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==Site==
The Modulightor Building is at 246 East 58th Street in the [[East Midtown]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]] in New York City, United States.<ref name="Architectural Press Limited 2004 p.">{{cite book |last=Menking |first=William |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/archive/manhattan-masterpiece |title=The Architects' Journal |date=Oct 2004 |publisher=Architectural Press Limited
[[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]], the Modulightor Building's developer, had bought the building specifically because of the presence of several design showrooms in the area,<ref name="NYCL pp. 8–9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|pp=8–9 }}</ref> which had been unofficially known as the Design District since at least the 1960s.<ref name="NYCL p. 9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=9 }}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1967 w770">{{cite web |date=August 27, 1967 |title=Showrooms Grow In Design District |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/27/archives/showrooms-grow-in-design-district-a-new-district-for-showrooms.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The block had once contained many [[row house]]s, which had been developed starting in the mid-19th century and were commonplace along 58th Street and other west-east streets.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> These row houses had included an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] brownstone at 246 East 58th Street, which was three stories high and dated to the 1850s or 1860s. This rowhouse had been divided into 15 rooms by 1941 and was converted into a commercial building by 1966, with two-story annexes both in the rear and at the front.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /> Characterized as a "strikingly new and modern building", the structure first housed the Ellsworth & Goldie gallery,<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="Gardner 1969 p.">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Arron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spowAQAAIAAJ |title=Gardner's Guide to Antiques and Art Buying in New York City |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |year=1969 |page=66}}</ref> then housed fabric retail stores until the 1980s.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" />
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The original section of the building, a mixed-use store and residential building, was constructed from 1989 to 1994 to designs by [[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]].<ref name="NYT 2018">{{Cite news |last1=Farago |first1=Jason |date=December 20, 2018 |title=Paul Rudolph at 100: The Mischief Maker in a New Light |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/arts/design/paul-rudolph-beekman-center-for-architecture-modulightor.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="6sqft">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Michelle |date=July 29, 2019 |title=Modernist Must-See: Tour the Upper East Side's Paul Rudolph-Designed Modulightor Building |url=https://www.6sqft.com/modernist-must-see-tour-the-upper-east-sides-paul-rudolph-designed-modulightor-building/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=6sqft |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123110455/https://www.6sqft.com/modernist-must-see-tour-the-upper-east-sides-paul-rudolph-designed-modulightor-building/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The Modulightor Building was one of the last buildings that Rudolph ever completed in Manhattan; unlike his other projects, it was not particularly well known.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08">{{Cite news |last=Giovannini |first=Joseph |date=July 8, 2004 |title=An Architect's Last Word |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/garden/an-architect-s-last-word.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511182031/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/garden/an-architect-s-last-word.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rudolph designed only two other residential structures in Manhattan:<ref>{{cite web |last=Tzeses |first=Jennifer |date=May 20, 2016 |title=Halston's Former $28 Million New York Townhouse Is Fashion-Forward Inside and Out |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/halston-former-new-york-townhouse |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529155259/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/halston-former-new-york-townhouse |url-status=live}}</ref> his own residence at 23 Beekman Place and the Halston townhouse at 101 East 63rd Street.<ref name="Gunts 2023 t131">{{cite web |last=Gunts |first=Edward |date=December 21, 2023 |title=Modernist structures by Paul Rudolph and Ulrich Franzen are now landmarks |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/modernist-structures-paul-rudolph-ulrich-franzen-new-york-city-newest-landmarks/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=January 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118013419/https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/modernist-structures-paul-rudolph-ulrich-franzen-new-york-city-newest-landmarks/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barbanel |first=Josh |date=November 3, 2011 |title=Jet-Setting to a Time Past |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203716204577014081891515716 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211130740/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203716204577014081891515716 |url-status=live}}</ref> Mark Squeo, who had collaborated with Rudolph in the 1990s,<ref name="Ginsburg 2023 e083">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=October 3, 2023 |title=Paul Rudolph's modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark |url=https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modernist-modulightor-building-may-become-nyc-landmark/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=6sqft}}</ref> designed the upper stories, which were built in the 2010s.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Gunts 2023 t131" />
