The New York General Motors Building
Written by Ronald W. Cox
The New York GM Building
My first visit to New York City included a stop at the General Motors Building. To a young man who grew up on an Iowa farm, the 50 story General Motors Building was one of the seven wonders of the modern world. My job in New York was to propose a new security system for the building that would meet the requirements of a new high-rise building ordinance for fire safety. General Motors had just purchased the building and now was its owner as well as a significant tenant. I had designed and installed many security systems in GM plants around the country, but I had never considered how a high rise building might be different.
The New York GM Building is located on the South East corner of Central Park directly across the street from the Plaza Hotel, with a nice fountain in between. On the East side of the building is Madison Avenue, and on the West side runs 5th Avenue up toward the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the North side of the building runs 59th Street, the street that defines the South end of Central Park. It was also famous in the early 1970s as the home of the New York Playboy Club across 59th Street, North of the GM Building. We would always stay at the Saint Moritz Hotel on 59th Street and walk to the GM Building, next to where the horse driven carriages parked by the Plaza Hotel to provide rides into Central Park.
My first visit to the building was with one of our Delco Electronics sales people, Tony Derhake. Tony was one of those super productive people that you would jump into a taxi with and bring up to speed on the way to a meeting. Tony left Delco Electronics and worked for Cadillac Engineering leading much of Cadillac's Electrical/Electronics development. He was the Chief Engineer of Buick at the end of his GM career. Tony introduced me to the building engineers and together we got the job after having to totally rewrite the proposal to lower the cost. Tony transferred to Delco Electronics Engineering and then on to Cadillac about the time the job was won. Pete Iffert took over for Tony and I had a long relationship with Pete selling security systems after Tony left.
At first we proposed to put a remote telemetry unit on each floor of the building and monitor and control everything at the central console via high speed serial data links. The use of a small minicomputer enabled us to design in all of the special New York requirements for controlling the elevators, exhaust fans, fire warden stations, and public address amplifier/speaker systems. Due to cost considerations, the number of telemetry stations were reduced to one every three floors and the local amplifiers sets were also reduced to serve three floors at a time. I personally prepared the installation drawings for all 50 floors and the buildings' electrical contractor did a great job installing everything using special New York City approved Teflon insulated fire alarm cables.
Because of our experience in meeting the new fire protective signaling system requirements of New York City, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) asked me to be the chairman of the first NFPA High-Rise Signaling System Standards committee. I held the first meeting of this committee at the General Motors Building, but with the work load of many new systems for banks through our connection with Diebold, Inc., I resigned the position and soon moved to Michigan to work at GM's Emission Control Project Center after Delco Electronics' Digital Systems business was sold in 1978.
Favorite Memories of the New York General Motors Building
1. Sitting in the courtyard on the 5th Avenue side drinking Sangria wine on a summer afternoon.
2. My first (and only) meal as a guest in the executive dining room. It was the first time I had ever seen a waiter place menu items directly on your plate. Also the limo ride back to the airport was nice too. I once asked the building's security manager who had the best job in the New York GM Building, he said it was the limo driver. The drivers job was to fill the water pitchers when he was not with the limo.
3. The day I saw the board room on the 25th floor. It had large doors that opened to a great view of Central Park.
4. The day I saw the US Steel board room with a stainless steel board room table.
5. The day I first was on the roof of the building and saw all the lightning damaged radio antennas. Also, my first look over the edge of the top of the building. Looking down 50 stories at the street trying to make sure nothing but your eyes are over the edge.
6. Coming into the building at Christmas time and seeing all the white convertibles with red pin stripes setting in the show rooms, each with its hub caps rotated so the trademarks were correctly displayed.
7. Discovering the company telephone under the escalator in the show room to use to call the family at home.
8. Watching the Armored Trucks bring money into the National Bank of Iran that was a major tenant on the ground floor. Guns were drawn as the guards entered and exited!
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