"Jewel of Park Avenue"

The wash of bright colors along the Helmsley Building facade creates a festive profile for the building at night on Park Avenue. Built in 1929, the tower stands guard over the avenue. Last year, a new lighting scheme, designed by Al Borden of Philadelphia-based The Lighting Practice with LED lights was installed. Overall, more than 700 color-changing LED lights have been installed on the building, programmed into a computer than can coordinate a fanciful light show. 

Helmsley Building LED Lighting

The Helmsley Building north facade is lit up in red, white, blue and yellow. It is located at 230 Park Avenue, between East 45th and 46th Street.

The Helmsley Building Makeover - New Exterior LED Lighting

The Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue is now lit every night with an energy efficient, color changing, computer-controlled LED light system. The new lighting system is highly programmable. The LED lights are on the entire northern face and the crown of the building. In an effort to reinvent the building, the lighting exterior can, and will, go from tame to wild depending on the season. 

The new lighting makes the building stand out and visible from 40 blocks away. It also sends an important message that if older, historic and iconic buildings can take drastic measures to become environmentally friendly, there's no reason why every other building can't do the same. 

In 2010, after a more than $100 million renovation, 230 Park became the first pre-war office building in New York to earn Gold Leed status, an internationally recognized designation for being an environmentally friendly building.