Trowbridge & Livingston was an architecture firm based in New York City , active from 1897 to 1925. The firm's partners were Breck Trowbridge and Goodhue Livingston . They were successors to the firm Trowbridge, Colt & Livingston, founded in 1894 but dissolved in 1897 when Stockton B. Colt left the partnership.
141-602: 14 Wall Street , originally the Bankers Trust Company Building , is a skyscraper at the intersection of Wall Street and Nassau Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City . The building is 540 feet (160 m) tall, with 32 usable floors. The original 540-foot tower is at the southeastern corner of the site, and a shorter annex wraps around the original tower. The original tower
282-535: A Buttressed core . Trussed tube and X-bracing: Trowbridge %26 Livingston Often commissioned by well-heeled clients, much of the firm's work was built in the Upper East Side and Financial District neighborhoods of New York. The firm became known for its commercial, civic, and institutional buildings, many designed in a Beaux Arts or neoclassical style. Some examples are the B. Altman and Company Building (1905), J. P. Morgan Building (1913), and
423-485: A "tower of strength"; the bank used the icon and slogan until the 1980s. Charles Phelps Cushing wrote in 1929 that the building's stepped pyramidal roof was "the meeting place for the midnight frolics of modern jazz sprites". The iconography persisted even after the annex was constructed. 14 Wall Street's likeness became synonymous with capitalism and Wall Street, having been shown in Berenice Abbott 's photos as well as
564-535: A Ukrainian fertilizer tycoon, for $ 303 million in cash. Rovt paid off the building's outstanding debt as part of the deal. At the time of the purchase, the building had 300,000 square feet (28,000 m) of vacant space, and three potential tenants were in discussion to lease about two-thirds of the vacant space. Rovt began renovating the building and increased its occupancy rate from 70 to 95 percent by 2014, mostly by leasing space for ten years to tenants such as office-space operator Regus. After $ 60 million of renovations,
705-537: A city consisting entirely of high-rise housing is the 16th-century city of Shibam in Yemen . Shibam was made up of over 500 tower houses, each one rising 5 to 11 stories high, with each floor being an apartment occupied by a single family. The city was built in this way in order to protect it from Bedouin attacks. Shibam still has the tallest mudbrick buildings in the world, with many of them over 30 m (98 ft) high. An early modern example of high-rise housing
846-517: A full-service bank, and one of the country's wealthiest financial institutions. Bankers Trust, having rented out the upper floors, found their existing space to be inadequate by the 1920s, with more than four times as many staff as in 1912. As a result, the company took up space in the Astor and Hanover Bank buildings. Bankers Trust began land acquisition in 1919, acquiring the Astor Building that June and
987-453: A lawyer's office on the 26th story. The second floor contained the main banking room, with tellers' windows, trust departments, and other banking departments. The main banking room was designed in a Greek style and had 27-foot-high (8.2 m) ceilings; the walls were clad in Tavernelle marble for their full height. The tellers' counters originally aligned with the exterior windows. There was
1128-733: A more classical approach came back to global skyscraper design, that remains popular today. Examples are the Wells Fargo Center , NBC Tower , Parkview Square , 30 Park Place , the Messeturm , the iconic Petronas Towers and Jin Mao Tower . Other contemporary styles and movements in skyscraper design include organic , sustainable , neo-futurist , structuralist , high-tech , deconstructivist , blob , digital , streamline , novelty , critical regionalist , vernacular , Neo Art Deco and neohistorist , also known as revivalist . 3 September
1269-399: A particularly small surface area of what are conventionally thought of as walls. Because the walls are not load-bearing most skyscrapers are characterized by surface areas of windows made possible by the concept of steel frame and curtain wall. However, skyscrapers can also have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls and have a small surface area of windows. The concept of a skyscraper is
1410-456: A penthouse. A molded cornice runs above the 32nd story. The roof is made of massive granite blocks and measures 94 feet (29 m) tall, with a base of 70 feet (21 m) square. There are 23 or 24 steps between the bottom and top of the roof; each step measures 3 feet 9.25 inches (1.1494 m) high and 1 foot 4 inches (0.41 m) deep. The roof also has a smokestack measuring 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, from which smoke
1551-503: A private observation balcony", though it was "entirely devoid of furniture". The balcony was surrounded by an iron railing on three sides and was glassed-in on the remaining side. Christopher Gray , an architectural critic for the Times , wrote in 2007 that there had been unsubstantiated rumors that Morgan used the apartment as a private getaway. The 32nd floor contained an upscale French restaurant called The 14 Wall Street from 1997 to 2006. Under
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#17328589554211692-420: A product of the industrialized age , made possible by cheap fossil fuel derived energy and industrially refined raw materials such as steel and concrete . The construction of skyscrapers was enabled by steel frame construction that surpassed brick and mortar construction starting at the end of the 19th century and finally surpassing it in the 20th century together with reinforced concrete construction as
1833-454: A proto-skyscraper, or to New York's seven-floor Equitable Life Building , built in 1870. Steel skeleton construction has allowed for today's supertall skyscrapers now being built worldwide. The nomination of one structure versus another being the first skyscraper, and why, depends on what factors are stressed. The structural definition of the word skyscraper was refined later by architectural historians, based on engineering developments of
1974-412: A proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exaltation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line. Some structural engineers define a high-rise as any vertical construction for which wind is a more significant load factor than earthquake or weight. Note that this criterion fits not only high-rises but some other tall structures, such as towers . Different organizations from
2115-518: A set of mail chutes . A continuous 531-step staircase runs from the third floor to the 29th floor. When the building first opened, entry to these floors was via an entrance on the western portion of the Wall Street facade, where a passageway linked to the Hanover Bank Building to the north. During the 1931–1933 expansion, a new entrance was built on Pine Street. The annex's lobby was designed in
2256-454: A seven-story pyramidal roof at its top, which contains seven storage levels. In addition, 14 Wall Street contains four basement levels; the topmost basement is partially raised above ground level. The original structure was designed by Trowbridge & Livingston for Bankers Trust and was built between 1910 and 1912. An addition to the north and west was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and constructed between 1931 and 1933. This addition
2397-556: A skyscraper today, it was record setting. The building of tall buildings in the 1880s gave the skyscraper its first architectural movement, broadly termed the Chicago School , which developed what has been called the Commercial Style. The architect, Major William Le Baron Jenney , created a load-bearing structural frame. In this building, a steel frame supported the entire weight of the walls, instead of load-bearing walls carrying