Rudolph experimented with various features in the design of the Modulightor Building, using details popularized by such architects as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]], or [[Le Corbusier]].<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=12 }}</ref> Even though Rudolph had completed the building not long before he died, he used it to test out various theories regarding the use and configuration of space.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" /> Rudolph's colleague Ernst Wagner, a Swiss man who had been a longtime resident of the building,<ref name="Devlin 2017 p. 230" /><ref name="NYCL p. 10" /> said that the design reflected the fact that the Modulightor Building was "very much a building Paul built for himself".<ref name="p207655256">{{Cite news |last=Kipling |first=Kay |year=2005 |title=Portrait of an architect |work=Sarasota Magazine |page=152 |volume=27 |issue=3 |id={{
=== Exterior ===
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==== Third- and fourth-floor duplex ====
[[File:MODULIGHTOR - Duplex Apartment.jpg|thumb|The duplex's south living room]]
The third- and fourth-floor duplex apartment spans about {{Convert|3000|ft2}}.<ref name="NY2000" /> It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two balconies between the floors, two living rooms, and a kitchen divided into northern and southern sections.<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|pages=6–7 }}</ref> The duplex is decorated in a white color palette throughout, with white built-in furniture.<ref name="Cereal d504" /><ref name="p232261825">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Chad |date=January 26, 2005 |title=Everything emptying into white |work=The Village Voice |page=14 |id={{
On the third floor, the northern and southern living rooms are connected by a north–south hallway along the eastern side of the house, which leads to an elevator and the main stairway to the ground. The L-shaped north living room wraps around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=|page=28}}, diagram.</ref> The southern wall of the north living room has a door to the hallway, while the eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets. There are shelves and a sofa on the western wall (adjoining a staircase to the northern balcony), while the northern wall adjoins a terrace.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> On the western side of the house, the two sections of the kitchen are separated by a wall with a door.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> The northern half includes a refrigerator and oven, while the southern half contains a stovetop, fume hood, and sinks; both sections include shelves, cabinets, and white counters.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> The south living room is also L-shaped, wrapping around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> Within the south living room, another staircase near the kitchen ascends to the southern balcony. The eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets; the southeast corner has a window and desk; and the western side has a steel beam above two sofas.<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7" /> Along the southern wall of the south living room is an alcove, which has a double-height ceiling and a door leading to the rear garden.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=7 }}</ref>
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The four-story building was constructed for Modulightor. It has seen commercial and residential uses, and later housed a gallery on its top floors.<ref name="NYT 2018" /><ref name="6sqft" /> Originally, Donald Luckenbill oversaw the project between 1989 and 1990;<ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=11 }}</ref> Luckenbill reflected that Rudolph had conducted hundreds of studies of the building's facade.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /> Mark Squeo took over the design after 1990.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Rudolph frequently added, adjusted, or removed features during the building's construction, which led to persistent shortages.<ref name="p207655256" /><ref name="Wainwright v727" /> The Paul Rudolph Institute's president Kelvin Dickinson described the Modulightor Building as a passion project of Rudolph's, estimating that Rudolph ran out of money three times.<ref name="Barron 2025" /> Wagner later recalled Rudolph telling him, "Ernst, I remain an architect", despite Wagner's trepidation about Rudolph's persistence.<ref name="p207655256" />
The facade panels at the front and rear were being installed by mid-1992, and the beams on the facade were being painted by early 1993.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> A temporary [[certificate of occupancy]] was granted for the building's first basement, the ground-story retail space, and an office mezzanine in May 1993. In June of the following year, another certificate of occupancy was granted for both basement levels and the four above-ground stories.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name=":0" /> The temporary certificate of occupancy provided for two duplex apartments on the third and fourth floors—one each on the south and north sides of both floors.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 11" /> By that July, Rudolph had completed plans for the duplexes<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 11" /> and began leasing out these apartments.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="Rohan p. 223">{{cite book |last=Rohan |first=Timothy M. |url=https://
