W. R. Grace Building - Cultural References

Cultural References

The Grace Building was featured in the 2007 Marvel Comics motion picture Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer, pursued by the Human Torch, surfs down the south face of The Grace Building, imploding windows in his cosmic-energy wake. At street-level, he continues west down 42nd Street towards Times Square and, eventually, the Lincoln Tunnel. The Surfer's landing damages vehicles parked in front of the building, flipping one car upside-down. The end of this scene was also incorporated into an auto insurance commercial in which a mother and daughter greet their husband/father as he exits the Grace Building and begin the task of explaining why their vehicle, which was parked on 42nd St. in front of the Grace Building, is upside-down and ablaze.

The Grace Building also appears in the 2010 comedy Morning Glory, as the headquarters of the IBS Television network, where aspiring executive producer Becky Fuller snags a job.

The building's distinctive look was also copied in D.C. Comics for the headquarters of S.T.A.R. Labs, and in The Venture Bros. for 1 Impossible Plaza, home of a Fantastic-Four-ish parody team.