The CitÂiÂgroup CenÂter in MidÂtown ManÂhatÂtan is also known by its address, 601 LexÂingÂton Avenue, at which it’s been standÂing for 47 years, longer than the mediÂan New YorkÂer has been alive. Though still a fairÂly handÂsome buildÂing, in a sevÂenÂties-corÂpoÂrate sort of way, it now pops out only mildÂly on the skyÂline. At street levÂel, though, the buildÂing conÂtinÂues to turn heads, placed as it is on a series of stilt-lookÂing columns placed not at the corÂners, but in the midÂdle of the walls. A visÂiÂtor with no knowlÂedge of strucÂturÂal engiÂneerÂing passÂing the CitÂiÂgroup CenÂter for the first time may wonÂder why it doesÂn’t fall down — which, for a few months in 1978, was a genÂuineÂly seriÂous conÂcern.
This stoÂry, told with a speÂcial explanaÂtoÂry vividÂness in the new VerÂiÂtaÂsiÂum video above, usuÂalÂly begins with a phone call. An unidenÂtiÂfied archiÂtecÂture stuÂdent got ahold of William LeMesÂsuriÂer, the strucÂturÂal engiÂneer of the CitiÂcorp CenÂter, as it was then known, to relay conÂcerns he’d heard a proÂfesÂsor express about the still-new skyÂscrapÂer’s abilÂiÂty to withÂstand “quarÂterÂing winds,” which blow diagÂoÂnalÂly at its corÂners. LeMesÂsuriÂer took the time to walk the stuÂdent through the eleÂments of his then-groundÂbreakÂing lightÂweight design, which includÂed chevron-shaped braces that directÂed tenÂsion loads down to the columns and a 400-ton conÂcrete tuned mass damper (or “great block of cheese,” as it got to be called) meant to counÂterÂact oscilÂlaÂtion moveÂments.
LeMesÂsuriÂer was a proud proÂfesÂsionÂal, but his proÂfesÂsionÂalÂism outÂweighed his pride. When he went back to check the CitiÂcorp CenÂter’s plans, he received an unpleasÂant surÂprise: the conÂstrucÂtion comÂpaÂny had swapped out the weldÂed joints in those chevron braces for cheapÂer boltÂed ones. His office had approved the change, which made sense at the time, and had also takÂen into account only perÂpenÂdicÂuÂlar winds, not quarÂterÂing winds, as was then stanÂdard indusÂtry pracÂtice. PerÂformÂing the relÂeÂvant calÂcuÂlaÂtions himÂself, he deterÂmined that the whole towÂer could be brought down — and much in the surÂroundÂing area destroyed with it — by the kind of winds that have a one-in-sixÂteen chance of blowÂing in any givÂen year.
It didÂn’t take LeMesÂsuriÂer long to realÂize that he had no choice but to reveal what he’d disÂcovÂered to CitiÂcorp, whose leadÂerÂship coopÂerÂatÂed with the accelÂerÂatÂed, semi-clanÂdesÂtine project of shoring up their gleamÂing emblem’s strucÂturÂal joints by night. The work could hardÂly fail to draw the attenÂtion of the New York press, of course, but it received scant covÂerÂage thanks to an impecÂcaÂbly timed newsÂpaÂper strike, and on its comÂpleÂtion made the skyÂscraper perÂhaps the safest in the city. In fact, the stoÂry of the CitiÂcorp CenÂter disÂasÂter that wasÂn’t only came out pubÂlicly in a 1995 New YorkÂer piece by Joseph MorÂgenÂstern, which made LeMesÂsuriÂer a kind of hero among strucÂturÂal engiÂneers. But it was the stuÂdents who’d idenÂtiÂfied the buildÂing’s faults, not just one but two of whom came forÂward thereÂafter, who perÂsonÂiÂfied the life-savÂing powÂer of askÂing the right quesÂtions.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Why the LeanÂing TowÂer of Pisa Still Hasn’t FallÂen Over, Even After 650 Years
The StoÂry of the FlatÂiron BuildÂing, “New York’s Strangest TowÂer”
How This ChicaÂgo SkyÂscraper BareÂly TouchÂes the Ground
New York’s Lost SkyÂscraper: The Rise and Fall of the Singer TowÂer
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities and the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles. FolÂlow him on the social netÂwork forÂmerÂly known as TwitÂter at @colinmarshall.