2538-456: A small room on the south side of the second floor, which was dedicated to Henry Pomeroy Davison of the bank's executive committee. Three elevators connected the Bankers Trust office floors and rose only to the fourth floor. Unusual for buildings of the time, the lower portion of the shared elevator shaft was covered in marble, while the upper portion was plate glass. The fourth floor contained
2679-417: A small surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a tubular structure , and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic, and other lateral loads. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks , which in some cases is also structurally required. As of September 2023 , fifteen cities in
2820-459: A structure taller than either the Gillender or Stevens buildings. To "obtain the very best results" for the design, in 1909, Bankers Trust requested plans from four architects and architecture firms: Carrère and Hastings , Francis H. Kimball , Trowbridge and Livingston , and Warren and Wetmore . Ultimately, Trowbridge and Livingston's bid was accepted. The firm submitted plans for 14 Wall Street to
2961-514: A time, the tallest of which is the 97.2 m (319 ft) high Asinelli Tower. A Florentine law of 1251 decreed that all urban buildings be immediately reduced to less than 26 m. Even medium-sized towns of the era are known to have proliferations of towers, such as the 72 towers that ranged up to 51 m height in San Gimignano . The medieval Egyptian city of Fustat housed many high-rise residential buildings, which Al-Muqaddasi in
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#17328589554213102-466: A variety of shapes, and it could be riveted, ensuring strong connections. The simplicity of a steel frame eliminated the inefficient part of a shear wall, the central portion, and consolidated support members in a much stronger fashion by allowing both horizontal and vertical supports throughout. Among steel's drawbacks is that as more material must be supported as height increases, the distance between supporting members must decrease, which in turn increases
3243-469: A vertical tube-like structural system capable of resisting lateral forces in any direction by cantilevering from the foundation". Closely spaced interconnected exterior columns form the tube. Horizontal loads (primarily wind) are supported by the structure as a whole. Framed tubes allow fewer interior columns, and so create more usable floor space, and about half the exterior surface is available for windows. Where larger openings like garage doors are required,
3384-422: Is about 325 feet (99 m) tall. 14 Wall Street's "granite-clad roof and its specifically Greek architectural motifs", as described by architectural writer Sarah Landau , which were a departure from earlier designs. The architects wrote that the style had been chosen for its "simplicity and grace, as well as its supreme dignity and seriousness", which fit both the site and the building's use. Inspirations include
3525-404: Is arranged into four sections: a base of 5 stories, a midsection of 21 stories, a top section of 6 stories (including the 32nd-story penthouse), and the roof. The base was originally four stories, but the present third floor was added in the 1931–1933 renovation. On each side are five window bays , each of which contain two windows per floor. The design of each side is largely identical, except that
3666-704: Is having a steel frame that supports curtain walls . This idea was invented by Viollet le Duc in his discourses on architecture. These curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete . Modern skyscraper walls are not load-bearing , and most skyscrapers are characterized by large surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames and curtain walls. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with
3807-406: Is important in most building design, but particularly for skyscrapers since even a small chance of catastrophic failure is unacceptable given the tremendous damage such failure would cause. This presents a paradox to civil engineers : the only way to assure a lack of failure is to test for all modes of failure, in both the laboratory and the real world. But the only way to know of all modes of failure
3948-433: Is largely from the force of the building material itself. In most building designs, the weight of the structure is much larger than the weight of the material that it will support beyond its own weight. In technical terms, the dead load , the load of the structure, is larger than the live load , the weight of things in the structure (people, furniture, vehicles, etc.). As such, the amount of structural material required within
4089-408: Is smooth, while the first-floor facade consists of rusticated blocks. An entrance porch, with the address 16 Wall Street, faces the Wall Street side. A colonnade above it spans the second through fourth floors. The colonnade consists of Greek fluted columns, molded belt courses , and moldings and was "almost Puritanical in its simplicity". The facade of the lower stories was rearranged slightly when
4230-399: Is the global commemorative day for skyscrapers, called "Skyscraper Day". New York City developers competed among themselves, with successively taller buildings claiming the title of "world's tallest" in the 1920s and early 1930s, culminating with the completion of the 318.9 m (1,046 ft) Chrysler Building in 1930 and the 443.2 m (1,454 ft) Empire State Building in 1931,
4371-419: Is to learn from previous failures. Thus, no engineer can be absolutely sure that a given structure will resist all loadings that could cause failure; instead, one can only have large enough margins of safety such that a failure is acceptably unlikely. When buildings do fail, engineers question whether the failure was due to some lack of foresight or due to some unknowable factor. The load a skyscraper experiences
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4512-478: Is used for the rest of the building. The steel frame includes about 39 tiers of beams, which extend to 537 feet (164 m) above ground. Thirty-six columns carry the building's estimated dead load of 47,102 short tons (42,055 long tons; 42,730 t). The largest columns are 500 feet (150 m) tall and carry loads of up to 2,200 short tons (2,000 long tons; 2,000 t). The builders ensured that 14 Wall Street would be constructed with fireproof material. Metal
4653-418: Is ventilated. The annex's facade is made of granite at the base and limestone on the upper stories. It was designed to defer to the "solid and robust architecture" of the original building. The facade of the annex is arranged in two styles. The Wall Street facade contains setbacks at lower stories, and the window arrangement is aligned with that of the original building. The base consists of four stories. Like
4794-565: The Art Deco style. Each story in the annex is at the same height as in the original building, allowing for continuous floor slabs across both structures; the expanded floor slabs cover about 23,000 square feet (2,100 m) each. The upper stories of the annex have ceiling heights of 13 feet (4.0 m). A system of eleven elevators connected the lobby to the rental floors, consisting of five "express" elevators, five "local" elevators, and one "relief" elevator. The "express" elevators ran nonstop from
4935-810: The Columbia School of Mines in 1877. The younger Trowbridge graduated in 1883 from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut , and in 1886 from Columbia University 's School of Architecture. After further study abroad at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he returned to New York where he worked in the office of George B. Post for four years, before practicing in partnership from 1894 with Livingston and Stockton B. Colt, and from 1897 with Livingston, after Colt left
5076-612: The Erechtheion , the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus , and "ancient Macedonian prototypes". The original structure is a 39-story tower without any setbacks , composed of 32 stories topped by a seven-story roof. The concept behind the original structure's design was to place a pyramidal roof, similar to that of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, on top of a tower like Venice 's St Mark's Campanile bell tower. Trowbridge wanted to enhance "the beauty of
