There are a lot of famous buildings in NYC that are great to see if you’re traveling to the city.
If you’re on a trip to NYC, there is a lot to do, including visiting the city’s museums, theaters, and attractions. Besides that, you also shouldn’t miss out on the city’s many iconic and famous buildings! Some of them are well-known for their exterior and some are well-known for their interior. Also, some of them have been featured in many movies and TV series.
I made this list of the most famous buildings in New York City you should see!
Famous Buildings in NYC
Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building is one of the city’s most iconic buildings. You can find it at 175 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District.
The building has a unique triangular shape that looks like a clothes iron when viewed from above.
It dates back to the year 1902 and used to be the headquarters of the Fuller Company. The building has 22 floors in total and is now in use as an office.
The Flatiron Building has a Renaissance Revival architectural style and is an official New York City Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Address: 175 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010
Grand Central Terminal
The Grand Central Terminal, or the Grand Central Station, is an iconic railway station of the MTA Metro-North Railroad. It’s one of the most famous buildings in New York City that was featured in numerous movies and TV series.
It was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, and construction of the building was finished in the year 1913.
It has a beautiful exterior and interior and has a Beaux-Arts design. The facade of the building consists of granite and features several classical columns. The central hall of the train station, which has a turquoise and gold ceiling, looks beautiful too.
Address: 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017
The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Met as it is more commonly called, is one of the largest art museums in the world. You can see art from all over the world at the museum and it’s one of the best museums in New York City.
The museum is housed in an iconic building that was built in the year 1880. The building was designed by the architects Richard Morris Hunt, Calvert Vaux, and Jacob Wrey Mould, and is listed on the National Register of HIstoric Places and is an official New York City Landmark.
You can find The Met at 1000 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side.
The building has a facade that is made in the Beaux-Arts style. It features many sculptures, decorations, and stone columns. In front of the entrance of the museum, you can also see a large staircase.
The interior of the museum features classical design elements as well.
When you are at The Met, you can check out the roof garden, from where you can enjoy a view of Central Park.
Address: 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is one of New York City’s public library systems. It has 92 locations in total.
The Main Branch of the library system, which is also known as the New York Public Library, is housed in a beautiful building.
You can find the Main Branch inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
Inside, you can find several historic spaces, including the Rose Main Reading Room. This is a historic room that is located on the third floor of the building. The room has a Beaux-Arts design and is one of the largest rooms without columns in the United States. The reading room has a beautifully decorated ceiling, a red-tiled floor, and chandeliers.
This building dates back to the year 1911 and was designed by the architects Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux Arts architectural style. The exterior of the building is mainly made of marble and consists of granite too.
The facade of the building features several sculptures, of which two are a pair of stone lions. The two lions are located on both sides of the entrance of the building and are made of Tennessee marble. These lions are called “Patience” and “Fortitude”.
Address: 476 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018
The Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel is a famous building in New York City that dates to the year 1907. It’s a historic luxury hotel that you can find on Fifth Avenue, next to Central Park.
The design of the building of the hotel was inspired by the Chateau architectural style and was designed by the architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh.
The exterior of the building is made of marble and white brick.
The Plaza Hotel has 18 floors in total, and there are 282 rooms.
The hotel appears many times in both literature and movies, and the hotel hosts lots of different events throughout the year, including balls and press conferences.
One interesting aspect of the design of the building is that the floors of the hotel are numbered in a European way in which floor 1 is the first story above the ground floor.
Address: 768 5th Ave, New York, NY 10019
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange Building is the building of the New York Stock Exchange, and you can find it in the Financial District of Manhattan. It is located at 18 Broad Street.
The New York Stock Exchange Building dates back to the year 1903 and was designated a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
It has a Classic Revival style and an iconic marble facade with classical columns.
The pediment of the building features sculptures related to commerce and industry.
Seeing the New York Stock Exchange is also one of the best things to do in the Financial District.
Address: 11 Wall St, New York, NY 10005
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is one of the most famous skyscrapers in the city. You can find the building at 350 Fifth Avenue.
The building has 102 stories and is a great example of the Art Deco architectural style.
With a total height of 1454 feet, the skyscraper is one of the tallest buildings in the city and in the world.
The Empire State Building was featured in many movies and TV series, including the movie King Kong in which the giant ape Kong climbs the building.
It was built in 1931 and is an office building with an observation deck. The main observation deck can be found on the 86th floor, and from the top, you can see some of the most famous sights in the city, such as Central Park and the Statue of Liberty.
Address: 20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is a cathedral that can be found in Midtown. The building is located at 631 Fifth Avenue, next to the Rockefeller Center, which is also on this list.
The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of New York of the Catholic Church. It was built to replace the St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.
