1071 5th Avenue @ 89th Street
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Date Constructed: 1959

The Guggenheim is one of only two buildings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in New York City. In fact, he was aesthetically opposed to most of the commercial architecture in New York, and his organic style contrasts sharply with the tense geometric masses that characterize the city’s skyline. Nonetheless, his ingenious building for the Guggenheim is a welcome addition to Fifth Avenue.

The primary structure is a spiraling cone shape whose interior houses a quarter–mile spiral ramp for exhibits; Wright intended for visitors to experience the museum by walking from the top of the ramp downward, ending in the spectacular open space of the atrium.