5217-459: The Financial District of Manhattan , bounded by Nassau Street to the east, Wall Street to the south, and Pine Street to the north. The lot has dimensions of 160 feet (49 m) on Wall Street, 173 feet (53 m) on Nassau Street, and 178 feet (54 m) on Pine Street. The lot has a total area of 32,947 square feet (3,060.9 m). Nearby buildings include the Equitable Building to
5358-638: The New York City Department of Buildings on April 20, 1910. The first stage of construction commenced in April 1910 with the demolition of the Gillender Building, which The New York Times claimed to be the first skyscraper that was demolished to make way for a taller skyscraper. Demolition of the Stevens Building started the same month, and both buildings had been demolished by June 1910. After
5499-595: The Oregon State Capitol (1938). Samuel Breck Parkman Trowbridge was born in New York City on May 20, 1862, the fourth of eight children of William Petit Trowbridge and Lucy Parkman Trowbridge. His father was a military engineer who oversaw construction of Fort Totten Battery, and repairs to Fort Schuyler during the American Civil War . After the war, he became a professor of mechanical engineering at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1871, then at
5640-629: The " Seven Sisters ", were built between 1947 and 1953; and one, the Main building of Moscow State University , was the tallest building in Europe for nearly four decades (1953–1990). Other skyscrapers in the style of Socialist Classicism were erected in East Germany ( Frankfurter Tor ), Poland ( PKiN ), Ukraine ( Hotel Moscow ), Latvia ( Academy of Sciences ), and other Eastern Bloc countries. Western European countries also began to permit taller skyscrapers during
5781-460: The 10th century described as resembling minarets . Nasir Khusraw in the early 11th century described some of them rising up to 14 stories, with roof gardens on the top floor complete with ox-drawn water wheels for irrigating them. Cairo in the 16th century had high-rise apartment buildings where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants . An early example of
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5922-465: The 1880s that had enabled construction of tall multi-story buildings. This definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry , which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicago's Monadnock Building . What is the chief characteristic of the tall office building? It is lofty. It must be tall. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and pride of exaltation must be in it. It must be every inch
6063-526: The 1921 documentary film Manhatta , and Bankers Trust sent a miniature model of the building to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Christopher Gray said that the massive height of 14 Wall Street posed a sharp contrast to the one-story 23 Wall Street, diagonally across Wall and Broad Streets, though both were designed by Trowbridge & Livingston and occupied by J.P. Morgan. 14 Wall Street's pyramidal roof inspired
6204-580: The 1960s now use a tube design derived from Khan's structural engineering principles, examples including the construction of the World Trade Center , Aon Center , Petronas Towers , Jin Mao Building , and most other supertall skyscrapers since the 1960s. The strong influence of tube structure design is also evident in the construction of the current tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa , which uses
6345-587: The 1960s, according to the CTBUH, the skyscraper has been reoriented away from a symbol for North American corporate power to instead communicate a city or nation's place in the world. Skyscraper construction entered a three-decades-long era of stagnation in 1930 due to the Great Depression and then World War II . Shortly after the war ended, Russia began construction on a series of skyscrapers in Moscow . Seven, dubbed
6486-807: The 26th century BC. It was not surpassed in height for thousands of years, the 160 m (520 ft) Lincoln Cathedral having exceeded it in 1311–1549, before its central spire collapsed. The latter in turn was not surpassed until the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument in 1884. However, being uninhabited, none of these structures actually comply with the modern definition of a skyscraper. High-rise apartments flourished in classical antiquity . Ancient Roman insulae in imperial cities reached 10 and more stories. Beginning with Augustus (r. 30 BC-14 AD), several emperors attempted to establish limits of 20–25 m for multi-stories buildings, but were met with only limited success. Lower floors were typically occupied by shops or wealthy families, with
6627-410: The 300-foot-tall (91 m), 20-story Gillender Building, which was completed in 1897 and demolished in 1910. The two lots, combined, had a nearly square footprint measuring about 100 by 100 feet (30 by 30 m). The annex occupies the remainder of the plot and is L-shaped in plan. Prior to the construction of the annex, the land below it was occupied by three buildings. The seven-story Astor Building
6768-666: The 57 m (187 ft) tall 1924 Marx House in Düsseldorf , the 65 m (213 ft) tall Borsigturm in Berlin , built in 1924, the 65 m (213 ft) tall Hansahochhaus in Cologne , Germany, built in 1925; the 61 m (200 ft) Kungstornen (Kings' Towers) in Stockholm , Sweden, which were built 1924–25; the 77 m (253 ft) Ullsteinhaus in Berlin, Germany, built in 1927;
6909-596: The 89 m (292 ft) Edificio Telefónica in Madrid , Spain, built in 1929; the 87.5 m (287 ft) Boerentoren in Antwerp, Belgium, built in 1932; the 66 m (217 ft) Prudential Building in Warsaw , Poland, built in 1934; and the 108 m (354 ft) Torre Piacentini in Genoa , Italy, built in 1940. After an early competition between New York City and Chicago for
7050-559: The CTBUH, is the distance between the highest floor and its architectural top (excluding antennae, flagpole or other functional extensions). Vanity height first appeared in New York City skyscrapers as early as the 1920s and 1930s but supertall buildings have relied on such uninhabitable extensions for on average 30% of their height, raising potential definitional and sustainability issues. The current era of skyscrapers focuses on sustainability , its built and natural environments, including
7191-753: The Gillender Building, having been induced to move there because of the proximity of the New York Stock Exchange . The company, with J. P. Morgan on the board, grew rapidly and intended to land itself permanently in the "vortex of America's financial life". During the latter part of the decade, financial institutions such as the Bank of Montreal , the Fourth National Bank , and the Germania Life Insurance Company acquired properties on Wall and Nassau Streets. Bankers Trust started to negotiate
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#17328589554217332-522: The Mercantile Trust Company also merged, but, because Mercantile Trust's headquarters burned in a January 1912 fire, this affected planning for the new building. Bankers Trust absorbed Manhattan Trust in February 1912: both companies had been owned by Morgan, and the proximity of the companies' spaces was cited as a reason for the merger. To maximize land utilization, Bankers Trust desired to build
7473-502: The Modern Classic and Art Deco styles. Due to variations in the lot lines on the annex's site, the annex projects 16 feet (4.9 m) further onto the street than did the original building. In addition to an entrance at the center of the annex's Nassau Street side, there are service entrances on Pine Street. The annex facades contain carved ornament, curved piers at the base, wrought-iron gates and grilles, and an eagle sculpture above
