AT&T Building

building, New York City, New York, United States

Also known as: American Telephone & Telegraph Building

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June 18, 2026

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The AT&T Building, now known as 550 Madison Avenue, is a skyscraper in New York City designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. Completed in 1984, it is recognized as a landmark of postmodern architecture due to its distinctive Chippendale-style top. This design choice marked a departure from the prevailing modernist style and incorporated historical references, a hallmark of postmodernism. The building's design reflects a broader trend in postmodern architecture to reintroduce wit, historical allusion, and ornamentation, moving away from the austerity of earlier modernist structures.12

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Philip Johnson
…with the New York City AT&T Building (1984; it was later sold and renamed). Designed with a top resembling a Chippendale cabinet, the building was considered by critics to be a landmark in the history of postmodern architecture. Johnson turned explicitly to the 18th century for his design of the…
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…with the New York City AT&T Building (1984; it was later sold and renamed). Designed with a top resembling a Chippendale cabinet, the building was considered by critics to be a landmark in the history of postmodern architecture. Johnson turned explicitly to the 18th century for his design of the…
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skyscraper
…as that of Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building (1984) in New York City. See also high-rise building.
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…as that of Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building (1984) in New York City. See also high-rise building.
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