80th at Madison, 45 East 80th Street: Review and Ratings

Review of 45 East 80th Street by Carter Horsley

This clean-looking, modern, 28-story tower was completed in 1987 and was an interesting new wrinkle on the typical Manhattan "luxury" high-rise tower.

Like Citicorp Center, it has a rakish slant to its top, in this instance facing towards Central Park a block away.

One of its handsomest virtues is its limestone façade. While the truly elegant pre-war buildings were customarily clad totally in limestone, the "eye-level" approach of recent decades assumed that pedestrians were too scared to raise their eyes off the ground.

While this building may not conjure the white fantasies of the City Beautiful movement that was ushered in by the great Chicago exposition of 1893, it was a most welcome departure from recent norms as well as an sincere and quite effective attempt to be definitely modern.

Furthermore, this project, which was designed by Leibman Leibman Associates, P.C., has several double-height units facing the sidestreet, which is one of the city's nicest. Double-height "studio" (in the best sense) units are most desirable and very, very rare on the Upper East Side.

The building, which was developed by Alvin Dworman, Aaron Waxman, Shepard Forest and others, also features very large windows, excellent retail space and a sitting ledge at its base, which is very attractive, useful and rare.

Some of the units have whirlpool baths and bidets and all have intrusion alarms and TV security.

There are very few towers this close to Central Park on the Upper East Side and this very desirable condominium project is the most modern, although it should be noted that it bears a kindred relationship to another, smaller limestone tower a block and a half north on Madison Avenue.