Rudolph hosted lectures and meetings with architects in the duplexes after the building was completed.<ref name="Tadepalli i765" /> Rudolph was diagnosed with [[mesothelioma]], or asbestos cancer, toward the end of his life<ref name="Muschamp 1997">{{Cite news |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |date=August 9, 1997 |title=Paul Rudolph Is Dead at 78; Modernist Architect of the 60's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/09/arts/paul-rudolph-is-dead-at-78-modernist-architect-of-the-60-s.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084632/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/09/arts/paul-rudolph-is-dead-at-78-modernist-architect-of-the-60-s.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and was seriously ill by 1996.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> That year, [[MTV]] founder John Lack agreed to rent both duplexes.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=14 }}</ref> Lack agreed to pay $6,000 per month, living in the southern duplex, and his daughter took over the northern duplex.<ref name="Institute o972" /> Rudolph attempted to give his home at 23 Beekman Place to the [[Library of Congress]] so the library could preserve his documents after he died, but the Library of Congress instead sold the Beekman Place apartment.<ref name="Barron 2025" /> Instead, in April 1997,<ref name="Institute o972" /> Rudolph bequeathed a partial ownership stake in the Modulightor Building to Wagner.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="Barron 2025" /> Rudolph ultimately died that August.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="Muschamp 1997" />
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=== After Rudolph's death ===
[[File:Kitchen Dining Apartment - Modulightor Building Paul Ruldolph.jpg|thumb|The third- and fourth-story duplex's kitchen]]
Wagner began seeking a buyer for Rudolph's other residence at 23 Beekman Place in 1998,<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="nyt19981203">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Patricia Leigh |date=December 3, 1998 |title=Toil and Trouble In Plexi-Land |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/03/garden/toil-and-trouble-in-plexi-land.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511165543/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/03/garden/toil-and-trouble-in-plexi-land.html |url-status=live}}</ref> though it would not be sold for two years.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Reed |first=Danielle |date=May 4, 2000 |title=Witkoff plots plans for Hell's Kitchen |pages=377 |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77462784/witkoff-plots-plans-for-hells-kitchen/ |access-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211948/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77462784/witkoff-plots-plans-for-hells-kitchen/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Lack and his daughter moved out of the Modulightor Building around 1999.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14"/> After a prolonged disagreement over Rudolph's [[will and testament]], Wagner helped establish the Paul Rudolph Foundation {{Circa|2001}}<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14"/> or 2002.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Wagner moved to the building in either 2000<ref name="nyt-2005-10-09">{{Cite news |last=Fernandez |first=Manny |date=October 9, 2005 |title=Architectural Riches, Usually Hidden, Open for Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/nyregion/architectural-riches-usually-hidden-open-for-show.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> or 2002, and Luckenbill subsequently combined the building's two apartments.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> This work involved removing a wall between the northern and southern duplex units,<ref name=":0" /> as well as adding shelves similar to those at 23 Beekman Place, which were used to store Rudolph's work.<ref name="Institute o972" /> The enlarged duplex was completed in 2003,<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /> and the structure was known as the Modulightor Building by the next year.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> The duplex began hosting events as well.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /> For example, Wagner opened his apartment to the public once a month starting in 2005,<ref name="p232261825" /> and [[Open House New York]] began hosting annual events there that year.<ref name="nyt-2005-10-09" /> The Rudolph Foundation also opened the building during the evenings starting in 2007, allowing people to view the lighting designs.<ref name="p229060699">{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=David |date=September 7, 2007 |title=Inside intrigues |work=Financial Times |page=1 |id={{
Mark Squeo designed an expansion of the building after Rudolph's death.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /><ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="Ginsburg 2024" /> He drew up plans for the fifth and sixth floors of the building starting in October 2007,<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /> using Rudolph's preliminary designs for a six-story building on the site.<ref name="Cereal d504" /><ref name="6sqft" /> Actual construction started {{Circa|2010–2011}}; the modifications largely adhered to Rudolph's drawings, with some modifications such as the removal of a triplex penthouse and the addition of balconies.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Wagner evicted the Paul Rudolph Foundation after a disagreement in 2014, and he created a competing organization, the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation (later the Institute for Modern Architecture<ref name="Institute o972" />), which was headquartered at the building.