The Skyscraper Museum's 2023 Making New York History Award, which recognizes remarkable individuals and buildings that have shaped New York City's signature skyline, honored DAVID LEVINSON, Chairman & CEO of L&L HOLDING COMPANY, at a cocktail party on November 29, 2023. Serving as the inspiration for the award and the venue for the event was L&L Holding Company's gleaming new tower, 425 PARK AVENUE, designed by Foster + Partners and opened in 2022. The skyscraper is the first new full-block office building in the Plaza District in 50 years.
More than 150 guests gathered to honor Levinson in The Diagrid Club, a cathedral-like venue on the 26th floor defined by triple-height arches. The speeches and photographs took place in front of an art wall of mirrored orbs by avant-garde Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, titled “Narcissus Garden,” first shown at the Venice Biennale in 1966.
Salutes to David Levinson were offered by Carol Willis, founder and director of The Skyscraper Museum, James von Klemperer, president of the architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox and chair of the Museum’s board, and Meenakshi Srinivasan, past chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Willis described Levinson as “an urban alchemist whose diverse urban reinventions, 425 Park Avenue, TSX Broadway, and Terminal Warehouse, renew our city for the 21st century.”
Accepting the award, David Levinson thanked his team, noting, “To develop and build a tower as bold and ambitious as 425 Park Avenue requires the ingenuity and immense talent of countless individuals. I am honored to receive this award, which I share with the incredible team we have assembled at L&L Holding, along with all of the amazing architects, engineers, contractors and other professionals who helped turn our collective vision for 425 Park - and for TSX Broadway, Terminal Warehouse, 390 Madison and many others - into reality. I thank Carol Willis and the entire board of the Skyscraper Museum for their enduing support of great architecture and New York City.”