=Ada Louise Huxtable |date=December 15, 1957 |title=Park Avenue School Of Architecture; Business and its new sleek and shiny temples have transformed a famous residential street. |language=en-US |page=232 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/12/15/90868805.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 21, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033309/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/12/15/90868805.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> According to British art critic [[Reyner Banham]] in 1962, Lever House "gave architectural expression to an age just as the age was being born".<ref name="NYCL p. 10" /><ref>{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=341–342}}</ref> By contrast, architectural critic [[Lewis Mumford]], writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'' in 1958, found the slab "curiously transitory and ephemeral".<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mumford |first=Lewis |date=September 13, 1958 |title=The Sky Line: The Lesson of the Master |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/09/13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127041346/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/09/13 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |magazine=The New Yorker |page=151 |volume=34 |issn=2163-3827}}</ref> [[Henry Hope Reed Jr.]], in his 1959 book ''The Golden City'', contrasted a picture of Lever House with one of the Postum Building at 250 Park Avenue, captioning Lever House only with the words "no comment".<ref name="nyt19960728" /> Art historian [[Vincent Scully]] said in 1961 that Lever House interrupted the landscape of Park Avenue without regard to the existing architecture,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 341" /><ref name="AR 1962-01">{{cite magazine |date=Jan 1962 |title=Arch. League Forums Find 'Architecture in Decline' |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-01.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624072448/https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1962-01.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |access-date=March 25, 2021 |journal=Architectural Record |pages=28 |volume=131 |issn=0003-858X |number=1}}</ref> and other detractors noted the lack of benches in the courtyard.<ref name="Krinsky pp. 24–25">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|pages=24–25|ps=.}}</ref>

At the building's 25th anniversary in 1977, architectural critic [[Paul Goldberger]] wrote that Lever House had been "a stunning act of corporate philanthropy".<ref name="nyt19770428" /> Architectural historian [[William Jordy|William H. Jordy]] thought Lever House was a paragon for buildings developed after World War II,<ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982|ps=.|p=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jordy |first=William H. |title=American buildings and their architects |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-19-504218-4 |volume=4 |page=255 |oclc=13821022 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanbuilding00will/page/255 |url-access=registration}}</ref> while Goldberger wrote in his 1979 book ''The City Observed'' that Lever House was as influential to architecture as the [[Daily News Building]] and [[330 West 42nd Street]] had been.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ceNTuAAACAAJ |title=The City Observed: New York: a Guide to the Architecture of Manhattan |publisher=Penguin |year=1982 |page=156 |access-date=March 21, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033418/https://books.google.com/books?id=ceNTuAAACAAJ |url-status=live |oclc=27477023}}</ref> ''Washington Post'' reporter Benjamin Forgey wrote in 1982 that the plaza was "dark and uninviting", though he thought the base and tower were well-proportioned and that the trees above the plaza helped beautify Park Avenue.<ref name="Forgey19822" /> In 1988, Krinsky wrote that Lever House had given "the single greatest boost to SOM's reputation".<ref name="Krinsky p. 18" /> ''[[Architectural Record]]'' magazine described Lever House in 2000 as one of the United States' "most famous [architectural] works of the mid-20th century" that were protected as local or national landmarks.<ref name="AR-2000-09">{{cite magazine |last=Longstreth |first=Richard |date=September 2000 |title=What to save? Midcentury Modernism at risk |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AR/AR-2000-09-RI.pdf |magazine=Architectural Record |pages=59–61 |volume=188 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|222157088}}}}</ref>

