Maybe it's steam not smoke, but "old smoky" sounds more mountain-like, and 550 8th Ave. is a mountain of a building, at least from the side and to the south. The bluish building past it is NY Times HQ.
I've noticed a few older buildings in NYC with similar designs -- like 1385 Broadway, aka the Bridal Building, and 14 Penn Plaza -- so the "decorative columns up-top" formula was common at some point.
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Above and below left, more cliff-dwelling smokiness. Below right, the symmetrical, stepped top corner at 37th St.
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And below, an intimate shot of the corner columns and the dark castle they pretend to support.
