Equitable Building

L'Equitable Building est un gratte-ciel de bureaux de 36 étages de la ville de New York, situé au 120 Broadway dans le District financier dans le bas de Manhattan. Il fut conçu par Ernest R. Graham et achevé en 1915. La controverse entourant sa construction est à l'origine de l'adoption des premières restrictions de hauteur et surface au sol à Manhattan. Bien qu'il soit désormais dépassé par des immeubles environnants plus hauts, il conserve une identité distinctive dans le bas Broadway. Il est devenu un National Historic Landmark en 1978. L'immeuble, construit dans un style néoclassique, s'élève à 164 m pour une superficie de 176 000 m2, soit un ratio d'occupation au sol de 30. À son achèvement, l'immeuble est celui qui offrait la plus grande superficie au monde. Il s'élève comme une unique tour mais donnant l'impression de deux tours identiques parallèles reliées par une aile sur toute sa hauteur, il apparaît avec la forme de la lettre "H" quand il est vu du dessus. Une de ses caractéristiques frappantes, au vu des critères de construction actuels, est qu'il n'y a aucun étage qui soit en retrait de la base et ce sur toute la hauteur de l'immeuble qui s'élève strictement verticalement depuis la rue. L'Equitable Building possède trois grands halls d'entrée avec sol en marbre rose, murs en marbre couleur sable sur les murs et un plafond vouté en coffre. L'immeuble possède environ 5 000 fenêtres. Le marbre blanc de l'immeuble est du marbre de Yule de Marble dans le Colorado. L'immeuble occupe un bloc entier et est bordé par Broadway à l'ouest, Cedar Street au nord, Nassau Street à l'est et Pine Street au sud. Il est placé dans le "Canyon of heroes", un ensemble de rues du bas de Manhattan bordées de très hauts immeubles et où se déroulent certaines parades en l'honneur de personnalités américaines. Il est alors d'usage de lancer de petits rouleaux de papier depuis les fenêtres, la ticker-tape parade. L'immeuble avait été construit pour La société américaine d'assurance Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (on trouve d'ailleurs aussi de grands immeubles nommés Equitable Building dans d'autres villes américaines). Il a été racheté en 1980 par Larry Silverstein qui a procédé à une rénovation du bâtiment terminée en 1990. Aujourd'hui, l'immeuble abrite, entre autres, les bureaux du procureur général de l'État de New York et la société boursière Spear, Leeds & Kellogg.

1. Source

(en) Cet article est partiellement ou en totalité issu de l’article de Wikipédia en anglais intitulé « Equitable Building (Manhattan) » (voir la liste des auteurs).

1. Liens externes

Ressources relatives à l'architecture : Registre national des lieux historiques The Skyscraper Center Structurae (en) "Equitable Building--Accompanying Photos, exterior and interior, from 1976, plus c.1915 drawing, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination". National Park Service (1977-01). Portail des gratte-ciel Portail du Registre national des lieux historiques Portail de New York Portail des années 1910

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Equitable Life Building (Manhattan)

The Equitable Life Assurance Building, also known as the Equitable Life Building, was the headquarters of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, at 120 Broadway in Manhattan, New York. Arthur Gilman and Edward H. Kendall designed the building, with George B. Post as a consulting engineer. The Equitable Life Building was made of brick, granite, and iron, and was originally built with seven above-ground stories and two basement levels, with a height of at least 130 feet (40 m). An expansion in 1885 brought the total height to 155 feet (47 m) and nine stories. Construction began in 1868 and was completed in 1870 under the leadership of Equitable's president Henry Baldwin Hyde. It was the world's first office building to feature passenger elevators and consequently became successful attracting tenants. The Equitable Life Building was expanded numerous times; after the construction of annexes during the late 1880s, the building occupied its entire block, bounded by Broadway and Cedar, Pine and Nassau streets. Although it was advertised as fireproof, the Equitable Life Building was destroyed in a 1912 fire that killed six people. The 40-story Equitable Building was completed on the site in 1915.

Landmark

Equitable Building (Manhattan)

The Equitable Building is an office skyscraper located at 120 Broadway, between Pine and Cedar streets, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, in New York City. The skyscraper was designed by Ernest R. Graham in the Neoclassical style, with Peirce Anderson as the architect-in-charge. It is 555 feet (169 m) tall, with 38 stories and 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m2) of floor space. The building's articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital. The Equitable Building replaced the Equitable Life Building, the previous headquarters of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, which burned down in 1912. Work on the Equitable Building started in 1913 and was completed in 1915. Upon opening, it was the largest office building in the world by floor area. The Equitable Building hosted a variety of tenants and, by the 1920s, was the most valuable building in New York City. The Equitable Life Insurance Company, the building's namesake, occupied a small portion of the building until it moved out during 1960. The owner as of 2022, Silverstein Properties, purchased the Equitable Building in 1980 and has renovated it multiple times. Upon its completion, the Equitable Building was controversial because of its lack of setbacks, which in turn does not allow sunlight to reach the surrounding ground. This contributed to the adoption of the first modern building and zoning restrictions on vertical structures in Manhattan, the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978 and was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1996. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a NRHP district created in 2007.

Historic Site Landmark

Hanover Bank Building

The Hanover Bank Building or Hanover National Bank Building was an early skyscraper at the southwest corner of Pine Street and Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1901-1903 and demolished in 1931.

Bank Historic Site

New York Law Institute

The New York Law Institute is the oldest circulating law library in New York City and is open to Institute members and to scholars of history and the law.

Library

American Surety Building

The American Surety Building (also known as the Bank of Tokyo Building or 100 Broadway) is an office building and early skyscraper at Pine Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, across from Trinity Church. The building was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style by Bruce Price with a later expansion by Herman Lee Meader. It is 388 feet (118 m) tall, with either 23 or 26 stories. It was one of Manhattan's first buildings with steel framing and curtain wall construction. The American Surety Building contains a facade of Maine granite. Its articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital, making the American Surety Building one of the earliest New York City skyscrapers to feature such a layout. The facade contains several ornamental features, including sculptural elements designed by J. Massey Rhind. In addition, the American Surety Building uses an interior skeleton of structural steel, as well as a cantilevered steel structure for its foundations. The building was erected between 1894 and 1896 as a 21-story structure, which was the second tallest building in New York City when completed. Between 1920 and 1922, an annex was built to designs by Meader, increasing the floor area and adding two stories to the building. A later tenant, the Bank of Tokyo, hired Kajima International to restore the lower 13 stories between 1973 and 1975. The American Surety Building was made a New York City designated landmark in 1995.

Bank Landmark