111 Eighth Avenue
111 Eighth Avenue | |
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![]() Eighth Avenue facade of 111 Eighth Avenue (2011) | |
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Former names |
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General information | |
Type | Multi-use |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | Chelsea, Manhattan |
Address | 111 Eighth Avenue |
Town or city | New York City, New York |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 40°44′29″N 74°0′11″W / 40.74139°N 74.00306°W |
Current tenants | |
Completed | 1932 |
Owner | |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 15 |
Floor area | 2,900,000 square feet (270,000 m2) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Lusby Simpson |
Architecture firm | Abbott, Merkt & Co. |
111 Eighth Avenue, also known as the Google Building and formerly known as Union Inland Terminal #1 and the Port Authority Building, is an
The
Description
111 Eighth Avenue occupies the full city block between
Its exterior is in the
Features
Original use
The building had a multipurpose design when it opened in 1932, with the first floor and basement designated as "Union Inland Terminal #1", which was to be used to transport goods by truck to and from railroad lines and shipping piers on the Hudson River.[14] Cargo was dropped off along 15th Street, sorted inside the building, and picked up from the 16th Street side.[15] The building included four truck elevators, each of which had a 40,000-pound (18,000 kg; 20-short-ton) capacity and could travel at up to 200 ft/min (61 m/min).[16] These elevators measured 17 by 34 feet (5.2 by 10.4 m) across, and they lifted trucks into pits measuring 3.5 feet (1.1 m) deep and 38 by 90 feet (12 by 27 m) across.[17] There were also 12 package elevators and 18 passenger elevators.[18] Freight companies used the elevators to deliver cargo directly to tenants, in contrast to other industrial buildings in New York City, where cargo was dropped off at ground level.[17]
The second floor contained Commerce Hall, designed for exhibitions.[19] The upper floors were intended for manufacturing.[12][13] Each floor covered 165,000 sq ft (15,300 m2).[20] There were 16 loading docks on each floor.[21] On the 15th floor, which contained the Port Authority's offices, engineer Aymar Embury II designed a 325-seat auditorium decorated in green and blue. The New York Herald Tribune said was the "first auditorium designed for commercial purposes in a strictly commercial structure".[22]
Current use
The building's design retains vestiges of its original industrial purpose, including truck-sized freight elevators and floors built to support heavy loads.[1] As of 2008[update], two of its original truck elevators were still in use, in addition to nine other large freight elevators and fourteen passenger elevators.[9] The floors of the two lobbies originally each had a large bronze seal of the Port Authority embedded in them; one of these was removed and converted into a coffee table as a retirement gift for Port Authority director Austin J. Tobin.[23] It is also noted for its unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline.[24][5] The building has direct access to the 14th Street/Eighth Avenue station of the New York City Subway;[25] when the building opened, a staircase at 15th Street and Eighth Avenue led directly to the subway station in the basement.[26]
History
Union Inland Terminal #1 and Port Authority Commerce Building
By the early twentieth century, the
Construction
In May 1930, the Port Authority and all of the railroads in the Port of New York agreed to build a "union inland freight terminal" between Eighth Avenue, 15th Street, Ninth Avenue, and 16th Street.[29][30] The terminal was planned to cost $15 million and would include office space,[30][31] as well as large driveways and about 7 acres (28,000 m2; 300,000 sq ft) for sorting freight.[32] The structure was to be known as Inland Terminal No. 1 because the Port Authority hoped that similar freight terminals would be constructed across the city.[33] At the time of the announcement, the Port Authority already owned half of the block, which it had acquired for $1.5 million.[31] Most of the block had been occupied by houses, except for a factory in the middle of the block on 15th Street.[34] The New York City Board of Estimate approved the proposed terminal's site in June 1930.[35][36] The Port Authority acquired additional land on the building's site throughout the rest of the year, despite the protests of local residents.[37] By October 1930, the Port Authority had bought 85 percent of the site and was preparing to acquire the remaining buildings through condemnation.[38]
A contract for the demolition of existing structures was awarded in December 1930.
