and the Plaza Hotel to the north, Grand Army Plaza and the General Motors Building to the northeast, the Bergdorf Goodman Building to the east, and the Crown Building and 17 West 56th Street to the south. The surrounding stretch of 57th Street was part of an artistic hub during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The southern part of the site was occupied by the Pace Gallery, which operated there from 1963 to 1968. On the northern part of the site was a 14-story building at 4 West 58th Street, containing the Paris Theater. The Solow Building also replaced a six-story loft building on 26 West 58th Street that had housed the office of modernist architect Paul Rudolph. The rest of the site was largely composed of low-rise commercial and apartment buildings. The Solow Building, as well as the Squibb Building at 40 West 57th Street, were among the first high-rise office developments to be built on West 57th Street following the 1961 Zoning Resolution. Architecture 9 West 57th Street was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and developed by Sheldon Solow. It was built by the Diesel Construction Company. When constructed, the building was also referred to as "9 West" and "Tower 9". The building is tall, with 50 stories, although some sources cite the building as having 49 stories. Weidlinger Associates was the structural engineer and Code Consultants Inc. was the code consultant. According to Solow, the building was designed to have "magnificent views" and areas for workers to relax because "such surroundings attract and keep good workers to such a degree that corporate tenants are willing to pay premium rents to get them". The building is distinguished by curved facades on its northern and southern elevations, which taper at higher stories. 9 West 57th Street was the first major structure in New York City to be developed with a sloped facade. Form and facade The north and south facades curve inward from ground level to the 18th floor, where it rises upward to the 50th story. The building is narrower at the 18th floor than at ground level. The massing is similar to the W.R. Grace Building, completed around the same time; the initial, rejected design of the Solow Building was used for the Grace Building. The sloped design came from an early concept in which the elevators were placed outside