7614-468: The New York Stock Exchange. That November, The Wall Street Journal reported that the building was 65% rented. In April 1912, a month before the building's opening, a parachutist jumped from the 32nd floor of 14 Wall Street, landing on the roof of 26 Wall Street. 14 Wall Street officially opened on May 1, 1912, and Bankers Trust began moving into its offices on May 20. Upon opening, the building
7755-463: The United States and Europe define skyscrapers as buildings at least 150 m (490 ft) in height or taller, with " supertall " skyscrapers for buildings higher than 300 m (984 ft) and " megatall " skyscrapers for those taller than 600 m (1,969 ft). The tallest structure in ancient times was the 146 m (479 ft) Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt , built in
7896-497: The amount of material that must be supported. This becomes inefficient and uneconomic for buildings above 40 stories tall as usable floor spaces are reduced for supporting column and due to more usage of steel. A new structural system of framed tubes was developed by Fazlur Rahman Khan in 1963. The framed tube structure is defined as "a three dimensional space structure composed of three, four, or possibly more frames, braced frames, or shear walls, joined at or near their edges to form
8037-897: The annex of 195 Broadway , and the Jewish Museum annex. 14 Wall Street's architecture also provided inspiration for buildings in other cities, such as the Union Central Life Insurance Company Building in Cincinnati, the Metropolitan Tower in Chicago, and the Foshay Tower in Minneapolis. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 14 Wall Street as an official city landmark in January 1997. In 2007,
8178-485: The annex on April 10, 1933, moving into seven stories of the annex. The Bankers Trust Company had assets of $ 1 billion by 1935. As a sign of the company's financial stability, in 1943, Bankers Trust bought the land under 14 Wall Street from the Sampson family, whose Stevens Building had been demolished to make way for the original tower. The building was outfitted with a modern air-conditioning system in 1955. During this era,
8319-671: The annex's banking room, Chase Bank , donated the space to the Skyscraper Museum for one year starting in 1998. During this time, the museum held an exhibition on the Empire State Building within the space. An investment group led by Laurence Gluck and Arthur Wrubel bought 14 Wall Street from General Electric Investment in 1999. The former banking room became an Equinox Fitness location in December 2000. The Rockwell Group designed an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m) mezzanine for
8460-460: The bank continued to grow through mergers. The bank's second headquarters in Midtown Manhattan , at 280 Park Avenue , opened in 1962, though Bankers Trust retained occupancy at 14 Wall Street. The facade of 14 Wall Street was cleaned during the mid-1960s. When One Bankers Trust Plaza was completed in 1974, more employees were relocated out of 14 Wall Street and four other locations. Afterward,
8601-501: The boardroom and clerical force. The boardroom's walls and table were made of Circassian walnut, and there was enough space for 38 people to sit around the table. At the center of the Wall Street side, a wide staircase led to the first floor. Initially, this was the main entrance to the Bankers Trust offices. The lobby contains a bronze gate with symbols of capitalist enterprises such as metallurgy, shipping, construction, power, agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. Allegorical paintings in
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#17328589554218742-431: The building at 7 Pine Street two months later. The Hanover Bank Building was not acquired until September 1929. By that time, Bankers Trust owned the eastern half of the block bounded by Broadway and Wall, Pine, and Nassau Streets. Architect Richmond Shreve described the situation as "[falling] short of a true expression of the [company's] position". Shreve's firm, Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, had created plans for an annex to
8883-501: The building by January 1931. The firm filed plans for the $ 5.5 million edifice with the New York City Department of Buildings later the same month. The Thompson–Starrett Company was hired as the general contractor for the annex. Staff at 14 Wall Street were moved to a temporary location when work began in May 1931, and the Hanover Bank, Astor, and 7 Pine Street buildings were being razed by
9024-600: The building for $ 7 million. Though Bankers Trust retained a lease through the building until 2004, with an option to cancel in 1995, the company vacated the space earlier in 1992. Manufacturers Hanover and the Chemical Bank then occupied the space that Bankers Trust had formerly used. Boston Properties agreed to buy 14 Wall Street for $ 320 million in August 1997, and the 32nd floor was converted into an upscale French restaurant called The 14 Wall Street that November. The tenant of
9165-451: The building was 90% leased by early 2016. Cushman & Wakefield handled leasing for 14 Wall Street until it was replaced by the CBRE Group in 2017. At the time of its completion, 14 Wall Street was the world's tallest bank building and the city's third- or fourth-tallest skyscraper. 14 Wall Street and the nearby Singer Tower , as viewed from Manhattan's waterfront, resembled "the posts of
9306-653: The building was designated as a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District , a National Register of Historic Places district. Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft) or 150 meters (490 ft) in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings . Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces. One common feature of skyscrapers
9447-807: The buildings at the intersection of Wall , Broad , and Nassau Streets in Manhattan's Financial District were designed by the firm: 14 Wall Street (1912), the Bankers Trust Building on the northwest corner; 11 Wall Street (1922), the New York Stock Exchange Annex on the southwest corner; and 23 Wall Street (1913) and 15 Broad Street (1927), the J. P. Morgan & Co. Building on the southwest corner. Their practice extended to townhouses on Manhattan's Upper East Side , of which 41 East 65 Street (1910), 11 East 91st Street and 49 East 68th Street (1914) remain. The New York Society Library ,
9588-424: The classical designs of the early skyscrapers , instead embracing the uniform international style ; many older skyscrapers were redesigned to suit contemporary tastes or even demolished—such as New York's Singer Building , once the world's tallest skyscraper. German -American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became one of the world's most renowned architects in the second half of the 20th century. He conceived
9729-422: The columns of the colonnade. Trowbridge and Livingston had wanted the colonnade on the 27th through 29th stories to contain double columns, as they believed a colonnade of single columns did not suggest "a sufficient massiveness to correspond with the building as a whole". Rectangular windows are located on the 30th and 31st stories, with a cornice between the stories. The 32nd floor is slightly set back and serves as
9870-409: The company moved employees away from 14 Wall Street, and eventually sold the building in 1987. 14 Wall Street's tower incorporates a seven-story pyramidal roof inspired by the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus . The interior of the building contained numerous amenities that were considered state-of-the-art at the time of its construction; the first three floors were used as Bankers Trust's headquarters, while
10011-412: The corners, which have grooves that make them appear as though they were panels. There is a band course above the sixth floor. Otherwise, the midsection lacks horizontal ornamentation. The 27th through 31st stories are decorated with engaged Ionic columns in antis . On the 27th through 29th stories, the north, east, and south facades are set back behind colonnades, while the west facade extends outward to
