20 stories in June 1969 and finalized the decision that November. In doing so, Avon abruptly canceled plans to relocate to Rockefeller Center, even though rent at the Solow Building was higher than that at Rockefeller Center, and even though Solow did not plan to allow Avon to formally name the building after itself. Demolition on the site had begun in early 1969 when Solow acquired the lots at 30–34 West 58th Street, creating a continuous site for his development. As a result, the proposed building was redesigned yet again. In early 1970, Solow announced that his 50-story office building would contain , a third of which was leased by Avon. By that April, Avon had increased its space to across 25 floors. A corrugated sign was erected in front of the construction site. It was designed so it read "Solow Building Company" from one angle and "9 W 57" from another. By that October, the steelwork had reached the eighth floor. During construction, a dislodged crane hurt five workers, and two electricians died after falling down an elevator shaft. The building topped out in June 1971. Anne Healy designed a pair of seven-story-tall arrowheads for the topping-out event. 20th century Though 9 West 57th Street was completed when large numbers of companies were leaving New York City, Solow was not worried about the trend. Avon's offices had opened in August 1972 on the 9th through 34th floors. Another major lessee in the building was Morgan Guaranty (later J.P. Morgan & Co.), which rented of office space in August 1973, occupying the 2nd floor and the 6th through 11th stories. The building was more than 80 percent occupied at that point. Other original tenants included the U.S. Shoe Corporation on the 40th floor; the National Shipping and Trading Corporation and the Lionel Corporation on the 41st floor; Sony Corporation of America on the 42nd and 43rd floors; and Chanel on the 44th floor. In its early years, the building attracted tenants such as Elf Aquitaine, the Commercial Bank of Australia, and Deutsche Bank. After its completion, 9 West 57th Street became one of New York City's most prestigious office buildings. By the late 1980s, the Solow Building, along with the General Motors Building and the Seagram Building, charged some of the city's highest rents. In spite of the fact that architects considered neither the General Motors Building nor the Solow