that illuminate guestrooms inside. The 15th and 31st stories are designed in a different manner because these stories originally contained amenity areas. The facade is divided vertically into multiple bays, which alternately project from the facade or are recessed from it. On the upper stories, projecting bricks were arranged both in vertical lines and in random patterns. Harmon, seeking to emphasize the hotel's height, avoided including horizontal lines in the hotel's design where possible. The facade's design followed the principle of entasis, bulging slightly outward so as to not give the impression that the hotel was sagging, The lower stories were sloped slightly inward, further emphasizing the building's height. The original design was modified significantly in 1935. The modern-day facade, which dates to a 1977–1978 renovation, is similar to the original design but has additional doorways and windows. Base The 49th Street and Lexington Avenue elevations of the facade have double-height arcades at the base. The Lexington Avenue facade contains a loggia of five arches in the center of the facade, as well as a glass-and-metal canopy that curves outward. The arches are flanked by pedestals with lion heads, which support Corinthian columns. Above the columns are impost blocks, which contain depictions of readers and athletes carved in relief, as well as molded archivolts and gargoyles. In addition, a cornice with corbels runs horizontally above the second floor, topped by a parapet that contains reliefs of masks. The three center archways lead into the lobby and are surrounded by doorways with Renaissance-style arabesques. There are arched niches in between each of the center doorways. On the second story, each of the five center bays contains a pair of arched windows. The Lexington Avenue entrance is flanked by three-bay-wide projecting pavilions. The first story originally had rectangular window openings, though one window in each pavilion has since been replaced by a doorway. The southernmost bay of the south pavilion contains an entrance with a projecting granite doorway. At the second floor, the center bay of each pavilion contains a pair of arched windows and a balcony supported by brackets (these bays originally contained French windows). The other bays have simple rectangular windows on the second floor, above which are relief panels with scrolls and wreaths, which are inset into the facade. A cornice, with corbels shaped like masks and flowers, runs above the second story of each pavilion. Over the years,