American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Tower model

Goldberg’s growing national reputation in the 1960s led to a large commission to design new corporate headquarters for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in New York. In order to plan the office spaces, the architect undertook an extensive study of ABC’s corporate organization and workflow. His plan included small office groups with spaces for support staff and meeting rooms housed in a series of undulating convex and concave concrete walls. The most striking element of Goldberg’s complex was an illuminated broadcasting tower adjacent to the office building— both functional element and advertising tool—that would have surpassed the Empire State Building in height. Although he demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the design, ABC suffered a financial setback and canceled plans to build. If realized, this high-profile commission would have situated Goldberg’s work alongside landmark modern office buildings in New York by Eero Saarinen, Gordon Bunshaft, and Philip Johnson.