10152-644: The creation of a significant number of early skyscrapers, though none of these were steel reinforced and few remain today. Height limits and fire restrictions were later introduced. In the late 1800s, London builders found building heights limited due to issues with existing buildings. High-rise development in London is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St Paul's Cathedral and other historic buildings. This policy, 'St Paul's Heights', has officially been in operation since 1927. Concerns about aesthetics and fire safety had likewise hampered
10293-541: The current third story was created, with new spandrel panels being added to separate the double-height windows that formerly spanned the double-height second story. The fifth story is the topmost story of the base and has a deep cornice at the top. The cornice contains motifs of lions' heads and rosettes. The midsection begins at the sixth story and rises through the 26th story. It is mostly faced in buff -colored granite. Each bay contains two windows. There are slightly projecting vertical piers separating each bay, except at
10434-517: The design of several other buildings. Its completion was described as the "beginning of a vogue for the use of a temple or mausoleum" at the top of skyscrapers, utilizing enhanced details or a full depiction of a temple. Architecture magazine projected that such a roof "will be used a great many times more". Several roofs in Lower Manhattan were influenced by 14 Wall Street's design, including those of 26 Broadway , 40 Wall Street , 60 Wall Street ,
10575-632: The development of skyscrapers across continental Europe for the first half of the 20th century. By 1940, there were around 100 high-rise buildings in Europe ( List of early skyscrapers ). Some examples of these are the 43 m (141 ft) tall 1898 Witte Huis (White House) in Rotterdam ; the 51.5 m (169 ft) tall PAST Building (1906–1908) in Warsaw ; the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, completed in 1911 and 90 m (300 ft) high;
10716-402: The early 1960s Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan , considered the "father of tubular designs " for high-rises, discovered that the dominating rigid steel frame structure was not the only system apt for tall buildings, marking a new era of skyscraper construction in terms of multiple structural systems . His central innovation in skyscraper design and construction
10857-494: The eighth through 23rd floors of the Bankers Trust Building were vacant, representing 350,000 square feet (33,000 m), though these floors were gradually rented to other tenants. Bankers Trust retained ownership of 14 Wall Street until 1987, when the building was sold to 14 Wall Street Associates, who subsequently sold the building to 14 Wall Street Realty in 1991 and to General Electric Investment in 1992. After buying 14 Wall Street, General Electric Investment started to renovate
10998-452: The entrance on Nassau Street. There are five bays on Nassau Street and eleven on Pine Street; the bays each contain between one and three windows. The base is two stories tall, excluding the basement, which is partially visible as Nassau Street slopes downward from Pine Street toward Wall Street. The design of the upper stories' facade is similar to that on the Wall Street side. For the foundation of 14 Wall Street, caissons were sunk around
11139-416: The environment and loaded structures with decorative elements and extravagant finishes. This approach to design was opposed by Fazlur Khan and he considered the designs to be whimsical rather than rational. Moreover, he considered the work to be a waste of precious natural resources. Khan's work promoted structures integrated with architecture and the least use of material resulting in the smallest impact on
11280-454: The environment. The next era of skyscrapers will focus on the environment including performance of structures, types of material, construction practices, absolute minimal use of materials/natural resources, embodied energy within the structures, and more importantly, a holistically integrated building systems approach. Modern building practices regarding supertall structures have led to the study of "vanity height". Vanity height, according to
11421-410: The facade at a rate of three-and-a-half stories per week. The building topped out on June 14, 1911. The stonework was completed by September 15, 1911, except for the pyramid, for which there had been a minor change in design. The basements and the three lower floors were to contain the headquarters of Bankers Trust, although its main operations would be housed elsewhere in less expensive offices. Most of
11562-450: The firm became Trowbridge & Livingston. Its major commissions were received between 1901 and 1938, most in a Beaux Arts or neoclassical style. The majority of the firm's work was in New York City, where the firm designed several notable public and commercial buildings. Among the most famous are the neo-Baroque St. Regis New York (1904). and the B. Altman and Company Building (1906), both on Fifth Avenue. In particular, nearly all of
11703-448: The firm. Trowbridge died of pneumonia at his home in New York City on January 29, 1925. Goodhue Livingston was born in New York City on February 23, 1867, the son of Robert Edward Livingston and his wife, Susan DePeyster. He graduated from Columbia College (1888), and from Columbia University's School of Mines (1892). In 1894, Trowbridge, Livingston and Colt formed a partnership that lasted until 1897 when Stockton B. Colt left, and
11844-473: The first building in the world to feature a metal-framed glass curtain wall , a design element which creates light, airy interiors and has since been used the world over as a defining feature of skyscrapers". Further developments led to what many individuals and organizations consider the world's first skyscraper, the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884–1885. While its original height of 42.1 m (138 ft) does not even qualify as
11985-455: The following year, Leviev Boymelgreen agreed to sell the property to Cushman & Wakefield for $ 325 million. Ultimately, 14 Wall Street was purchased by the Carlyle Group and Capstone Equities, who planned to renovate the building for $ 50 million, including $ 5 million for the restoration of the lobby. Carlyle and Capstone sold majority control of the building in 2012 to Alexander Rovt ,
12126-521: The foundation. The superstructure contains more than 8,000 short tons (7,100 long tons; 7,300 t) of steel. The second floor does not contain any columns because of the elaborate network of heavy trusses used to support the outer walls. "Unusually heavy bracing" is used to support the fourth floor. There are also four large trusses, two each at the fifth and 29th floors; they each measure 12 feet (3.7 m) thick and weigh 50 short tons (45 long tons; 45 t). A standard girder-and-column steel structure
12267-446: The fourth and deepest basement contained the power and steam plants. The remaining stories were rented to various tenants. The office stories contained floor surfaces made of concrete, as well as walls of marble , plaster , and terracotta . As a fireproofing measure, the doors, window sash, and trim were made of metal; the trim was then finished to look like mahogany. Each story contained ornate bronze mailboxes that were connected to
12408-439: The gigantic 'Gateway of New York. ' " Cassier's Magazine wrote that the building "presents a beautiful and impressive appearance, free from ornate decoration", though the magazine misattributed the building as being influenced by Egyptian pyramids. The building was perceived by several observers as a symbol of the future. During the early 20th century, Bankers Trust used imagery of 14 Wall Street in its advertising to depict it as
