Graybar Building vs 21 West Street Building

Graybar Building
21 West Street Building

Comparing the Graybar Building and the 21 West Street Building is interesting because they both stand in New York, NY, and were completed within 4 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

Height
107m
Floors
30

Height & Size

Height
114m
Floors
31

The 21 West Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 374ft (114m) with 31 floors above ground, while the Graybar Building reaches 351ft (107m) with 30 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Style
Art Deco

Architectural Style

Style
Art Deco

Both the Graybar Building and the 21 West Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Sloan & Robertson and Starrett & van Vleck followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

Main use
Commercial

Uses

Main use
Residential

The Graybar Building is primarily commercial, while the 21 West Street Building is primarily residential.

Originally, the 21 West Street Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to residential. The Graybar Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

The 21 West Street Building offers 293 residential units.

Structure
Frame
Facade
Masonry

Structure & Facade

Structure
Facade

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.

Graybar Building 21 West Street Building
Sloan & Robertson Architect Starrett & van Vleck
1925 Construction Started 1929
1927 Year Completed 1931
Art Deco Architectural Style Art Deco
Commercial Current Use Residential
30 Floors Above Ground 31
107 m Height (m) 114 m
125,000 m² Usable Area (m²) 3,642 m²
Bricks Main Facade Material Bricks
NY State NY
New York City New York
420 Lexington Ave Address 21 West Street