Two Columbus Circle opened in 1964 as the Gallery of Modern Art. It was built by Huntington Hartford, heir to the A&P supermarket fortune, to house his own collection and serve as a bulwark in his passionate fight against abstract art. The 1964 Gallery of Modern Art was designed by Edward Durell Stone1.
1. Dunlap, David. "For 2 Columbus Circle, a Growing Fan Club," New York Times, August 18, 2005.