Inside and Atop the Spire of Art Deco Skyscraper 70 Pine in Lower Manhattan

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Recently, we had the opportunity to tour the redevelopment of 70 Pine, a landmarked Art Deco skyscraper in Lower Manhattan that is nearing completion on a three-year conversion from office to luxury rental (and extended stay hotel) by Rose Associates. Built in 1932, the 66-story building was originally the headquarters for the Citi Services Building. At 952 feet, 70 Pine is the eight tallest building in New York City. The gorgeous lobby of the 66-story building, an interior landmark, has been closed off to the public since 1976, when the building was purchased by AIG.

Leasing has already begun on an initial offering of 89 apartment units, with three model units available to visit, and we’ll be covering the exciting things coming to the 70 Pine lobby, which will be publicly accessible, apartments, and lower level retail in our next feature. For now, here is our exploration to the upper level glass observatories, which will be converted into a restaurant and lounge, and the building’s spire.

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The limestone building was built in the setback style, a requirement of the New York City zoning law before 1961, with aluminum detailing at the very top and along the numerous public and private terraces. The observatory, as of the 1939 WPA Guidebook was accessible as a public amenity, but by 1966 was no longer listed as such in an updated guide. The Museum of the City of New York has some wonderful vintage photographs of the observatory on the 66th floor, as well as the rest of the building in its heyday.

We can’t share photos of the observatory space yet, as the area is still under renovation but we did climb up the hatch you see in the above vintage photograph to get into the bowels of the spire and onto the small landing of the spire.