Hugh Stubbins designed the tower with associate architects Emery Roth & Sons, and William LeMessurier and James Ruderman were the structural engineers. Groundbreaking was in April 1974, the frame topped out in October 1976, and the tower opened on October 12, 1977. It has 59 floors and a roof about 915 feet (279 m) high.
Four stilts, about 112 feet (34 m) high, sit at the middle of each facade, with the corners cantilevered outward. The roof slopes at 45 degrees and was rotated south for planned solar collectors. A rooftop tuned mass damper of about 400 short tons made it the city's first skyscraper with one.
In 1978 LeMessurier found that bolted chevron joints, changed from welded ones to save money, left the tower vulnerable to quartering winds. Steel plates were welded over the joints at night from August to October 1978. The problem was not publicized until 1995. St. Peter's Church stands at the base, structurally separate.
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