Following the building's early-2020s renovation, architectural critic [[Justin Davidson]] wrote that the modern structure "is a bracing illusion, a gorgeously appointed set."<ref name="Davidson 2023 x395" /> A critic for ''The Architect's Newspaper'' said in 2023: "Lever House continues to benefit not only from good bones, but steadfast stewardship."<ref name="Murphy 2023 l638" /> Conversely, Audrey Wachs wrote for ''Curbed'' in 2022 that Lever House had become less practical as an office building during the preceding years, existing mostly as a landmark.<ref name="Wachs 2022">{{cite web |last=Wachs |first=Audrey |title=The WeWork-ification of Lever House |website=Curbed |date=March 14, 2022 |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/03/lever-house-renovation-modern-office-amenities.html |access-date=July 28, 2022 |archive-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528004210/https://www.curbed.com/2022/03/lever-house-renovation-modern-office-amenities.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Architectural recognition ===
In 1952, the year of Lever House's completion, ''Office Management and Equipment'' magazine awarded the building "Office of the Year".<ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 1952 |title=Lever House Wins Award |page=2C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1313671156}}}}</ref> The [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA) gave the building an Honor Award the same year,<ref name="Emporis" /><ref>{{cite news |date=February 24, 1953 |title=Architect Chapter to Give Citation to Lever House |page=26 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1322419266}}}}</ref> the first such award ever distributed by the organization.<ref name="Krinsky p. 18" /> Lever House also received the Fifth Avenue Association's award for "best New York building" constructed between 1952 and 1953.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 16, 1954 |title=Building Award Given; Fifth Ave. Group Presents 1st Prize to Lever House |language=en-US |page=31 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1954/11/16/96507357.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=March 20, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033314/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1954/11/16/96507357.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false}}</ref> The AIA further recognized Lever House in 1980 with a [[Twenty-five Year Award]], celebrating the longevity of its design.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Paul |last=Gapp |date=March 30, 1980 |title=New York's Lever House joins a list of winners |pages=127 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73917943/new-yorks-lever-house-joins-a-list-of/ |access-date=March 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 4, 2003 |title=In Praise of the Classics: The AIA Twenty-five Year Award |url=https://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek03/tw0801/0801_25year.htm |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=AIArchitect |archive-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204032232/http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek03/tw0801/0801_25year.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Yale School of Architecture]] professor Elihu Rubin told ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 2022, "There's probably hardly a survey course in American architecture that doesn't mention Lever House."<ref name="Peng 2022" />

=== Design influence ===
According to the LPC, Lever House's design was widely seen by historians as a major advancement in the International Style.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> [[Charles Jencks]] called Lever House's curtain wall a step in "penultimate development and acceptance" of the International Style.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Jencks |first=Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/modernmovementsi00char/page/41 |url-access=registration |title=Modern Movements in Architecture |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-14-023005-5 |series=A Penguin book: Art/architecture |page=41}}</ref> Krinsky described the all-glass curtain wall as innovative for a high-rise, contrasting with the low-rise massing of the [[General Motors Technical Center]] or the partially-masonry facades of the [[Commonwealth Building (Portland, Oregon)|Commonwealth]] or UN Secretariat buildings.<ref name="Krinsky pp. 23–24">{{harvnb|Krinsky|1988|pages=23–24|ps=.}}</ref> [[Robert Furneaux Jordan]] felt the building's court "set a precedent that may lift New York to a new level among world capitals".<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Robert Furneaux |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vl-GAQAACAAJ |title=A Concise History of Western Architecture |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=1969 |isbn=978-0-500-18095-2 |series=World of art library |page=332}}</ref>  Lever House, along with SOM's later [[Inland Steel Building]] in Chicago, also helped popularize post–World War II [[modernist architecture]] in the United States.<ref name="p234948863">{{cite magazine |last=Cramer |first=Ned |date=Mar 2004 |title=The Bauhaus Effect |magazine=Interior Design |pages=178 |volume=75 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|234948863}}}}</ref>