The cathedral’s construction started in 1858, and the building was finished in 1878. Construction of the cathedral was delayed because of the American Civil War. The building was designed in the Decorated Neo-Gothic architectural style and is made with marble.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral has a total length of 332 feet and a width of 174 feet. Moreover, its spires have a height of about 330 feet.
Address: 5th Ave, New York, NY 10022
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is one of the earliest skyscrapers in the city. It was completed in the year 1912 and, with a height of 792 feet, it was the tallest building in the world for about 17 years.
You can find the building in Tribeca at 233 Broadway.
It has 55 floors in total and consists of two parts. There is a lower base of about 30 floors, and there is a tower with about 30 floors.
The Woolworth Building was designed in the Neo-Gothic architectural style by the American architect Cass Gilbert.
The facade of the building’s four lowest stories is made of limestone, while the other stories of the building are clad in terracotta panels.
Address: 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the city, the tallest in the country, and one of the tallest buildings in the world. You can find it at the rebuilt World Trade Center complex.
The building’s construction started in 2006 and was opened in 2014. It has a height of 1776 feet, which refers to the year that the United States declared its independence from the British.
You can go to the top of the building and enjoy a panoramic view of New York City from the One World Observatory, which is the highest point in New York City.
Inside the building, you can also find the restaurant ONE Dine, which is a restaurant where you can have high-quality, seasonally-inspired food while you see the city from above.
Address: 285 Fulton St, New York, NY 10007
30 Rockefeller Plaza
30 Rockefeller Plaza is a famous building in NYC with 67 stories that was created during the 1930s. It is the main building of the Rockefeller Center, which you can find in Midtown Manhattan.
The building has an Art Deco architectural style and was designed by the American architect Raymond Hood.
30 Rockefeller Plaza houses the headquarters of NBC.
Several studios are located inside the building, including Studio 6B, which is the studio of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the show Late Night with Seth Meyers is also taped at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building, which is located in Midtown Manhattan at 405 Lexington Avenue, is a skyscraper that was completed in 1930.
It was the tallest building in the world for about 1 year after its construction. It still is one of the tallest buildings in New York City.
The Chrysler Building has a total height of 1046 feet and is the world’s tallest brick building with a steel framework.
It was designed in the Art Deco architectural style and was designed by the architect William Van Alen.
One of the most notable aspects of its design is the crown of the town. The Chrysler Building has a terraced crown with triangular windows.
Address: 405 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10174
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater is a theater that is located at 253 West 125th Street in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood. It is one of the best music venues in New York City.
The venue has a total capacity of about 1,500 seats.
The building was designed in the Classical Revival architectural style and was designed by the American architect George Keister.
Lots of events have taken place at the theater, including musicals, comedy shows, and live theater shows, and the venue is popular with African-American performers.
Address: 253 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027
The Guggenheim
The Guggenheim, officially the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, is an art museum where you can find works of modern and contemporary art. You can find the museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The museum is housed in an iconic building that was designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and that was completed in 1959. The building has a modern architectural style.
The building’s main gallery consists of 6 stories and has a bowl shape. Inside, there’s a helical ramp that runs along the sides of the bowl-shaped building. Many of the museum’s works can be seen on this ramp.
The building of The Guggenheim was designated a New York City Landmark in 1990 and it is also part of “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright”, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Guggenheim is also one of the best places for contemporary art in NYC.
Address: 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128
Trinity Church
Trinity Church is a historic building that’s also great to check out if you want to see famous buildings in NYC. It’s located in the Financial District of Manhattan. You can find the church at 89 Broadway, next to Wall Street.
The current Trinity Church building was completed in 1846 and was the tallest building in the United States as well as New York City for several years.
The first church that stood at the site was built in 1698 and was destroyed in 1776 during the Great Fire of New York. Works on the second church began in 1788, but the building was torn down around 1838.
The current Trinity Church was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the architect Richard Upjohn. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Address: 89 Broadway, New York, NY 10006
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of various venues that you can find on the Upper West Side.
One of the buildings that is part of the complex is the David Geffen Hall. This is a concert hall that opened in 1962 and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The building was designed by the architect Max Abramovitz.
Another building at the Lincoln Center is the Metropolitan Opera House. This is an opera house that was designed by the architect Wallace K. Harrison and it opened in 1966. It is the largest opera house in the world, with a capacity of 3,850.
The David H. Koch Theater is another building that is located at the center. It is located opposite the David Geffen Hall and opened in 1964. The venue is used for ballet and other types of dance performances.
In between the three buildings, you can find the Revson Fountain. The redesign of the fountain was finished in 2009.
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NYC Famous Buildings Tips
At some of the famous buildings in New York City, you can find an observation deck from which you can get a view of the city. To go to these observation decks, you need to buy a ticket. Buying a ticket online can sometimes give you benefits, such as a guaranteed timed entry.
Famous Buildings in New York City Map
Thanks for reading my guide to the most famous buildings in NYC. I hope you liked it!