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111 West 57th Street is a residential supertall in Midtown Manhattan that combines a new tower with the landmarked Steinway Hall. It is commonly called Steinway Tower, but the two names refer to the same development: 111 West 57th Street is the formal building name used by The Skyscraper Center, while Steinway Tower is the familiar shorthand.
The project is famous for its extreme height-to-width proportion, its feathered Art Deco-inspired exterior and the engineering required to control wind and seismic forces. The essential distinction is that the tower is new; historic Steinway Hall remains the preserved lower component of the project rather than a 1,428-foot-tall historic building.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsWhat exactly is 111 West 57th Street?
111 West 57th Street is a residential skyscraper on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The development joins a new tower designed by SHoP Architects to the historic Steinway Hall. Studio Sofield designed the interiors, while the project team restored and incorporated the older landmarked structure.
That combination explains why descriptions can sound contradictory. “Steinway Tower” generally means the slender new high-rise, whereas “Steinway Hall” means the historic building at its base. Together they form one development. The official project page identifies Steinway Hall as a 1925 design by Warren and Wetmore and credits SHoP with the tower design; you can review that account on the project’s design page.
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The building record classifies the completed project as residential. It is not documented here as a public observation tower, museum or hotel, so a skyline view should not be confused with guaranteed access to private interiors.
Key facts and measurements
| Measure | Figure | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural height | 1,428 ft (435.3 m) | Height listed by The Skyscraper Center for the building’s architectural top. |
| Highest occupied height | 1,134 ft (345.5 m) | A separate measurement for the highest occupied floor, not the architectural crown. |
| Above-ground floors | 84 | The Skyscraper Center’s explicitly defined building count. |
| Apartments | 60 | Residential units listed in the current building record. |
| Slenderness ratio | 1:24 | WSP’s project figure; The Skyscraper Museum gives a close 1:23 ratio using its own convention. |
| Approximate footprint | 59 by 78 ft | Figure reported by The Skyscraper Museum for the tower footprint. |
| Reported project size | 572,000 sq ft | SHoP Architects’ project figure; its scope differs from a tower-only gross-floor-area calculation. |
The height, apartment count and floor total come from The Skyscraper Center. The footprint and exhibition-era dimensions are reported by The Skyscraper Museum, while the 572,000-square-foot project size is from SHoP Architects.
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“World’s skinniest skyscraper” is a shorthand for an unusually high slenderness ratio, not a universal legal title awarded by one governing body. WSP describes 111 West 57th Street at a 1:24 ratio. In practical terms, the tower’s height is roughly twenty-four times its narrow reference dimension. The Skyscraper Museum records a very similar 1:23 figure, reflecting a different source convention rather than a meaningful change in the building.
The proportions are striking because the tower rises from a footprint reported as only 59 by 78 feet. A conventional high-rise can spread its structural mass over a much broader base; this one has far less width available to resist overturning and acceleration. That geometry makes wind movement, stiffness, occupant comfort and coordination between structure and cladding central design issues.
Site economics and zoning also shaped the result. The Skyscraper Museum explains that the tower rises from an inset in the light court of the landmarked Steinway Building and that unused air rights from nearby properties were purchased and transferred. Those air rights helped the development reach greater floor area and height without implying that the historic hall itself was extended upward.
Because slenderness can be calculated in more than one way, quote the ratio with its source. Saying simply that the tower is “the skinniest” without naming the measurement can make a close comparison sound more definitive than the evidence supports.
How tall is Steinway Tower, and how many floors does it have?
The most useful height answer is 1,428 feet (435.3 meters) architecturally. That figure should not be substituted for the building’s occupied height, which The Skyscraper Center lists separately as 1,134 feet (345.5 meters). Architectural height and occupied height answer different questions: one describes the building’s designed top, while the other identifies how high the highest occupied floor sits.
The Skyscraper Center counts 84 floors above ground. A WSP project feature states 82 floors and elsewhere refers to 77 apartment floors. Those figures may reflect different counting rules, areas or project scopes. For a general building-identification answer, use the database’s defined 84-floor count and disclose the alternate convention when discussing engineering literature. The apparent disagreement does not mean that the tower has been physically rebuilt.
When was it completed?
Completion dates vary by source and by when the source was published. The current Skyscraper Center record gives 2021. SHoP Architects and WSP describe the project as completed in 2022. The Skyscraper Museum’s “Supertall!” entry was published in 2020 while construction was still being discussed and presented an anticipated completion rather than a final retrospective date.
For a concise description, identify the project as completed in the early 2020s and attach the specific year to the source you are using. Treat 2021 and 2022 as a documented source discrepancy, not as evidence of two separate towers.
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Steinway Hall was retained as the historic component of the development and restored as part of the project. The official project page calls it a 1925 building designed by Warren and Wetmore. A WSP passage refers to it as a 1923 building. Because those project accounts conflict on the construction year, the safest unqualified wording is “historic landmarked Steinway Hall”; use 1925 only when attributing it to the official project page.
The new tower rises beside and above the hall rather than replacing it. The museum describes the tower as beginning from an inset in the old building’s light court. This arrangement allowed the development to preserve the recognizable historic volume while adding a very tall, very narrow residential structure on the adjacent site.
The official project description identifies 14 pre-war residences within Steinway Hall. Those homes are part of the development’s residential program; they should not be counted as evidence that the entire 60-unit total is located in the old building. The building record’s 60 apartments covers the project as a whole.
