Equitable Building (Manhattan)

The Equitable Building is a 38 floor high skyscraper at 120 Broadway in New York City borough of Manhattan. It was designed by Ernest Graham and completed in 1915. At this time he was with a floor area of ​​111,500 m², the largest office building in the world. He had 50 elevators and provided space for 16,000 employees. Directly located next to the building, the Trinity and U.S. Realty Buildings.

The skyscraper is a monolithically -acting, two - " scheibiges " building on a six-story base in the Beaux- Arts style, form its vertical edges from top to bottom a single line.

History

The Equitable Life Building

1870 presented on the same grounds, the insurance company, The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States a first high-rise as an administrative building with a height of 40 meters, then record containing finished. It is considered the first skyscraper in history.

New

As in 1912, the original headquarters was burned down, the current building was built in its place. Initially, a height of 40 storeys was planned, but Charles Knox calculated that 36 floors is the optimal height for the elevators.

Because of its size, the building prevents the incidence of light in the surrounding streets. This gave rise in 1916 for the first incisive building regulation, which was adopted in New York for the construction of tall buildings until then. This is the zoning resolution, which says, among other things, that buildings must be thinner towards the top.

Since June 2, 1978, is registered with the National Register of Historic Places and provided by the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York in June 1996 under monument protection. The real estate investor Larry Silverstein bought the building in 1980 and completed a renovation for $ 30 million. The building houses the offices of the Attorney General of the State of New York, housed.