What was the first glass facades building to be built?
THE CORNING GLASS BUILDING Also known as the Steuben Glass building, after a Corning subsidiary, was built in 1956-1959 for the Corning Glass Co. as the first glass-walled skyscraper on Fifth Avenue. The building replaced the Modernist, four-storey Fiberglas House (1948, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), but it incorporated a new showroom for Fiberglas on the ground floor. The facade followed the style of the Lever Building with its green glass and aluminium curtain wall. The overall massing of the building, however, differed from its peer: the 26-storey tower is set back from 56th Street, forming a small plaza bordered by a seven-storey entrance wing. Moreover, behind the tower rises a 12-storey through-block wing. The plaza followed the lead of the new Seagram and Time-Life Buildings, albeit naturally in smaller scale, by featuring a water pool as well as seating. The entrance lobby extends through the block in the wing at the back of the plot. The 5 m high space has a decor of black Carr
