The attractive 23-story rental apartment building at 330 West 56th Street is one of the few large residential buildings in the city with a handsome grand entrance stairway straddling a large circular planter.

The building was erected in 1974 and was designed by Schuman Lichtenstein Claman. It has a strong horizontal accent highlighted by continuous bands of dark brown masonry. Its tower has setbacks on its east and west sides.

The four-step staircase is flanked by tall masonry planters, which have spikes, that curve around the staircase that leads to a tall arcade that runs the full width of the broad building, which is setback several feet from the building line.

The mid-block building has 275 apartments, a doorman, a garden, a concierge, a roof deck, a gym and a garage. It has discrete air-conditioners and no balconies.

The building is close to Central Park and the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.

There is excellent cross-town bus service on 57th Street and subways on Eighth Avenue at 57th Street. There is good shopping in this area, which is a few blocks south of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.