Daily News Building
The Daily News Building at 220 East 42nd Street is one of Midtown Manhattan’s defining Art Deco skyscrapers, designed by Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells and completed in 1930. Its bold vertical stripes of white brick and dark spandrels, capped by a globe-filled lobby rotunda, made it an instant icon whose silhouette later inspired the Daily Planet headquarters in the Superman comics and films.
At a glance
- Type
- Skyscraper / Office building
- Period
- 1928–1930
- Style
- Art Deco
- Location
- 220 East 42nd Street, Midtown East, Manhattan, New York City, NY 10017, USA
- Coordinates
- 40.7497° N, 73.9731° W
- Architect(s)
- Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells
Overview
The Daily News Building rises 36 stories and 476 feet above 42nd Street, flanked by a 14-story printing plant and an 18-story annex. Its facade is one of the most photographed in New York: alternating vertical bands of white brick and dark-glazed spandrel panels shoot upward without interruption, dramatizing height in classic Hood fashion. The lobby houses a famous oversized rotating globe set into the floor beneath a domed ceiling, surrounded by meteorological instruments. The building was designated a New York City landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reflecting its singular place in the city skyline story.
History
The New York Daily News purchased the 42nd Street site in February 1928, and architects Hood and Howells filed blueprints just four months later. The newspaper occupied the building from February 1930, with the grand lobby opening to the public in July of that year. The Daily News remained the anchor tenant for decades, a working hub of American journalism throughout the mid-twentieth century. An expansion designed by Harrison and Abramovitz doubled the complex in 1960. Tribune Media sold the building in 1982, and the Daily News vacated entirely by 1995. SL Green Realty acquired it in 2003, converting upper floors to multi-tenant office use while preserving the landmark lobby intact.
Architecture & Design
Hood and Howells chose an emphatic verticality at odds with the setback massing then fashionable in New York. The tower’s white brick piers run unbroken from base to crown, separated by recessed spandrels clad in dark-glazed brick, a contrast that reads as bold stripes from a distance. The setbacks required by zoning are minimised to preserve the soaring silhouette. The ground-floor entrance on 42nd Street features large carved granite surrounds leading into the celebrated rotunda lobby. There, a 12-foot illuminated globe rotates slowly in a circular well cut into the terrazzo floor, surrounded by a ring of weather instruments. The globe and lobby were declared a separate New York City interior landmark in 1981, ensuring their preservation independent of any future redevelopment.
Cultural significance
The Daily News Building’s iconic status extends beyond architecture. Its distinctive silhouette was the explicit inspiration for the fictional Daily Planet building in the Superman franchise, cementing its place in popular culture worldwide. Raymond Hood’s design crystallised the stripped-down, pattern-driven phase of American Art Deco and influenced a generation of commercial skyscrapers. The building holds National Historic Landmark status and remains a pilgrimage site for Art Deco enthusiasts exploring New York City’s incomparable 42nd Street corridor.
Visiting today
The lobby and its globe rotunda are freely accessible during standard weekday office hours with no admission charge. The best time to visit is mid-morning on a weekday, when foot traffic is moderate and the globe is fully lit. Photography of the interior is generally permitted. The building sits among other landmark skyscrapers, making a self-guided Art Deco walking tour of 42nd Street a rewarding half-day itinerary.
Getting there
The building is directly accessible from Grand Central–42nd Street station (4, 5, 6, 7, and S trains) and Times Square–42nd Street station (A, C, E, N, Q, R, W, 1, 2, 3 trains), both a short walk away. The M42 crosstown bus stops on 42nd Street. Parking is limited and expensive in Midtown; subway travel is strongly recommended.
Sources & resources
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