How the tower’s form responds to Midtown zoning
SHoP describes the profile as a response to Midtown’s zoning envelope. Setbacks are required where a building meets the sky-exposure plane. Instead of treating those steps as a purely technical constraint, the architects multiplied them into a repeated, feathered silhouette that narrows as the tower rises.
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The east and west elevations carry the most noticeable terracotta ornament. SHoP describes varying and staggered terracotta elements, while WSP emphasizes the visual depth created by terracotta and textured bronze detailing. Glazed curves catch changing light, and the setbacks produce alternating bands of brightness and shadow. The result is a façade that reads differently from different blocks rather than as a flat glass wall.
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Dana Getman, identified as a Principal on the official project page, described the design as shaped through light and shadows, including the feathered setbacks, glazed terracotta curves and textured bronze. WSP identifies Getman as an associate principal in its own account; those are source-specific role labels and should not be merged into one generalized title.
The reported 572,000-square-foot figure from SHoP covers the project scope used by the architect. It should not be compared directly with a narrower tower-only gross-floor-area figure without checking what each measurement includes.
How can such a slender building stand in wind?
At this proportion, the main structural problem is not simply carrying gravity loads. Wind and seismic forces push the tower sideways, create overturning forces and can produce perceptible acceleration. WSP identifies two major measures: stiff shear walls running along the east and west elevations and a tuned mass damper concealed near the top.
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Shear walls provide the primary stiffness
The east and west shear walls resist lateral wind and seismic actions. Their placement also allows the north and south sides to remain comparatively clear for views, according to WSP. This is a structural and architectural compromise: the walls need substantial stiffness, but their location is coordinated with the apartments and the façade rather than hidden in an arbitrary core.
A tuned mass damper manages motion
A tuned mass damper is installed at the top and concealed by lightweight steel structure. The device is tuned to the tower’s movement so that its mass responds in a way that reduces motion. It works with the shear walls and the rest of the structural system; it is not a stand-alone mechanism that makes the tower perfectly still.
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Movement is designed, not denied
WSP project manager Cynthia Liu explains the principle directly: “The structure itself is able to flex, but other elements would not be as flexible unless we coordinated their design and engineering.” The statement matters because a safe tall building is allowed to move within designed limits. Cladding, partitions, mechanical systems and finishes must accommodate that movement rather than assume an immovable frame.
WSP also quotes SHoP associate principal Dana Getman noting that pre-air-conditioning buildings were often thinner to bring occupants closer to light and air. At 111 West 57th Street, that historical observation becomes part of a modern engineering challenge: maximize daylight and views while controlling the effects of an exceptionally slender form.
What the exterior tells you from street level
From outside, three clues identify the project. First is the unusually narrow tower rising immediately beside the historic Steinway Hall. Second is the feathered sequence of setbacks, which gives the silhouette a finely tapered edge rather than one blunt step. Third is the combination of glazed terracotta and bronze details, especially along the east and west elevations.
The façade’s ornament is not merely applied decoration. Its staggered terracotta pieces, bronze textures and curved surfaces are coordinated with the zoning-driven profile and the structural lines. That is why the tower can look almost lace-like at a distance while still reading as a disciplined vertical frame up close.
How to interpret conflicting descriptions
| Question | Documented variation | Best practice |
|---|---|---|
| How tall is it? | Architectural height is 1,428 ft (435.3 m); occupied height is 1,134 ft (345.5 m). | Specify which height definition you mean. |
| How many floors? | The Skyscraper Center and the museum use 84; WSP cites 82 and also discusses 77 apartment floors. | Use the explicitly defined above-ground count and note alternate conventions. |
| When was it completed? | The Skyscraper Center records 2021; SHoP and WSP say 2022; the museum’s 2020 page was written before final completion. | Attach the year to the named source. |
| When was Steinway Hall built? | The official project page says 1925; WSP uses 1923 in one passage. | Say “historic landmarked Steinway Hall” unless attributing a year. |
| How skinny is it? | WSP gives 1:24; The Skyscraper Museum gives 1:23. | Report the ratio with its publisher rather than presenting one figure as universal. |
What is established—and what is not
The documented facts support a clear architectural and engineering explanation: 111 West 57th Street is a 60-apartment residential development combining a landmarked hall and a new supertall tower; its architectural height is distinct from its occupied height; and its slender form relies on coordinated lateral systems, façade engineering and a tuned mass damper.
Current apartment prices, sales status, availability, visitor schedules and access to residential interiors are not established by the cited building, architect, engineer or museum pages. A reader planning a visit can reliably treat the exterior and surrounding streetscape as the publicly observable experience, but should verify any claim of interior access or organized tours with a current official source before relying on it.
Why the building matters
111 West 57th Street matters because it makes several normally separate architectural problems visible at once. Preservation is present in the retained Steinway Hall. Zoning is legible in the repeated setbacks. Material design is legible in the terracotta and bronze. And structural engineering is not an invisible afterthought: the tower’s slenderness determines where its shear walls go, how its damper is concealed and how every flexible finish is coordinated.
Calling it the world’s skinniest skyscraper captures that visual impression, but the more precise explanation is stronger. The tower’s documented 1:24 or 1:23 slenderness ratio, narrow footprint, transferred air rights and carefully engineered lateral system explain both why it looks so unusual and why it required such specialized design.
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