You’ve seen it. Even if you haven't stepped foot on East 42nd Street, you've seen the New York Daily News Building. It’s that towering, striped limestone giant that basically defined what a skyscraper should look like before glass boxes took over the world. Most people know it as the Daily Planet from the 1978 Superman movie. Christopher Reeve famously stumbled through that revolving door, but the real history is honestly way more interesting than a guy in blue spandex.
It was a statement. When Captain Joseph Medill Patterson decided to build a headquarters for his tabloid empire, he didn't want a boring office. He wanted a machine. He hired Raymond Hood, who at the time was basically the rockstar of architects, and together they made something that still makes people stop and stare in the middle of midtown Manhattan traffic.
The Design That Changed Everything
Raymond Hood was kind of a rebel. Before the New York Daily News Building, most skyscrapers were trying to look like European cathedrals or wedding cakes. They had all these little gargoyles and useless decorations stuck to the sides. Hood hated that. He thought it was fake. So, for the News Building, he stripped everything off.
Look at the windows. Instead of highlighting the horizontal floors, he used vertical stripes of reddish-black brick between the windows. This trick makes the building look like it’s stretching toward the sky. It’s a visual illusion that makes a 476-foot building feel like it’s a thousand feet tall. People at the time were shocked. They called it "functionalism," which is a fancy way of saying the building looks like what it does. It was a factory for news.
The lobby is where things get really weird, though. Step inside and you’re hitting the massive "Daily News Building globe." It’s technically the world's largest indoor globe, or at least it was for a long time. It sits in a pit under a black glass dome, surrounded by weather charts and clocks from all over the world. It’s dark, moody, and feels like a supervillain’s lair. Patterson wanted people to come in and feel like the Daily News had its pulse on every single corner of the planet.
Why It Isn't Just a Movie Set
Hollywood loves this place. Beyond Superman, it’s been the backdrop for countless New York stories. But the real drama happened in the printing plant that used to be attached to the back. Imagine thousands of tons of paper flying through massive presses every night. The building was designed so the paper came in on one side, got printed, and went out the other.
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The Daily News was the blue-collar paper. It was for the subway riders, not the Wall Street guys. The building reflected that. It was tough. It was efficient. It was loud. By the time the newspaper moved out in the 1990s to go to cheaper digs, the building had become a National Historic Landmark. SL Green Reality eventually took it over, and they’ve spent a fortune keeping it looking sharp.
Honestly, the fact that it’s still standing and looks almost exactly like it did in 1930 is a miracle. New York usually tears down its history to build luxury condos. But you can't tear this down. It’s protected. It’s a permanent piece of the skyline that reminds us of a time when newspapers were the most powerful things on earth.
The Globe and the "Space-Age" Lobby
If you visit today, the lobby is still open to the public. Most tourists walk right past it on their way to the United Nations, which is a huge mistake. The floor has bronze lines radiating out from the globe, showing the distances to major cities. It’s got this incredible Art Deco vibe that feels like a time capsule.
The globe itself rotates. It’s been repaired a few times—most notably a big restoration in the early 2000s—but it still feels old-school. There’s something deeply cool about standing there while the world spins in front of you. It’s a reminder that before the internet, this lobby was where people came to find out what was actually happening in London or Tokyo.
The Architectural Legacy of Raymond Hood
We have to talk about Hood for a second because without him, New York would look totally different. After he finished the New York Daily News Building, he went on to lead the team that designed Rockefeller Center. You can see the DNA of the News Building in the RCA Building (now the Comcast Building).
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The use of verticality, the "setback" style where the building gets thinner as it goes up, and the lack of clutter—that all started here. He proved that a building could be beautiful without being "pretty." It was gritty. It was New York.
- Completion Year: 1930
- Total Height: 476 feet
- Floors: 36
- Style: Art Deco / Modernist
- Famous for: The "Daily Planet" in Superman
Misconceptions About the Location
People often get confused about where the building actually is. They think it’s part of the Grand Central complex. It’s not. It’s a few blocks east, sitting on 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. Because it isn't surrounded by giant glass towers on every side, it actually gets some breathing room. You can stand across the street and actually see the whole thing, which is rare in Midtown.
Another common mistake? People think the Daily News still prints there. They don't. The printing presses are long gone, and the actual editorial offices moved out years ago. Today, it’s mostly office space for various companies, but the name "The News Building" has stuck.
How to Experience the Building Like a Local
If you want to actually see the New York Daily News Building properly, don't just take a photo of the outside and leave.
- Check the weather maps. The lobby walls are covered in glass panels that used to show real-time weather data. It’s a fascinating look at how data was visualized before smartphones.
- Look up at the entrance. There’s a massive stone relief above the main door that says "THE NEWS" and shows a bunch of people going about their daily lives. It’s meant to represent the "everyman" that the paper served.
- Visit at night. The lighting on the setbacks is subtle but gorgeous. It highlights the texture of the brick in a way that the midday sun just doesn't.
- Walk the perimeter. See how the building interacts with the sidewalk. It was built for people, not just for the skyline view from a helicopter.
The Shift in Purpose
In 2026, the building serves as a hub for various professional services. It’s funny because while the "News" is gone, the energy of the building hasn't really changed. It still feels like a place where things get done. SL Green has done a solid job of modernizing the elevators and the HVAC systems without ruining the Art Deco soul of the place.
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There’s a nuance here that often gets missed: the building was a bridge. It bridged the gap between the ornate 1920s and the stark, stripped-down 1950s. It showed that you could be modern and still have a sense of drama.
The Actionable Insight: Planning Your Visit
If you’re a fan of architecture or just a movie buff, the New York Daily News Building needs to be on your list. It's free to enter the lobby. You don't need a ticket. You don't need a tour guide. Just walk in, be respectful of the security guards (they see a lot of Superman fans), and take ten minutes to look at the globe.
To get the most out of it, pair your visit with a walk to the Chrysler Building, which is just two blocks west. You’ll see the two different faces of Art Deco: the Chrysler is all chrome and fancy ornaments, while the News Building is all power and geometry. It’s the best architectural one-two punch in the city.
Most people just breeze through Midtown on their way to Times Square. Don't be that person. Stop at 220 East 42nd Street. Look at the stripes. Watch the globe spin. Feel the weight of a century of New York history in one of the most underrated masterpieces in the world. Once you see the vertical lines of the New York Daily News Building in person, you’ll never look at a modern skyscraper the same way again. It’s a masterclass in how to build something that lasts.