12549-471: The glass façade skyscraper and, along with Norwegian Fred Severud , designed the Seagram Building in 1958, a skyscraper that is often regarded as the pinnacle of modernist high-rise architecture. Skyscraper construction surged throughout the 1960s. The impetus behind the upswing was a series of transformative innovations which made it possible for people to live and work in "cities in the sky". In
12690-497: The ground floor as well as various other spaces. According to The New York Times , Manhattan Trust and Bankers Trust had colluded to acquire the Gillender Building. During this time, Bankers Trust acquired a majority share in the Guaranty Trust Company; the same people served on both companies' boards of directors, although Guaranty Trust built a new headquarters for itself rather than move to 14 Wall Street. Bankers Trust and
12831-465: The hundred-story John Hancock Center and the massive 442 m (1,450 ft) Willis Tower . Other pioneers of this field include Hal Iyengar , William LeMessurier , and Minoru Yamasaki , the architect of the World Trade Center . Many buildings designed in the 70s lacked a particular style and recalled ornamentation from earlier buildings designed before the 50s. These design plans ignored
12972-623: The lobby depicted similar motifs. When the building was expanded from 1931 to 1933, the former banking room on the first floor was converted into an officers' seating area, and the floor level was raised to harmonize with the new extension. The double-height second story was divided into two stories, and the third story was created. The new addition, with the address 16 Wall Street, contained a T-shaped banking room covering 10,000 square feet (930 m), with "a forest of squared-off, trunk-like columns clad in Oregon myrtle". The new banking room's coved ceiling
13113-497: The lobby to the 16th story and above. The "local" elevators served the lower floors, and the "relief" elevators served all floors. There was an additional elevator serving the 30th through 38th floors. The elevator lobbies contained Botticino-marble walls and travertine floors. As of 2023, the building has 34 elevators. The present-day 32nd floor, the highest story beneath the roof, was supposed to have been an apartment, which J. P. Morgan had an option to occupy. He chose not to pursue
13254-416: The lot. Due to high pressure on the cofferdam, temporary timber trusses were used to brace the cofferdam. A 3-foot-thick (0.91 m) pad of concrete, overlaid with waterproof cement, was then placed at the bottom of the pit. The method was not only cheaper than the then-standard method of driving caissons down to bedrock, but also provided more basement space, as the basements were not interrupted by piers for
13395-454: The lower levels of a skyscraper will be much larger than the material required within higher levels. This is not always visually apparent. The Empire State Building 's setbacks are actually a result of the building code at the time ( 1916 Zoning Resolution ), and were not structurally required. On the other hand, John Hancock Center 's shape is uniquely the result of how it supports loads. Vertical supports can come in several types, among which
13536-674: The most common for skyscrapers can be categorized as steel frames, concrete cores, tube within tube design, and shear walls. The wind loading on a skyscraper is also considerable. In fact, the lateral wind load imposed on supertall structures is generally the governing factor in the structural design. Wind pressure increases with height, so for very tall buildings, the loads associated with wind are larger than dead or live loads. Other vertical and horizontal loading factors come from varied, unpredictable sources, such as earthquakes. By 1895, steel had replaced cast iron as skyscrapers' structural material. Its malleability allowed it to be formed into
13677-435: The most complex encountered given the balances required between economics , engineering , and construction management. One common feature of skyscrapers is a steel framework from which curtain walls are suspended, rather than load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Most skyscrapers have a steel frame that enables them to be built taller than typical load-bearing walls of reinforced concrete. Skyscrapers usually have
13818-582: The new building as an L-shaped structure. In November, Bankers Trust finalized an agreement to buy the Gillender Building from Helen Gillender. The next month, the Manhattan Trust Company acquired the Gillender Building for $ 1.5 million (equivalent to $ 50,867,000 in 2023), then a record amount for land in New York City. Manhattan Trust then resold the Gillender Building to Bankers Trust for $ 1.25 million (equivalent to $ 42,389,000 in 2023), although Manhattan Trust retained long-term lease rights for
13959-581: The next month. Workers used dynamite to clear the site of the annex. This damaged two nearby buildings near the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, including the headquarters of the First National Bank of New York (now Citibank ), which was demolished in late 1931. First National Bank sued Bankers Trust and the project's contractors for $ 881,500 in April 1932, alleging that the excavations had damaged its adjoining building at Broadway and Wall Street. The case lasted for two years, and First National Bank
14100-598: The north, Federal Hall National Memorial (formerly the sub-Treasury building) at 26 Wall Street to the east, 23 Wall Street to the southeast, the New York Stock Exchange Building to the south, 1 Wall Street to the southwest, and 100 Broadway to the west. An entrance to the Broad Street station of the New York City Subway , serving the J and Z trains, is directly to
14241-408: The option due to antitrust proceedings ongoing against Bankers Trust at the time of the building's completion, and the space was instead converted to an observation deck. The space measured 70 by 70 feet (21 by 21 m) and was illuminated by 36 windows. The New York Times reported at the building's 1912 opening that $ 250,000 had been spent on "teakwood furniture, priceless rugs, luxurious baths, and
14382-503: The original tower, the first floor is rusticated, and the second through fourth floors contain a colonnade. On upper stories, wide piers divide each bay, and narrow piers divide each window. The piers are ribbed and are designed in a modernistic style. The spandrels between each row of windows are ornamented aluminum panels. The combination of piers, spandrels, and windows create a pattern of vertical striping. The Pine Street and Nassau Street facades are more modern in design, with motifs in
14523-406: The performance of structures, types of materials, construction practices, absolute minimal use of materials and natural resources, energy within the structure, and a holistically integrated building systems approach. LEED is a current green building standard. Architecturally, with the movements of Postmodernism , New Urbanism and New Classical Architecture , that established since the 1980s,
14664-719: The price of steel decreased and labor costs increased. The steel frames become inefficient and uneconomic for supertall buildings as usable floor space is reduced for progressively larger supporting columns. Since about 1960, tubular designs have been used for high rises. This reduces the usage of material (more efficient in economic terms – Willis Tower uses a third less steel than the Empire State Building) yet allows greater height. It allows fewer interior columns, and so creates more usable floor space. It further enables buildings to take on various shapes. Elevators are characteristic to skyscrapers. In 1852 Elisha Otis introduced
14805-401: The purchase of the Gillender Building in April 1909. The bank first obtained the adjacent seven-story Stevens Building; that July, the trust leased the Stevens Building for 84 years at a cost of $ 1.5 million. At the time, the press reported that Bankers Trust would erect a 16-story office building wrapping around the Gillender Building. George B. Post , hired as a "professional advisor", proposed
