setbacks are only visible from the west and east. The northern and southern elevations appear to be a slab when viewed head-on. Both elevations are seven bays wide on all stories. Under the 1916 zoning code, setbacks were not required on the facades that abutted other land lots. The lack of setbacks on the western and eastern elevations made the building stand out as an industrial structure, even in the low-rise Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Architectural writer Eric P. Nash likened the massing to that of an ocean liner. Facade The building was largely designed with a plain facade, except for the original ground level and the upper stories. Unlike in Art Deco structures of the past, 330 West 42nd Street relied on color as a primary means of ornament. At the time of the building's construction, Hood had predicted that the future skyline of New York City would "consist of gaily colored buildings", though this did not come true until postmodern architecture became popular later in the 20th century. Base At ground level on 42nd Street, the building contains what were originally a pair of three-bay-wide glass storefronts, which were initially used as McGraw-Hill's bookstore and a bank. These curve inward to become the walls of the central entrance doorway with five doors, recessed within the facade. The curved walls between the storefront and the recessed entrance contain gold- and silver-colored metal bands, alternating with dark-green and light-blue panels. The company newspaper McGraw-Hill News characterized the bands as "lacquered like the body of a motor car". Above the ground level is a set of light-blue panels with silver-colored metal bands. This entrance originally had Art Deco-style letters with the words . Within the doorway were steel doors topped by a glass transom. The ground level on 41st Street originally had garage doors. In 2021, some of these garage doors were proposed for replacement with glass walls. Shaft The exterior walls of the building are blue-green terracotta ceramic panels alternating with sash windows. Hood chose to use steel and terracotta rather than stone because, in his view, stone and brick tended to darken relatively quickly after a structure's completion. The terracotta was manufactured by Federal Seaboard Terra Cotta Corporation. The terracotta panels between each story are laid in six glazed courses or layers, which gradually become lighter on higher stories. These panels were designed to give the appearance they were shimmering,