Four hundred railroad managers were invited to inspect the new terminal on September 9, 1932.[48][49] Inland Terminal No. 1 was formally dedicated the next week, September 16, though the building was not at that time fully completed.[50][51] At the time it was the largest building in New York City.[11] The building ultimately cost $16 million;[50] the superstructure alone cost $8 million to $9 million.[33] Shippers and consignees began using a 265,000-square-foot (24,600 m2) freight terminal on the basement and first floor on October 3, 1932.[52] Only the basement and ground story were open at the time; the upper stories, intended for light manufacturing, were not expected to be completed until the end of the year.[53] Real-estate experts cited Inland Terminal No. 1 as one of several developments that were contributing to the growth of businesses in Chelsea.[54] The final dedication of the building occurred on February 25, 1933, with a ceremony attended by Port Authority, New York City, and New York state officials.[55][56] A banquet was held in one of the building's truck elevators to mark its dedication.[21]
Opening and early years
Tenants had begun moving into the upper stories even before the building's dedication.
The Port Authority hired Caldwell, Garvan & Bettini in October 1933 to construct a lobby, stair, and foyer for Commerce Hall on the building's second floor.[26] Commerce Hall opened on December 8, 1933, with an exhibit of Ford Motor Company vehicles.[19][66] The terminal saw early success in reducing truck traffic to and from the railheads. For instance, on May 25, 1936, 250 trucks brought cargo to the building that was consolidated into only 37 trucks to take to the ferry terminals.[67] Commerce Hall hosted the National Business Show for several years in the 1930s.[67] By February 1938, all of the building's space had been rented, despite the ongoing Great Depression.[68] After Commerce Hall was closed in 1938, the floor was converted to regular commercial use.[69]
1940s to early 1970s
The Board of Estimate approved an agreement in 1940, in which the Port Authority would make annual $60,000
The Port Authority began erecting a
Sylvan Lawrence ownership
The Port Authority sold 111 Eighth Avenue to Realopco Inc. – a company operated by brothers Sylvan Lawrence and Seymour Cohn, who also led the Sylvan Lawrence Company – for $24 million in July 1973.
Following Lawrence's death in 1981, Seymour Cohn and Lawrence's widow Alice each acquired a 50 percent stake in 111 Eighth Avenue. Cohn and Alice Lawrence were unable to agree on what to do with 111 Eighth Avenue and three other buildings, leading to a protracted legal struggle.
Taconic acquisition
Cohn and Alice Lawrence agreed to sell off 111 Eighth Avenue and Lawrence's other three buildings in 1997.
Although Taconic tried to screen potential telecommunications tenants by establishing strict net-worth requirements,[100] so many companies expressed interest in the building that Taconic had stopped accepting new telecommunications tenants by late 1999.[96] Average rents had more than doubled during the preceding two years, from $18 to $46 per square foot ($190 to $500/m2).[96] A 70,000-square-foot (6,500 m2) cancer treatment center, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects and operated by St. Vincent's Hospital,[15][101] opened in the building the same year.[102] The Eighth and Ninth Avenue lobbies were renovated in 2000 and 2004, respectively.[9] During the Northeast blackout of 2003, the building was able to keep power on, thanks to an underground fuel tank and 37 generators.[103]
In 2006, the Atlantic Theater Company opened a 99-seat black box theater in the building,[104] and Lifetime Entertainment Services became its first cable television tenant.[24] Google opened its largest engineering office outside of California in the building in 2006, leasing 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) across three floors.[105] The Google workspace was noted for its campus-like and playful atmosphere, with perks including free food and a game room; The New York Times described it as "a vision of a workplace utopia as conceived by rich, young, single engineers in Silicon Valley, transplanted to Manhattan".[105]
Google ownership
![refer to caption](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/111_Eighth_Avenue.jpg/287px-111_Eighth_Avenue.jpg)
In 2010, Google contracted to purchase the entire building from Taconic, in a deal reported to be worth around $1.8 billion, the biggest purchase of a U.S. office building of the year.
111 Eighth Avenue is adjacent to trunk
In 2013 the first class of the newly created
Google's expansion in Chelsea helped attract other technology companies to the area and contributed to gentrification.[108] The New York Times described Google as drawing "relatively few complaints" in the neighborhood, and New York City Council speaker Corey Johnson called the company "a good neighbor", although some residents blamed it for changing the neighborhood's character and driving out smaller businesses.[108]
See also
- 1932 in architecture
- Art Deco architecture of New York City
- List of buildings, sites, and monuments in New York City
Notes
References
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External links
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