The Breuer Is Up For Landmarking Ahead Of Sotheby's Move-In

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Landmarks Preservation Commission has just taken the first step toward landmarking Madison Avenue's iconic Breuer Building, the inverted brutalist ziggurat that has served as the former Whitney Museum of American Art and is soon to be Sotheby's flagship auction house.

On Tuesday, the Commission voted to add a public hearing about the building to its calendar, which is the first step in the landmarking process.

The building is in the Upper East Side's historic district, making the outside of the building already protected by landmarking laws.

However, the interior of the building could be at risk of changing unless the building is also approved as an interior landmark.

Once a building's interior is landmarked, the Commission must approve any alteration, reconstruction, demolition, or new construction affecting the designated space to protect the historical significance of the architecture and design.

The building, designed by Marcel Breuer and completed in 1966 for the Whitney, features a brutalist concrete and steel exterior hovering above a glass ground floor, which sharply contrasts against the district's 19th-century townhouses.

On the inside, the building has much warmer tones, with open floor plans and light wood complimenting the iconic marquee lights surrounded by silver discs studding the ceilings.

Breuer first trained in Germany as a Bauhaus carpenter where he designed the still-popular Wassily chair in the 1920s, before coming to the United States just before World War II, according to the Commission.

Breuer later also built the landmarked Begrisch Hall in 1961 at what is now Bronx Community College, according to the Commission.

When the Whitney relocated downtown in 2014, the building temporarily housed collections from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then later the Frick Collection when the Frick was undergoing renovations.

Sotheby's bought the building last year for a reported $100 million, and plans to open to the public in 2025, the auction house said.

If the interior of the building is landmarked, the inside would be protected from major changes by the auction house, the Commission said.

Sotheby’s, which is also located on the Upper East Side – at 72nd Street and York Avenue – has said the building will “host state-of-the-art gallery spaces and exhibitions,” in addition to an auction room, as well as, presumably, offices.

The public hearing hasn't been scheduled yet. When more details on the hearing become available, they will be announced here.

The Breuer building is located at 945 Madison Ave.

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