Midtown's Historic Metropolitan Life Sky Bridge To Be Demolished

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A historic Art Deco sky bridge that has spanned between two Midtown buildings since the 1950s is being demolished as part of a redevelopment project.

The pedestrian bridge connecting 1 and 11 Madison Ave. over East 24th Street is being taken down as part of new construction at the Metropolitan Life complex by owner SL Green, a company spokesperson confirmed.

News of the demolition was first reported Friday by Untapped New York.

SL Green, a real estate company, first announced plans in 2018 to redevelop the iconic Metropolitan Life Tower — which is connected to the shorter 1 Madison building — by building a glassy, 18-story addition atop the tower's existing podium, right across from Madison Square Park.

The spokesperson said the bridge needs to be removed because the new tower will be set back from 24th Street and therefore could not connect to the bridge.

"These plans were presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Community Board and preservationists last year," the spokesperson said.

Construction formally began this week, with a groundbreaking ceremony held Monday and attended by Mayor Bill de Blasio. According to Untapped New York, workers began removing stainless steel panels from the bridge in late October, leaving little more than a wood skeleton by this month.

The main Met Life Tower was completed in 1909, but the bridge was not constructed until the annex at 11 Madison was finished in 1950, according to a National Register of Historic Places designation. While the surrounding buildings were listed as historic places, the bridge itself was not.