Axa Equitable Center


The Axa Equitable Center is a 752-foot -tall skyscraper, located at 787 Seventh Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets in Manhattan, New York City.

Construction and tenants

The Axa Equitable Center was designed in the postmodern style by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, and completed in 1985. The building has 54 floors and, mostly designated for offices. The underlying structure is a steel frame, clad in granite, applied in a two-tone pattern, with brown running vertically and beige running horizontally. The north and south facades setback three times before reaching the topmost penthouse, which is embellished with large arched windows on its east and west sides.
The building houses the headquarters for Axa Financial, which consists of a number of subsidiaries of French-based insurance and banking company Axa, such as Axa Equitable Life Insurance and Mutual of New York. Other cornerstone tenants include BNP Paribas, Stifel, New Mountain Capital, Sidley Austin LLP, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, UBS, and Citigroup On February 9, 2016, CalPERS announced that it had purchased the building for $1.9 billion.

Amenities

The skylighted entrance atrium features a large mural by Roy Lichtenstein called Mural with Blue Brushstroke, which he completed in 1986. The Atrium at 787 Seventh Avenue is used for after-business and weekend events.
Axa Center is connected to the extensive Rockefeller Center underground concourse. Pedestrian traffic moves through this tower, across the open mall, and onto the eastern Equitable Tower.
The Axa complex includes the Axa Equitable auditorium, with 487 seats, and the Axa Equitable Production Group studio. The auditorium is a versatile meeting and event space. It is often used for events including product launches, corporate meetings, live television premiers and broadcasts, award ceremonies. It has full theater capabilities. The auditorium, along with the Axa Equitable Production Group's full production studio, services many corporate clients in the New York City area.

Helicopter crash

At 1:43 p.m. on June 10, 2019, a helicopter crashed on the building's roof. The pilot was killed, and a fire broke out on the roof, resulting in the building's evacuation.

Other AXA buildings