The Hotel Astor had occupied the site from 1904 to 1967. Construction of the building began in 1968 and was completed in 1972. The building was the headquarters of the W. T. Grant retail chain, which leased almost 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) of space on the building's top 14 floors, but only occupied it for four years until their 1976 liquidation.[2]