Random House Tower

The Random House Tower stands on a trapezoidal block at the intersection of Broadway, West fifty-fifth, and West fifty-sixth streets. While many observers see the structure as three books stacked on their sides to honor its primary publishing tenant, the architects at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill intended the design to represent three sliding crystals. This geometric form serves a functional purpose, as the jagged setbacks were engineered to maximize views of Central Park from within the upper floors.