The Socony–Mobil Building, also known as 150 East 42nd Street, is a 45-story, skyscraper in the Murray Hill and East Midtown neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It occupies the block bounded by 41st Street, 42nd Street, Lexington Avenue, and Third Avenue.
The Socony–Mobil Building contains a three-story base with a primary entrance on 42nd Street, a secondary entrance on Lexington Avenue, and a basement that is visible along Third Avenue. Above the base is a 42-story tower that brings the structure to its maximum height; this is flanked to the west and east by wings that rise to the 13th story. The stories above the base are completely clad with stainless steel, comprising 7,000 panels. The structure was designed in two sections. The consultant John B. Peterkin designed the original plans to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution, while architects Harrison & Abramovitz became involved in 1952 and redesigned the structure in the International and Moderne styles.
The Socony–Mobil Building was constructed between 1954 and 1956 as a speculative development by Peter B. Ruffin, who acquired a long-term lease from the site's owners, the Goelet family. Ruffin persuaded several tenants to move into 150 East 42nd Street, including the Socony–Mobil oil company, which occupied half the building upon its completion. The Socony–Mobil Building was renamed the Mobil Building in 1966 and was sold to Hiro Real Estate Company in 1987. After a series of renovations in the 1990s, it was sold to real estate investor David Werner in 2014. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 2003.
Site
The Socony–Mobil Building is in the Murray Hill and East Midtown neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City, occupying a full city block bounded by 42nd Street to the north, Third Avenue to the east, 41st Street to the south, and Lexington Avenue to the west. It is less than a block east of Grand Central Terminal. The Chrysler Building is across 42nd Street while the Chanin Building is across Lexington Avenue. Other nearby buildings include the Grand Hyatt New York to the northwest, as well as 110 East 42nd Street and the Pershing Square Building west of the Chanin Building. The site occupies .
The site of the Socony–Mobil Building was initially owned by the Goelet family, namely Robert Goelet Sr. (1809–1879) and Peter Goelet (1800–1879), co-founders of the Chemical Bank. The Goelet brothers began acquiring land on the current Socony–Mobil Building site in 1848, close to the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street on the block's northwest corner, then leased the land. The largest lessee, furniture-design company Pottier & Stymus, built a six-story brick factory/showroom building on the site that burned down in 1888 and was rebuilt by the Goelets. The block also contained numerous hotels, a garage, and two theaters. An entrance to the New York City Subway's Grand Central–42nd Street station was built within a structure on 42nd Street after 1915. The subway entrance is owned by the New York City Transit Authority and consists of two escalators, a maintenance room, and a heating plant. It was the only preexisting structure to be preserved in the Socony–Mobil Building.
The completion of the underground Grand Central Terminal in 1913 resulted in the rapid development of the areas around Grand Central and a corresponding increase in real-estate prices. An elevated railroad line, running above 42nd Street to the Grand Central station, was closed in 1923, leading to the development of such structures as the Chanin Building and 110 East 42nd Street to the west of Lexington Avenue. However, the neighborhood east of Lexington Avenue continued to be made up of mostly low-rise buildings; these blocks were adjacent to the Second Avenue and Third Avenue elevated lines and so these areas were initially considered unattractive for major development. With the 1942 closure and demolition of the Second Avenue line, the Goelets purchased more lots at Third Avenue and 41st Street, accurately foreseeing that the Third Avenue elevated would eventually be closed and the area would be redeveloped.