One and Two Worldwide Plaza

This four-acre complex (1985-89) consists of a 50-story office tower, a twin-towered apartment building, and a public plaza. Though criticized by some for being aesthetically "bloated," the twin elliptical passages that connect the mid-block plaza with Eighth Avenue are unusual and worth a visit. Skidmore Owings & Merrill (David Childs, partner in charge of design) planned the project and was responsible for the peach-colored office tower, which rests on a monumental granite base. Frank Williams, who was particularly active in midtown during the 1980s and 1990s, designed the more reserved residential complex that faces the side streets and Ninth Avenue. The half-acre plaza incorporates a fountain centerpiece of the Seasons by sculptor Sidney Simon. Part of the city's privately-owned public space program, known as POPS, this leafy space allowed the developer William Zeckendorf to erect considerably larger structures.