American Radiator Building

Hood made the unusual decision to clad the entire steel structure in black brick, creating coherence with the dark windows.

Hood found typical skyscraper facades, with their light cladding and contrasting dark windows, as monotonous as “waffle irons.” He added golden ornaments by the sculptor René Chambellan as well as gleaming finials at the top’s setbacks.

When finished in 1924, the building was an instant success. Hood gave his client not only a functional office building for conducting business, but also a memorable corporate symbol that could be used in advertising and was, in itself, an advertisement.

A color photograph of a lower portion of the American Radiator Building. The bottom portion is made of large black stone blocks. Above this is a continuous gold horizontal band supported by brackets with small figural sculptures. The next several stories are made of black brick and accented with a repeating rectangular pattern of golden accents.