text: Construction Groundbreaking ceremonies for the tower were hosted in April 1974, but work began only twelve months later. The tower's construction was supervised by Vivian Longo, who, at the building's completion in 1977, was twenty-five years old. Citicorp Center was one of the few large structures in Manhattan that were being erected in the mid-1970s. At the peak of construction, three thousand people were employed, and 565 workers were on site simultaneously. The steel framework had been completed to the eighteenth floor by the end of 1975. When the frame topped out on October 7, 1976, officials predicted Citicorp Center would be the only major structure in New York City to be completed in 1977.
  The cornerstone for the new St. Peter's Church was laid on November 1, 1976. Citibank acquired two buildings at 148 and 152 East 53rd Street, immediately south of the new tower, the next month. The company did not intend to develop the sites of these buildings, but they contained topless bars, which Citibank officials perceived would decrease the value of the tower. The bank's vice president for real estate management, Arthur E. Driscoll, had studied vacancy rates at fourteen nearby "prime office buildings" while Citicorp Center was being developed. The first tenants moved to the office building in April 1977. By that August, Citicorp Center was 96 percent rented, even though average rents were higher than in other buildings nearby.
  Early years