Empire Building (Manhattan)
The Empire Building is an office building and early skyscraper at 71 Broadway, on the corner of Rector Street, in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by Kimball & Thompson in the Classical Revival style and built by Marc Eidlitz & Son from 1897 to 1898. The building consists of 21 stories above a full basement story facing Trinity Place at the back of the building and is 293 feet (89 m) tall. The Empire Building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a NRHP district created in 2007.
Not to be confused with the Empire State Building.
The Empire Building's articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column—namely a base, shaft, and capital—and has a facade of gray granite at its base and white granite on the upper stories. It is one of the earliest skyscrapers built on pneumatic caissons and one of the oldest such buildings that remain standing. The building contains an interior steel frame structure with a curtain-walled facade. The top stories contain a loggia on the facade as well as a large metal cornice above the 20th floor. There are numerous band courses, balconies, and arched windows along the facade.
The original Empire Building was a brownstone structure constructed in 1859. Though the politician and real estate developer Orlando B. Potter had acquired the brownstone in 1884, he died prior to the current building's construction. The present Empire Building was ultimately developed by his children as a 20-story structure. The Empire Building was the home of United States Steel Corporation from the company's 1901 founding to 1976, and U.S. Steel owned the building between 1919 and 1973. The Empire Building's 21st floor was constructed between 1928 and 1930 to designs by John C. Westervelt. The building was converted to apartments in 1997.
Site[edit]
The plot measures 78 feet (24 m) along Broadway, 223 feet (68 m) along Rector Street, and 50 feet (15 m) on Trinity Place with a footprint of approximately 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2).[2] Because of modifications made to the building after its completion, some portions of the Broadway entrance cross over the lot line.[3] The previous building on the site, a six-story brownstone structure,[4] measured 82.6 feet (25.2 m) along Broadway, 223 feet (68 m) along Rector Street, and 52 feet (16 m) on Trinity Place.[5]
Along Rector Street, it is adjacent to the churchyard of Trinity Church, providing a dramatic backdrop for the church and ensuring open views for the building.[6] To the south is 65 Broadway,[7] the former headquarters of the American Express company.[8][9] There are entrances to New York City Subway stations right outside both of the Empire Building's principal facades: two stairs to the Wall Street station (4 and 5 trains) are located to either side of the building's main entrance, while an entrance to the Rector Street station (N, R, and W trains) is located on Trinity Place just outside the building entrance there.[10]
Critical reception and landmark status[edit]
Architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler said that the Empire Building was "one of the best [...] commercial buildings" to be built in New York City to date,[64][65] and that its value was "immensely enhanced by the open space opposite" which was occupied by the Trinity churchyard.[66] According to Schuyler, the building's value was increased by the fact that the entirety of the Rector Street facade could be seen because of the churchyard's presence.[67] Architectural writer Sarah Bradford Landau stated that the Empire Building "possesses a quite dignity and an assured elegance", unlike Kimball's earlier Manhattan Life Building.[26] Not all critics viewed the Empire Building positively. Eliot Gregory stated in 1899, without mentioning the building by name, that the Empire Building contained a "grotesque resemblance to a waffle iron", which gave it "the impression of instability".[17][68]
The Empire Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1996.[15] It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1998.[1] In 2007, it was designated as a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District,[69] a NRHP district.[70]
