1740 Broadway - Signage On The Facade

Signage On The Facade

Its most famous attribute was once a sign at the top of its facade which advertised for Mutual of New York, the structure's original owner. The first version spelled out the entire name, with the first letter of each of the words in it (MONY) being red neon lighting which was twice the size of the rest. It was in this form that the sign served as both the inspiration for Tommy James and the Shondells' 1968 hit single "Mony Mony" and as a motif in Midnight Cowboy. The subsequent version was the corporate logo, which was the insurance company's acronym with a dollar sign inside the "O."

The MONY sign was removed by Vornado in December 2007, and replaced with "1740" to reflect its street address. The numerals, 8+1⁄₂ feet (2.6 meters) tall and in Futura typeface, are illuminated at night by white light-emitting diodes.