Tower Building (New York City)

Entrance to the Tower Building
Shortly after built

The Tower Building was arguably [1] New York City's first skyscraper, and the first building with a steel skeleton structure.[2] Architect Bradford Gilbert filed plans for its construction on April 17, 1888, it was completed on September 27, 1889 and demolished beginning in 1913.[2][3]

The location in Manhattan is given variously as 50 Broadway and 52 Broadway, going through to New Street.[2][3] Though it was 108 ft (33 m) deep, the building had just 21.5 ft (6.6 m) of frontage on Broadway, necessitating its novel design.[2] Chicago's Home Insurance Building (completed 1884) was the first to use structural steel, but that building did not fully support its masonry elements on the steel frame.[4][5] On the narrow lot, a conventional design with load-bearing masonry walls would have left little room on the ground floor, but architect Gilbert asked, "Why can't I run my foundation far up in the air and then begin my building?"[5] Gilbert's design came from a railroad bridge turned on its end.[6] Cast iron columns about 6 m (20 ft) apart formed the skeleton, and the walls of each floor hung on a "shoe" instead of transmitting the load to the wall of the floor below.[7] The resulting structure was 39 m (128 ft) in height, and 11 stories high.[8] Gilbert made models to convince the city to permit the construction of his unusual design.[9] It was quickly followed by taller steel-skeleton buildings, including the Columbia Building in 1890.[7]

The Tower Building was sold by John N. Stearns in 1905, along with two adjacent buildings, for a reported price of about $1.5 million.[10] In 1909, Morris Building Company, a holding company of Standard Oil Company, purchased it in foreclosure for $1.68 million.[8] No longer profitable by 1913 due to its lack of tenants, it was vacated in December of that year and demolition began.[8] By the time demolition was complete in 1914, just twenty six years had passed since the Tower Building's construction, and the tallest building in New York, the Woolworth Building, was over 240 m (790 ft).[7]

Shortly before demolition

References

  1. ↑ Gray, Christopher (1996-05-05). "Streetscapes/The Tower Building;The Idea That Led to New York's First Skyscraper". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "BRONZE TABLET PLACED ON THE TOWER BUILDING, NEW YORK" (PDF). New York Times. September 3, 1899. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Warren, Charles Peck (May 2, 1915). "EXCESSIVE HEIGHT A TRYING PROBLEM" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Home Insurance Building". Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Birkmire, William H.; Bradford Lee Gilbert; James Barrett (August 19, 1899). "DISPUTES OF ARCHITECTS" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ Gray, Christopher (July 1, 2007). "The Architect Who Turned a Railroad Bridge on Its Head". New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "CITY'S FIRST SKYSCRAPER NOW BEING RAZED WHILE NEW GIANT 800 FEET HIGH IS PLANNED" (PDF). The Sun (New York). January 4, 1914. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "FIRST SKYSCRAPER TO BE TORN DOWN" (PDF). New York Times. October 29, 1913. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Tower Building". New York Architecture. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ "FIRST SKYSCRAPER SOLD" (PDF). New York Times. May 12, 1905. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  • "The Tower Building: The First Skyscraper of New York City", which provided the references used in the first edition of this article.
  • Mars, Roman (3 June 2011). "Episode 27: Bridge to the Sky". 99% Invisible. Retrieved 15 October 2015. An episode of the 99% Invisible podcast on the design of the Tower Building.

Coordinates: 40°42′24″N 74°00′44″W / 40.7067°N 74.0123°W / 40.7067; -74.0123

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