475 Park Avenue South
Elevated four to six steps above the sidewalk, this ribbon of plaza wraps around the street frontages of the office building on the east side of Park Avenue South and the south side of East 32nd Street. Fixed granite planters with bushes and smaller planters with trees rim the perimeter. A metal railing installed on the street-side ledges makes sitting all but impossible. A 15-foot-high bronze sculpture with gray patina, entitled Triad (1969), by Irving Marantz, appears to depict three individuals in a cubist embrace. A book about Manhattan’s outdoor sculpture speculates that the work may be “alluding to the three Cohen brothers, the realtors who commissioned the work” and developed this office building. Another Marantz sculpture may be found two blocks north, at 3 Park Avenue. With the richness of older New York architecture all around this space, it is worth looking upward across the street at the brightly painted façades and remarkable assortment of ornamentation. A small arcade is located at the main entrance.
The property owner recently renovated the building lobby and facade to make it look more modern and clean. However, the POPS is very outdated, appears dingy, and is in poor condition.
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