14946-402: The rest were rented to tenants. A notable building in Manhattan's skyline in the early 20th century, the building was featured prominently in Bankers Trust's early imagery. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1997. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District , a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2007. 14 Wall Street is in
15087-399: The roof were 47 storage rooms, as well as records, a sprinkler tank, a water tank, and elevator equipment. Bankers Trust was founded in 1903 when a number of commercial banks needed a vehicle to enter the trusts and estates market. The company originally was located at Liberty and Washington Streets, with eight staff working in two basement rooms. The Bankers Trust ultimately acquired space in
15228-462: The room. Gluck had sole ownership of 14 Wall Street by 2004, and Leviev Boymelgreen bought the building from Gluck the next year for $ 215 million. Initially, the new owners wanted to convert the entire building from offices into luxury condominiums but, in 2006, they dropped their plan for a residential conversion. Instead, Leviev Boymelgreen ultimately converted the lower stories to condos. The 14 Wall Street restaurant also closed in early 2006. Early
15369-474: The safety elevator at the E. V. Haughwout Building in New York City, allowing convenient and safe transport to buildings' upper floors. Otis later introduced the first commercial passenger elevators to the Equitable Life Building in 1870, considered by some architectural historians to be the first skyscraper. Another crucial development was the use of a steel frame instead of stone or brick, otherwise
15510-643: The safety elevator, allowing convenient and safe passenger movement to upper floors. Another crucial development was the use of a steel frame instead of stone or brick, otherwise the walls on the lower floors on a tall building would be too thick to be practical. Today major manufacturers of elevators include Otis , ThyssenKrupp , Schindler , and KONE . Advances in construction techniques have allowed skyscrapers to narrow in width, while increasing in height. Some of these new techniques include mass dampers to reduce vibrations and swaying, and gaps to allow air to pass through, reducing wind shear. Good structural design
15651-552: The site had been cleared, foundation work was started. Foundational work was stymied due to the quicksand in the ground, as well as the presence of redundant supports underneath the Gillender Building's site and the proximity of other buildings. Steel superstructure construction commenced after foundational work was completed in November 1910, and the steel had reached the ground level by December 20, 1910. Facade work commenced in February 1911, with contractor Marc Eidlitz & Son erecting
15792-433: The site's perimeter, reaching to the layer of rock 65 feet (20 m) below the street. Concrete was then poured in between these caissons to create a watertight cofferdam measuring 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m) thick. The membrane was needed because the surrounding ground was filled with quicksand. Afterward, the lot was excavated, the Gillender Building's foundations were removed, and deep foundations were placed within
15933-509: The southeast. The original building is located at the southeast corner of the site, which was previously occupied by the Stevens and Gillender buildings. In 1880, the Sampson family developed their lots along 12–14 Wall Street into the Stevens Building, which stood until 1910. Sixteen years later, Helen L. Gillender Asinari, owner of the adjoining six-story office building on the northeast corner of Wall and Nassau Streets, decided to replace it with
16074-438: The title for six years. The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe, habitable spaces in very tall buildings. The buildings must support their weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire. Yet they must also be conveniently accessible, even on the upper floors, and provide utilities and a comfortable climate for the occupants. The problems posed in skyscraper design are considered among
16215-687: The tube frame must be interrupted, with transfer girders used to maintain structural integrity. Tube structures cut down costs, at the same time allowing buildings to reach greater heights. Concrete tube-frame construction was first used in the DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment Building , completed in Chicago in 1963, and soon after in the John Hancock Center and World Trade Center . The tubular systems are fundamental to tall building design. Most buildings over 40 stories constructed since
16356-474: The tube structure was the Chestnut De-Witt apartment building, considered to be a major development in modern architecture. These new designs opened an economic door for contractors, engineers, architects, and investors, providing vast amounts of real estate space on minimal plots of land. Over the next fifteen years, many towers were built by Fazlur Rahman Khan and the " Second Chicago School ", including
16497-399: The upper floors were slated to be rented to other companies. By May 1911, The Wall Street Journal reported that "a large amount of office space" had already been rented in the building. Asking rates for rental space was $ 4 per square foot ($ 43/m), equivalent to $ 131 per square foot ($ 1,410/m) in 2023; this rate was higher than in other buildings in the area due to 14 Wall Street's proximity to
16638-488: The upper part of building by a loggia and a stone pyramid, in place of the usual flat or mansard roof." This was one of the first times a pyramidal roof had been used in a skyscraper (after only the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower ); previous tall structures had been capped by a cupola , spire, or tempietto . The rest of the building is surrounded by a 25-story annex, which wraps around
16779-472: The upper rented to the lower classes. Surviving Oxyrhynchus Papyri indicate that seven-stories buildings existed in provincial towns such as in 3rd century AD Hermopolis in Roman Egypt . The skylines of many important medieval cities had large numbers of high-rise urban towers, built by the wealthy for defense and status. The residential Towers of 12th century Bologna numbered between 80 and 100 at
16920-509: The vault. The columns and beams that reinforce the vault are so strong that "a shock sufficient to disturb the vault would bring the building down in ruins upon it". Inside, the vault was split into numerous aisles with combination locks; each safe in the vault required two officers to open. When the building was completed, the basement also had a mail carriers' station, where couriers could collect packages and deliver them to tenants. The third basement contained ventilation openings and fans, while
17061-460: The walls on the lower floors on a tall building would be too thick to be practical. An early development in this area was Oriel Chambers in Liverpool , England, built in 1864. It was only five floors high. The Royal Academy of Arts states, "critics at the time were horrified by its 'large agglomerations of protruding plate glass bubbles'. In fact, it was a precursor to Modernist architecture, being
17202-604: The weight of the building. This development led to the "Chicago skeleton" form of construction. In addition to the steel frame, the Home Insurance Building also utilized fireproofing, elevators, and electrical wiring, key elements in most skyscrapers today. Burnham and Root 's 45 m (148 ft) Rand McNally Building in Chicago, 1889, was the first all-steel framed skyscraper, while Louis Sullivan 's 41 m (135 ft) Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri, 1891,
17343-487: The western and northern sides of the original tower. The Wall Street side has setbacks at the 15th, 22nd, and 25th floors and the Nassau Street side has a setback at the 23rd floor. The Pine Street side has a light court above the 11th story, which cuts through the center of that side. The facade is clad with 8,000 short tons (7,100 long tons; 7,300 t) of New England granite from several quarries. The original tower
