Pershing Square Building, 1940.

In 1914 the hotel which had previously occupied this large corner lot, the Grand Union Hotel, closed after it was acquired by the city. The city and its transit agency, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, had big plans for the site. They proposed a large diagonal subway station which would connect the older section of the IRT (under Park, then Fourth Avenue) and the new section (which would proceed uptown via Lexington Avenue). The building was razed and despite wartime delays the station was complete in 1920, providing a strong foundation for the construction of a large building above.

Designed by John Sloan, working with the architecture firm of York & Sawyer, the 1923 Pershing Square Building is a Lombard Romanesque- Renaissance Revival structure. The textured brickwork and multi-colored terra cotta of the facade predates its popularity in later Art Deco buildings. Interestingly, because the subway station foundations of the building were begun prior to the 1916 zoning laws, it was was designed without adherence to newly required regulations regarding setbacks (it was the last tall building without setbacks).

Given its prime location above the busy subway station and adjacent to the railroad station, the building was a very successful venture within Terminal City. Early tenants included a number of large corporations, such as the Irving Trust Company, as well as smaller offices of real estate agents, lawyers, and investors. The building was renamed the American Can Building in 1945 for one of its then largest tenants. Today called the Pershing Square Building, once again, or simply 125 Park Avenue, the Terminal City office building remains largely unchanged and was designated a landmark in 2016.