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /><ref name="Kasingsing i153">{{cite web |last=Kasingsing |first=Mel Patrick |title=Monument Man: Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture |website=Kanto – Creative Corners |date=May 4, 2021 |url=https://kanto.ph/spaces/paul-rudolph/ |access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref> Following the completion of the building's top floors in 2016, they were opened to the public.<ref name="NYCL pp. 11–12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|pages=11–12 }}</ref> The fashion house [[Bottega Veneta]] hosted a fashion show there in early 2017,<ref>{{cite web |last=Minton |first=Melissa |date=January 5, 2017 |title=Bottega Veneta's Latest Campaign Features Lauren Hutton, Joan Smalls, and an NYC Landmark |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/bottega-venettas-summer-2017-campaign |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hyland |first=Véronique |date=January 4, 2017 |title=At 73, Lauren Hutton Is the Star of Bottega Veneta's New Campaign |url=https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/lauren-hutton-bottega-veneta-summer-2017-campaign.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Cut}}</ref> and the upper stories hosted the Archtober festival that October.<ref name="NYCL pp. 11–12" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Wachs |first=Audrey |date=September 28, 2017 |title=AN will bring you a building every day for Archtober 2017 |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2017/09/archtober-2017-building-of-the-day-tours-full-list/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref> An exhibition called ''Paul Rudolph: The Personal Laboratory'' was hosted on the upper stories in 2018 to celebrate Rudolph's 100th birthday.<ref name="NYT 2018" /><ref name="Metropolis h651" /><ref name="Bernstein v596">{{cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Fred A. |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Paul
Unlike many of Rudolph's other designs, the Modulightor Building remained in good condition after Rudolph's death,<ref name="Bernstein v596" /> and Wagner continued to give private tours of the third- and fourth-story duplex.<ref name="Tadepalli i765" /><ref name="Bernstein v596" /> The LPC designated the Modulightor Building's exterior as a landmark in December 2023.<ref name="Senzamici 2023 m840">{{cite web |last=Senzamici |first=Peter |date=December 20, 2023 |title=This Sutton Place Building Is Now A Mid-Century Modern Landmark |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/sutton-place-building-now-mid-century-modern-landmark |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Upper East Side, NY Patch |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106175921/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/sutton-place-building-now-mid-century-modern-landmark |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ginsburg 2023 h465">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=December 19, 2023 |title=Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building is now an NYC landmark |url=https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-is-now-an-nyc-landmark/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=6sqft |archive-date=March 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318235959/https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-is-now-an-nyc-landmark/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Wagner gave the building to the Paul Rudolph Institute,<ref name="Institute o972" /> which at the time wanted to convert it to a study center and [[historic house museum]].<ref name="Kasingsing i153"/> The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] displayed a [[Scale model|model]] of the building in a 2024 exhibition about Rudolph's work.<ref name="Wainwright v727" /> In December 2024, the third- and fourth-floor duplex was nominated for interior landmark status.<ref>{{cite web |last=Levingston |first=Miranda |title=The Inside Of This UES Apartment Could Be NYC's Next Landmark |website=Upper East Side, NY Patch |date=December 12, 2024 |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/inside-ues-apartment-could-be-nycs-next-landmark |access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Ginsburg 2024">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |title=The duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building may be landmarked |website=6sqft |date=December 12, 2024 |url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-may-be-landmarked/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |archive-date=December 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227150145/https://www.6sqft.com/the-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-may-be-landmarked/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The duplex had not been eligible for landmark designation before then, as New York City designated landmarks were required to be at least 30 years old.<ref name="Ginsburg 2024" /> On May 6, 2025, the LPC designated the duplex as an interior landmark.<ref name="Levingston r951" /><ref name="Barron 2025">{{cite web |last=Barron |first=James |title=A Landmark Celebrates an Architect Many Have Forgotten |website=The New York Times |date=May 7, 2025 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/nyregion/landmark-paul-rudolph-architect.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |archive-date=May 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250508050105/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/nyregion/landmark-paul-rudolph-architect.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |title=City landmarks duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building |website=6sqft |date=May 6, 2025 |url=https://www.6sqft.com/city-landmarks-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |archive-date=May 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250514211632/https://www.6sqft.com/city-landmarks-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
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