Negative Reception

Before construction, the element open to attack was the most salient one at the time: the building's height. Concerned citizens of the neighborhood even succeeded in taking the matter to court, citing zoning laws that would have restricted the building's height to 40 feet. The concern seems to have been very steeped in practical matters such as the "devaluation of property in the vicinity."

Those in the community who were excited by the soaring height of the new building, among them "the crew" working on the site, mentioned the "spectacular" view. It should be noted that the site was structurally unsound. Lorraine L. Hopkins wrote in July 1970 that "it took six weeks to construct the 'sophisticated footings' necessary to compensate for the weakness in the ground." That might explain the existence of such a large basement. While sources do not directly link soil conditions to the building's layout, architectural critics have noted in several instances that "the architects put the largest-and busiest-space underground; the lower level covers five times the area of the tower."

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