Walk down Manhattan’s Midtown blocks today and you might get a little confused. You’re looking for a specific, aluminum-clad giant, but the numbers on the door now read 660 Fifth Avenue. It’s a rebranding that cost billions. Why? Because the old name became a bit of a curse. When people search for 666 fifth avenue photos, they aren’t just looking for architecture. They’re looking for the visual history of a building that became the most expensive single-office purchase in US history—right before the world fell apart in 2008.
It was bold. It was embossed. It was, honestly, a little weird-looking compared to the glass boxes surrounding it.
The Embossed Aluminum Aesthetic of 1957
If you look at early 666 fifth avenue photos from the late fifties, the first thing you notice is the skin. This wasn't a glass curtain wall. Carson & Lundin, the architects, wrapped the Tishman Building (its original name) in 3,000 embossed aluminum panels. It gave the tower a texture that looked like silver scales. In the 1950s, this was the height of modernism. It screamed "The Future."
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But the future is fickle. By the time the Kushner Companies bought the building in 2007 for a record-breaking $1.8 billion, that silver skin looked... dated. Kinda tired. It was a 41-story relic of the Eisenhower era holding a massive mortgage that required record-high rents to break even.
The Isamu Noguchi Ceiling
One of the most stunning things you'll find in interior 666 fifth avenue photos is the lobby. Or, at least, what the lobby used to be. Isamu Noguchi, the legendary Japanese-American artist, designed a "Landscape of the Cloud" ceiling. It featured rhythmic, undulating fins that created a sense of motion. It was high art in a corporate hallway. When Brookfield Properties eventually took over the building on a 99-year lease and began the $400 million renovation, the fate of the Noguchi lobby became a major point of contention for preservationists.
Most people don't realize that the interior of 666 Fifth wasn't just cubicles. It was a curated experience. The "Top of the Sixes" restaurant on the 41st floor was the place to be. If you find photos from that era, you’ll see New York’s elite dining with a view that, at the time, was largely unobstructed. It was iconic. Then it became a cigar bar. Then it became office space. That's Manhattan for you.
Why the Photos Matter: A Financial Cautionary Tale
You can't talk about these images without talking about the debt. Jared Kushner's purchase of the tower is now a textbook case in "buying at the top." The building had 1.5 million square feet of space. To make the $1.8 billion price tag work, the owners needed to raise rents to levels the market simply wouldn't support, especially once the Great Recession hit.
Photos of the building from 2010 to 2018 often show a structure in limbo. While the surrounding neighborhood saw the rise of "Billionaire's Row" and ultra-slick glass needles, 666 Fifth stood there with its 1950s aluminum panels, looking increasingly out of place. It was a physical manifestation of a "bad bet."
The Zaha Hadid Pipe Dream
There was a moment where the building almost looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Kushner Companies floated a plan—and even released renderings (basically high-end digital photos)—designed by the late Zaha Hadid. The plan was to strip the building to its core, add 40 stories, and turn it into a 1,400-foot hotel and residential tower. It would have been a vertical glass ribbon.
It never happened. The plan required billions in foreign investment that didn't materialize. So, the photos we have today of the "old" 666 Fifth are essentially a timestamp of a failed pivot.
The Great Rebranding: 660 Fifth Avenue
If you take 666 fifth avenue photos today, you’re actually photographing a different building. Brookfield didn't just fix the elevators. They performed an architectural lobotomy. They ripped off those 3,000 aluminum panels. They replaced them with massive, floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
- The "bones" are the same.
- The address is different (660 instead of 666).
- The look is "Global Corporate Minimalist."
It’s much more leasable now. But, honestly, it’s lost its soul. The embossed aluminum was unique. It was textured. The new glass facade looks like every other building in London, Tokyo, or Dubai. When you compare the before and after photos, you see the death of mid-century character in favor of 21st-century ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards and energy efficiency.
What to Look For in Archival Images
If you're a student of architecture or a real estate nerd, pay attention to the retail base in older shots. The building once housed a massive Brooks Brothers and a Hickey Freeman. These were the anchors of Fifth Avenue style. The way the building met the sidewalk was heavy and imposing. Modern photos show a much more "porous" base—lots of glass, lots of light, trying to invite the pedestrian in rather than intimidate them.
Realities of the "666" Stigma
Let's be real for a second. The number 666 didn't help. While New York real estate is driven by math, a little bit of superstition always creeps in. The building’s owners reportedly tried to change the address for years. Some tenants were actually uneasy about the "number of the beast" being on their business cards.
When you look at 666 fifth avenue photos from the 1950s through the 1990s, the red "666" signage was prominent. It was a landmark. By the late 2010s, that signage felt like a target. It represented debt. It represented political scrutiny. It represented a specific era of New York real estate that was crashing into a more transparent, regulated world.
The Logistics of the Facade Swap
One of the coolest technical aspects of the recent transition—documented in many construction photos—is how they swapped the skin. They didn't just slap glass over aluminum. They had to strip the tower to its steel skeleton. This is rare in Manhattan. Usually, you tear the whole thing down. But 666 Fifth had a "grandfathered" floor area ratio (FAR). If they tore it down, they couldn't build it back as large as it currently is.
So, they kept the skeleton. It’s like a person getting a total face transplant while keeping their original skull.
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Actionable Insights for Architecture Lovers and Investors
If you're tracking the history of this site or looking to use these photos for research, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Check the Library of Congress: For the best high-resolution images of the original Tishman Building, don't just rely on Google Images. The LOC has architectural surveys that show the aluminum panels in incredible detail.
- Study the Jointures: If you look closely at the "before" photos, you can see the gaps in the aluminum. These were notorious for air leaks. It’s a great lesson in why mid-century buildings are being reclad across the city.
- Contrast the Lighting: The old building was a "dark" building; it absorbed light. The new 660 Fifth is a "reflective" building. This change fundamentally alters how the street level of 52nd and 53rd Street feels at noon.
- Note the Corner Columns: In the original design, the columns were prominent. In the new Brookfield redesign, they've tried to make them "disappear" behind the glass to create that seamless look tenants pay a premium for.
The story of 666 Fifth Avenue is a story of New York's ego. It started as a shining silver monument to post-war dominance, became a symbol of debt-fueled hubris, and has now been sanitized into a sleek, quiet, glass-wrapped investment vehicle. The photos are the only evidence left of that weird, textured, aluminum dream.