Axa Equitable Center (originally the Equitable Tower or Equitable Center West) is an office skyscraper at 787 Seventh Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1986 and designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the building measures tall with 54 stories. Equitable Center West was developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society (later renamed Equitable Holdings, part of Axa) adjacent to Equitable's existing skyscraper at 1285 Avenue of the Americas.
The facade is clad in granite, applied in a two-tone pattern of white horizontal and red vertical bands. The building has three setbacks, as well as a penthouse at the top with arched windows. Equitable acquired an extensive collection of artwork to display in the building's public spaces. There is a public galleria from 51st to 52nd Street, which forms part of 6½ Avenue, as well as an arched entrance atrium from Seventh Avenue. The complex also includes an underground concourse, several restaurants, and a corporate auditorium.
The building was proposed in the early 1980s and, after the site was acquired, Equitable's board approved the plans for the tower in 1983. When the tower opened, the company's corporate offices occupied about a third of the space, and the ground story had commercial concerns such as the Le Bernardin restaurant and a branch of the Whitney Museum. Equitable only used the tower as its headquarters until the late 1990s, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) acquired Axa Equitable Center in 2016.
Site
787 Seventh (formerly known as the AXA Equitable Building) is at 787 Seventh Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building's rectangular land lot occupies the western half of the city block bounded by Seventh Avenue to the west, 51st Street to the south, Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) to the east, and 52nd Street to the north. The sidewalk in front of the building is made of pink granite, extending eastward in front of 1285 Sixth Avenue. The sidewalks adjacent to 1285 Sixth Avenue comprise Urban Plaza North and South, designed by Scott Burton.
Architecture
Axa Equitable Center was designed in the postmodern style by Edward Larrabee Barnes for the Equitable Life Assurance Society. The building is tall