Building: 45 Tudor City Place

Prospect Tower, the large pre-war complex at 45 Tudor City Place in Murray Hill, features 403 units on 25 stories. Completed in 1927, it was one of the first three skyscrapers in the world built for residential purposes. Located in the heart of Tudor City, the building offers easy access to Turtle Bay and Kips Bay.

The area that Tudor City now occupies was once dominated by slums and surrounded by a power plant and slaughterhouses. In 1927, however, the real estate magnate Fred French began the redevelopment of the area in hopes of converting the slum into a haven within the city. French made good on his goal and today Tudor City is known as a quiet enclave filled with private gardens, flowerbeds and buildings with Gothic-style brick facades like Tudor Tower.

Prospect Tower features a large 30 by 50-foot illuminated sign reading “Tudor City,” a feature that the building’s co-op board tried to remove in 1988. The Landmarks Preservation Commission prevented the board’s attempts and declared the sign irremovable and in doing so declared Prospect Tower, along with Tudor Tower and Windsor Tower as well as the surrounding complex and gardens in Tudor City, to be a city landmark.

Building amenities at Prospect Towers include a full-time doorman, a roof deck, laundry room, bicycle room, and communal garden. From the roof deck, you can see clear views of
the city and the East River.

Prospect Tower is just a ten-minute walk from Grand Central Station, which makes public transit easy and accessible. Also within walking distance are plenty of local restaurants, the ferry across the East River, two local parks, and two historic buildings: the Ford Foundation and the UN Headquarters.