Following Lever House's completion, several glass-wall skyscrapers such as the Seagram Building and [[28 Liberty Street]] were built in New York City.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Haskell |first=Douglas |date=November 1956 |title=The New Esplanade |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1956-11.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Architectural Forum |volume=105 |pages=162 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228091405/https://www.usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1956-11.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2020 |access-date=May 4, 2020 |number=5}}</ref> Similar structures were erected elsewhere,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hanson |first=Kitty |date=November 10, 1964 |title=Men Who Make It Possible To See Right Thru the City |pages=469 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73964286/men-who-make-it-possible-to-see-right/ |access-date=March 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=November 30, 1975 |title=In Glass Walls, a Reflected City Stands Beside the Real One: In Glass Walls, a Reflected City Emerges |page=30 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|120190548}}}}</ref> many of which were of lower quality than the original.<ref name="Krinsky p. 24" /> Commercial buildings were developed on the adjacent blocks of Park Avenue,<ref>{{cite news |date=May 12, 1957 |title=Market for Office Space Still Strong, Peters Says |page=C1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1324234644}}}}</ref> and many of the residential structures on that street were replaced with largely commercial International Style skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schlichting |first=Kurt C. |title=Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Architecture and Engineering in New York |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8018-6510-7 |pages=180–181 |author-link=Kurt C. Schlichting |url=https://archive.org/details/grandcentralterm0000schl |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian) |date=May 14, 1989 |title=Is It Time to Redevelop Park Avenue Again? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/realestate/is-it-time-to-redevelop-park-avenue-again.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420002305/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/14/realestate/is-it-time-to-redevelop-park-avenue-again.html}}</ref> One of the Seagram Building's architects, [[Philip Johnson]], cited Lever House specifically as a forebear to his structure.<ref name="nydn19830225">{{Cite news |last=La Rosa |first=Paul |date=February 25, 1983 |title=Jackie O beats the drum for Lever House |pages=199 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73694935/jackie-o-beats-the-drum-for-lever-house/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 17, 2021 |archive-date=October 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021131945/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73694935/jackie-o-beats-the-drum-for-lever-house/}}</ref> The facade of the nearby 430 Park Avenue, which was remodeled in a style resembling Lever House's facade,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Holusha|first=John|date=July 22, 2001|title=Commercial Property/430 Park Avenue; Redesigning and Upgrading a Faded Office Building|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/realestate/commercial-property-430-park-avenue-redesigning-upgrading-faded-office-building.html|access-date=June 19, 2025|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|url-access=limited}}</ref> appeared in the opening credits of the 1959 film ''[[North by Northwest]]''.<ref>{{cite web | last=Davies | first=Rachel | title=5 of the Absolute Best Midcentury-Modern Interiors Ever Onscreen—From Mad Men to North by Northwest | website=Architectural Digest | date=December 24, 2024 | url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/best-midcentury-interiors-ever-on-screen | access-date=June 20, 2025}}</ref>

Lever House's design was also copied internationally; as Nicholas Adams wrote in 2019, "Lever House had represented a clarion call for modernity, and it was widely imitated."<ref name="Adams 2019 p. 79">{{cite book |last=Adams |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VIq4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |title=Gordon Bunshaft and SOM: Building Corporate Modernism |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-300-22747-5 |page=79}}</ref> These structures included the [[Banco de Bogotá]] headquarters in [[Bogotá]] in 1960;<ref name="Adams 2019 p. 79" /> [[Ankara]]'s [[Kahramanlar Business Center|Emek Business Center]], Turkey's first curtain-walled skyscraper, in 1965;<ref name="Adams 2019 p. 79" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Emek Business Center |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/107658/emek-business-center-ankara-turkey |url-status=usurped |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Emporis |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307024210/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/107658/emek-business-center-ankara-turkey}}</ref><!-- the Minneapolis bank headquarters One Financial Plaza in 1960; Paris Orly Airport's Terminal Sud in 1961; --> the high-rise tower of [[Berlin]]'s [[Europa-Center]] in 1965;<ref name="Adams 2019 p. 79" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaof200001unse_y0y7/page/141|title=Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Architecture |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57958-433-7 |editor-last=Sennott |editor-first=Stephen |series=Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=opvy1zGI2EcC&pg=PA141 141] |access-date=March 21, 2021 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the [[Hydroproject]] headquarters in Moscow in 1968.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luBfAAAAMAAJ |title=Soviet Literature |publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House |year=1990 |page=186 |access-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411033454/https://books.google.com/books?id=luBfAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> Lever House's influence also spread to Scandinavia with [[Copenhagen]]'s [[Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen|SAS Radisson]], designed in 1960, as well as numerous consular offices in Germany, designed in the 1950s by SOM. According to Adams, the design was ultimately copied more than a dozen times around the world.<ref name="Adams 2019 p. 79" />

