Equitable Life Building
Introduction
The Equitable Building is a 38-story office building,[2] located at 120 Broadway, in the Financial District "Financial District (Manhattan)") of Lower Manhattan, in New York City (United States).
It was designed by Ernest R. Graham and completed in 1915. At the time, this skyscraper was an engineering achievement. The controversy surrounding its construction contributed to the adoption of zoning restrictions on vertical structures in Manhattan. Although it has now been dwarfed by taller buildings around it, it still retains a distinctive identity on Lower Broadway. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. which existed on the same site on which it is located, the Equitable Life Building, was the first building with elevators and is considered the first skyscraper in the world.
Description
The building is in a neoclassical style, its height is 164 meters and it occupies a total area of 176,000 m², giving a "buildability index" of 30. Upon completion, the building was the largest, in terms of total area, in the world. It rises as a single tower, appearing to be two separate identical towers, one next to the other, and connected by a wing of the total height of the building, in such a way that when viewed from above it has "H" shape A notable feature of the construction by modern standards is that it has no setback, which highlights its mass throughout its floors.
The building has a blocky entrance hall with a pink marble floor, sand-coloured marble walls and a vaulted ceiling, all coffered. It has approximately 5,000 windows, and once housed the exclusive Bankers Club on its three highest floors. The white marble of the building is from Yule, extracted from Marble "Marble (Colorado)"), Colorado, which is also used in the base of the Tomb of the Unknowns and the Lincoln Memorial.
The building occupies the entire block, and is bordered by Broadway to the west, Cedar Street to the north, Nassau Street to the east, and Pine Street to the south.
History
The building was built as the headquarters of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. The site had been earmarked in 1906 for a 62-story tower designed by Daniel H. Burnham, but the project was postponed. The previous headquarters of the Equitable (Equitable Life Building), which was considered the first skyscraper in the world, was destroyed by fire in 1912. With its demolition, this same site was chosen for the location of the new headquarters. The building was initially intended to be 40 stories high, but was reduced by four stories on the advice of consulting engineer Charles Knox, who determined that a lower height would be more optimal for elevators.