1978Manhattan, New YorkCommercial

New York Telephone Building — 1095 Avenue of the Americas / West 42nd Street

A once-reviled telephone tower whose plaza became famous for teaching New York how to use movable chairs.

Manhattan, NY. Photographed in 2025; a current view, not a construction-period photograph.

Current view · 2025 · Photo: ajay_suresh · CC BY 4.0 · Source

01The story

Why this project matters

Project identity: Very strong
Kelly connection: Family source
Masonry scope: Probable

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: New York Telephone Co. - W. 42 Street — 1978

Transcription: New York Telephone Co. - W. 42 Street — 1978

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

Entry

KM-123

Sheet

2 of two

As written

“New York Telephone Co. - W. 42 Street — 1978”

The tower opened in 1974; New York Telephone opened a public retail shop there in 1978.

Why it matters

A near-perfect 'building changes meaning' card: a reviled telecom slab, a surprisingly successful plaza, and a later façade makeover.

Verification notes

v3.5.16: identity confidence upgraded Open → Very strong. New York Telephone's 1978 SEC filing gives 1095 Avenue of the Americas as the company address, directly matching Rita's West 42nd Street shorthand. Exact 1978 work scope remains open. | v3.6.12 photo selected and staged: KM-123_New_York_Telephone_Building_1095_Avenue_of_the_Americas_West_42nd_Stre.jpg

02What Kelly did

What Kelly did here

Kelly connection

Family source

Scope confidence

Probable

Likely: selective masonry alteration: likely CMU/block partitions and fire-rated walls, infill or enlargement of openings, patching/rebuilding of existing masonry, and localized brick/stone work rather than the building's original structural frame.

This scope is recorded as probable, not documented. It is a disciplined reading of the building and the trade practice of the period, not a contract-level record of Kelly’s work.

03Who built it