== See also ==
* [[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]
* [[Autotalo]], a building in Helsinki, Finland, modeled after Lever House

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |last=Dupré |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Dupré |title=Skyscrapers – A History of the World's Most Extraordinary Buildings |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-57912-787-9 |oclc=681544998 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Kayden |first=Jerold S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpeNSAfYASoC&pg=PA9 |title=Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience |author2=The Municipal Art Society of New York |publisher=Wiley |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-471-36257-9 |oclc=43657162}}
* {{cite book |last=Krinsky |first=Carol Herselle |url=https://archive.org/details/gordonbunshaftof0000krin |url-access=registration |title=Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |publisher=Architectural History Foundation |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-262-11130-0 |series=American monograph series |ref= |pages=18—25}}
* {{cite report |date=November 9, 1982 |title=Lever House |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1277.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1982}}}}
* {{cite report |date=October 2, 1983 |title=The Lever House |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83004078.pdf |publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1983}}}}
* {{cite magazine |date=June 1952 |title=Lever House complete |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1952-06.pdf |journal=Architectural Forum |volume=96 |pages=101–110 |issn=0003-8539 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1952}} |issue=6}}
* {{cite magazine |date=June 1952 |title=Lever House, New York: Glass and Steel Walls |url=https://usmodernist.org/AR/AR-1952-06.pdf |journal=Architectural Record |volume=111 |pages=131–135 |issn=0003-858X |ref={{harvid|Architectural Record|1952}}}}
* {{cite magazine |date=June 1950 |title=Miniature Skyscraper of Blue Glass and Metal Challenges Postwar Craze for Over-building City Lots |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1950-06.pdf |journal=Architectural Forum |volume=92 |issn=0003-8539 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1950}} |issue=6}}
* {{cite book |last=Murray |first=Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnXEA76XkrwC&pg=PA31 |title=Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-56898-797-2 |oclc=310959688}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stern |first1=Robert A. M. |last2=Mellins |first2=Thomas |last3=Fishman |first3=David |url=https://archive.org/details/newyork1960archi0000ster |url-access=registration |title=New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial |date=1995 |publisher=Monacelli Press |isbn=1-885254-02-4 |oclc=32159240 |ol=1130718M |page= |pages=}}<!--{{Cite New York 1960}}-->
* {{Cite book |last1=Stern |first1=Robert A. M. |url=https://archive.org/details/newyork2000archi0000ster |url-access=registration |title=New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium |date=2006 |last2=Fishman |first2=David |last3=Tilove |first3=Jacob |isbn=978-1-58093-177-9 |publisher=Monacelli Press |oclc=70267065 |ol=22741487M |page= |pages=}}<!--{{Cite New York 2000}}-->
* {{cite book |last=Stichweh |first=Dirk |title=New York Skyscrapers |publisher=Prestel |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-7913-8226-5 |oclc=923852487 |ref=none}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|https://leverhousenyc.com/}}
* [http://findingaids.cul.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-a/ldpd_6104671 Lever House architectural drawings, 1950–1953] [http://library.columbia.edu/locations/avery/da.html Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives], [[Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library|Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University]]
* [https://www.leverhouseartcollection.com/ Lever House Art Collection]
* [http://www.casalever.com/ Casa Lever]

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