Tower Building (New York City)
Tower Building | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival architecture |
Location | Manhattan, New York City |
Construction started | 1888 |
Completed | 1889 |
Demolished | 1913 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Bradford Gilbert |
The Tower Building was a structure in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, located at 50-52 Broadway on a lot that extended east to New Street.[1][2] It was arguably New York City's first skyscraper,[3] and the first building with a steel skeleton structure.[1]
History
Architect Bradford Gilbert filed plans for its construction on April 17, 1888, it was completed on September 27, 1889 and demolished beginning in 1913.[1][2]
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.[1] 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 20 feet (6.1 m) 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 128 feet (39 m) 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.
References
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ "Home Insurance Building". Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c "City's First Skyscraper Now Being Razed While New Giant 800 Feet High is Planned" (PDF). New York Sun. January 4, 1914. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ "The Tower Building". New York Architecture. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
External links
- "The Tower Building: The First Skyscraper of New York City"
- Mars, Roman (June 3, 2011). "Episode 27: Bridge to the Sky". 99% Invisible. Retrieved October 15, 2015. An episode of the 99% Invisible podcast on the design of the Tower Building.