[1] Designed by the architect Costas Kondylis, the building is 861 feet (262 m) high and has 72 constructed floors (but lists 90 stories on elevator panels) with curtain wall facades of dark, bronze-tinted glass.

In 1997, Donald Trump and his partners, including the Daewoo Corp., a South Korean chaebol, signed a deal to purchase the site from the United Engineering Trustees for $52 million.

[6] Trump also acquired unused air rights from at least seven adjacent low-rise properties,[7] specifically two brownstones, the Church of the Holy Family and the Japan Society.

[8] Prior to construction, many neighbors, including veteran journalist Walter Cronkite, opposed the building due to its height and lack of distinguishing exterior features.

[9] East Side neighbors who opposed the project raised $400,000 in a bid to defeat it, with investment manager and philanthropist Alberto Vilar contributing $100,000.

The penthouse on the top two floors of the structure which totaled 20,000 square feet (1,858 m²) was priced at $58 million; however, after failing to sell for years, it was split into four different units.

[18] Trump sold the 45th floor in June 2001 for $4.5 million to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which made the apartments part of its Mission to the United Nations in 2008.

[citation needed] The main character of Don Delillo's 2003 novel Cosmopolis holds residence in the top three floors of a building that, while unnamed, is described as the tallest residential tower in New York and located at First Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.