New 2 Columbus Circle revealed

The redesigned Gallery of Modern Art at 2 Columbus Circle (known as the “Lollipop Building”) has been revealed. The drastic makeover of Edward Durell Stone’s 1964 design prompted an outcry from preservationists, who were angry that the building never got a hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Museum of Arts and Design is still four months from opening, but the new facade is now visible, and might lead people to call this the “He” building. A horizontal band of glass near the top of the building, where a restaurant will be, has inadvertently created an H, which connects with another pattern below that looks like an E. In its April issue, The Real Deal looked at the effort to preserve modernist buildings at 2 Columbus Circle.