One year after New York magazine moved from the building, their iconic lighted sign on top of 444 Madison is coming down, replaced with a new Burberry sign. The city long ago banned illuminated billboards on skyscrapers, but luckily the building is protected under a grandfather clause. Currently, Burberry's U.S. headquarters resides in a less-than-perfect site on Avenues of the Americas. Burberry will sign a 13-year lease for nearly 69,000 square feet of three open floor plans and levels connected by stairs. And while not definitely confirmed, the company is thinking about opening a showcase store on the ground floor.

"You'd prefer to have a name up there that people are going to recognize," a rep for 444 Madison said. "Down the road a bit, probably we'll find some people saying, 'Take me to the Burberry Building.' "