The veteran ABC News journalist is honored in a ceremony dedicating The Barbara Walters Building in Manhattan ahead of her retirement later this week.
- May 13, 2014
AceShowbiz - ABC News renamed its Upper West Side headquarters in honor of Barbara Walters, who will retire later this week. The renaming of the Manhattan building, which is now called The Barbara Walters Building, was made official in a ceremony on Monday, May 12.
"I'm not going to cry. I make other people cry but I'm not going to cry," the 84-year-old said at the event attended by colleagues Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts (II) and Disney chief Bob Iger. She added that her legacy was "paving the way for so many of you fabulous women who are here tonight."
The building located at 47 W. 66th St., near Lincoln Center and Central Park has been a second home to Walters, who has co-hosted "The View" for 17 years. She will keep her office in the Barbara Walters Building.
Walters kicked off her final week on "The View" with A-list guests. With Jane Fonda joining the panelist as guest co-host, the ladies welcomed David Letterman, who rarely does talk-show interviews, and Michael J. Fox.
Addressing his own retirement plan, Letterman jokingly said, "Now I think I've made a terrible mistake. I don't feel like retiring now. I gotta find something to do. Any openings here?" In a serious note, he realized that the late-night landscape had changed since he first started his show. "Again, this is a reason for me to think about going elsewhere. If you take a look at it, it really has shifted right out from under me, and all to the good," he acknowledged.
