YIMBY spotted signs of construction activity subtly taking shape at The Breuer Building, the iconic Brutalist-style museum structure at 945 Madison Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The property, originally built in 1966 and designed by Marcel Breuer, was given landmark status at the end of May, a move that comes before Sotheby’s plans to move into the structure in the near future. Herzog & de Meuron is the design architect and PBDW Architects is the preservation architect for the site, which is located at the corner of Madison Avenue and East 75th Street.
Recent photographs show the ground level of the outside blocked off by a set of construction gates where the front entrance is, along with concrete barriers, metal fencing, and part of a sidewalk shed along East 75th Street. All of the windows along the ground floor are covered with brown sheets of paper as interior work is underway. However, no renderings or details have emerged as to what exactly is happening behind the concrete facade.
The Breuer Building. Photo by Michael Young.
The Breuer Building. Photo by Michael Young.
The Breuer Building. Photo by Michael Young.
The Breuer Building. Photo by Michael Young.
The Breuer Building. Photo by Michael Young.
The building was once home to the Whitney Museum before it relocated to the Meatpacking District in 2014, then served as a space to hold artwork for different institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and more recently The Frick Collection when its museum campus was undergoing a renovation and expansion process.
The Breuer Building was purchased by Sothebys in 2023 for a reported $100 million, having its exterior fully preserved from undergoing any alterations due to the site’s location within the Upper East Side Historic District since 1981. This is in addition to parts of the interiors that include the main lobby, the coat check room, the gift shop, the cafe, and other public-facing areas on the ground and lower levels, as well as the main stairwell. The gallery spaces will eventually turn into new salesrooms, public exhibition spaces, and private viewing and dining spaces.
The nearest subway station from the site is the 77th Street stop along Lexington Avenue to the east, servicing the local 6 train.
945 Madison Avenue’s renovations and revamp into a commercial property is planned to be completed this November.
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In the forties I lived at 947 madison in a brown stone that was torn down for the Whitney.
Can a building covered in beautiful stone panels be Brutalist?
The new Whitney could have only hoped to be as iconic and uniquely wonderful as this Breuer masterpiece.
A building of character, unlike so much of today’s contorted glassware.
Can Sotheby’s make any changes now that it is landmarked?
It sounds like they can make changes only to a limited amount of interior spaces. What was a gallery area might become a dining space. From the outside, nothing will change, other than probably cleaning the exterior surfaces.
They also, of course, can update any building systems- electric, HVAC, fire detection, etc.
Sotheby’s is an ideal steward for the Breuer Building.
Couldn’t agree more!
I can understand those who marvel that the building has a strong character, style and outstanding quality. I agree. However, I find it also depressing, joyless and cumbersome. It reminds me of the Soviet architecture I grew up in – miles ans miles of same misery, multiplied… Everyday people deserve better.
Such a depressing eyesore. Thank the universe that it has not inspired similar structures elsewhere. Beautiful the way pug-nosed bulldogs are (so ugly they’re beautiful), but as a former resident of the area, something g to be avoided if you want to enjoy a pleasant walk.
Its going to be the new home of Sotheby’s much closer to the center of the art world than the huge place on York Avenue. And to answer another question Brutalism is defined by the geometric and jaded forms of architecture and the fact that this style is very fortress like!!
This building will be restored by Herzog and DeMeuron. The details are posted on their website