17484-436: The western facade's midsection is made of brick rather than granite. The windows originally had wood frames covered with metal. Because 14 Wall Street was surrounded on all sides by other skyscrapers, thereby limiting visibility of the lower section, the lower floors were designed with intricate detail. The upper basement and the first floor were arranged as a stylobate that supported a colonnade above it. The basement facade
17625-814: The world have more than 100 skyscrapers that are 150 m (492 ft) or taller: Hong Kong with 552 skyscrapers; Shenzhen , China with 373 skyscrapers; New York City , US with 314 skyscrapers; Dubai , UAE with 252 skyscrapers; Guangzhou , China with 188 skyscrapers; Shanghai , China with 183 skyscrapers; Tokyo , Japan with 168 skyscrapers; Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia with 156 skyscrapers; Wuhan , China with 149 skyscrapers; Chongqing , China, with 144 skyscrapers; Chicago , US, with 137 skyscrapers; Chengdu , China with 117 skyscrapers; Jakarta , Indonesia , with 112 skyscrapers; Bangkok , Thailand , with 111 skyscrapers, and Mumbai , India with 102. As of 2024, there are over 7 thousand skyscrapers over 150 m (492 ft) in height worldwide. The term "skyscraper"
17766-648: The world's tallest building for forty years. The first completed 417 m (1,368 ft) tall World Trade Center tower became the world's tallest building in 1972. However, it was overtaken by the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower ) in Chicago within two years. The 442 m (1,450 ft) tall Sears Tower stood as the world's tallest building for 24 years, from 1974 until 1998, until it was edged out by 452 m (1,483 ft) Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, which held
17907-432: The world's tallest building, New York took the lead by 1895 with the completion of the 103 m (338 ft) tall American Surety Building , leaving New York with the title of the world's tallest building for many years. Modern skyscrapers are built with steel or reinforced concrete frameworks and curtain walls of glass or polished stone . They use mechanical equipment such as water pumps and elevators . Since
18048-470: The world, although only partially iron framed, is The Flaxmill in Shrewsbury , England. Built in 1797, it is seen as the "grandfather of skyscrapers", since its fireproof combination of cast iron columns and cast iron beams developed into the modern steel frame that made modern skyscrapers possible. In 2013 funding was confirmed to convert the derelict building into offices. In 1857, Elisha Otis introduced
18189-650: The years immediately following World War II. Early examples include Edificio España (Spain) and Torre Breda (Italy). From the 1930s onward, skyscrapers began to appear in various cities in East and Southeast Asia as well as in Latin America . Finally, they also began to be constructed in cities in Africa , the Middle East , South Asia , and Oceania from the late 1950s. Skyscraper projects after World War II typically rejected
18330-684: Was 27 feet (8.2 m) tall. The building has four basement levels, two of which were occupied by Bankers Trust's safe-deposit vault. Described by The Bankers Magazine as "the strongest vault in the world", the vault measured 28 by 32 feet (8.5 by 9.8 m) across. The vault weighed 1,550 short tons (1,380 long tons; 1,410 t) and had 160 safe-deposit boxes; the vault door alone weighed 40 short tons (36 long tons; 36 t). The vault walls were 28 inches (710 mm) thick, with 24 inches (610 mm) of concrete and 4 inches (100 mm) of "shock and drill-proof steel". This would prevent both standard explosives and oxyacetylene cutters from penetrating
18471-425: Was 85% rented. J.P. Morgan & Co. had originally planned to move into 14 Wall Street, with Morgan occupying the 32nd-story apartment, but these plans were canceled shortly after the building opened. After Bankers Trust was investigated by the U.S. Congress's Pujo Committee for monopolistic practices, J.P. Morgan & Co. built another structure to the southeast at 23 Wall Street. By 1917, Bankers Trust had become
18612-466: Was a light-colored bronze, while Italian marble lined the main banking spaces on the first and second floors. At the time of the building's opening, The Bankers Magazine observed that the offices used modular equipment that could be moved easily in case the company needed to expand. Further, the floor surfaces were made of cork, and each department had telephone service. Pneumatic tube systems made it easy to send papers between different departments and to
18753-402: Was awarded $ 237,500 in damages in January 1934, about a quarter of what it had sued for. In addition, Bankers Trust was released from all liability for any damage caused during construction. Meanwhile, in November 1931, contractors began working in two five-hour shifts per day instead of one eight-hour shift, doubling the number of jobs as well as increasing daily productivity. The 25-story annex
18894-461: Was completed in 1932, and the staff moved back into 14 Wall Street. The bank hired brokers Brown, Wheelock, Harris & Co. that October to lease out its former space in the original structure. The old building's main entrances were relocated, and its third story was also added; these renovations were completed in March 1933. The project tripled 14 Wall Street's rentable area. Bankers Trust officially opened
19035-542: Was erected on the site of the Stevens Building at 12–14 Wall Street and the Gillender Building at 16 Wall Street. It was built in 1910–1912 and was designed by Trowbridge & Livingston in the neoclassical style as the headquarters for Bankers Trust . A 25-story addition with Art Deco detailing , designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon , was constructed in 1931–1933 to replace three other structures. After new buildings for Bankers Trust were erected in 1962 and 1974,
19176-611: Was first applied to buildings of steel-framed construction of at least 10 stories in the late 19th century, a result of public amazement at the tall buildings being built in major American cities like New York City , Philadelphia , Boston , Chicago , Detroit , and St. Louis . The first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building , originally 10 stories with a height of 42 m or 138 ft, in Chicago in 1885; two additional stories were added. Some point to Philadelphia's 10-story Jayne Building (1849–50) as
19317-424: Was in 17th-century Edinburgh , Scotland, where a defensive city wall defined the boundaries of the city. Due to the restricted land area available for development, the houses increased in height instead. Buildings of 11 stories were common, and there are records of buildings as high as 14 stories. Many of the stone-built structures can still be seen today in the old town of Edinburgh. The oldest iron framed building in
19458-458: Was located at 10–12 Wall Street, directly to the west of the original tower. The Hanover National Building at 5–11 Nassau Street, erected in 1903, was a 21-story building north of the original Bankers Trust Building, which extended to Pine Street. The final building on the lot was 7 Pine Street, a 10-story building to the northwest of the original tower. 14 Wall Street is approximately 540 feet (160 m) tall, with 32 usable above-ground floors and
19599-454: Was the concept of the "tube" structural system , including the "framed tube", "trussed tube", and "bundled tube". His "tube concept", using all the exterior wall perimeter structure of a building to simulate a thin-walled tube, revolutionized tall building design. These systems allow greater economic efficiency, and also allow skyscrapers to take on various shapes, no longer needing to be rectangular and box-shaped. The first building to employ
19740-596: Was the first steel-framed building with soaring vertical bands to emphasize the height of the building and is therefore considered to be the first early skyscraper. In 1889, the Mole Antonelliana in Italy was 197 m (549 ft) tall. Most early skyscrapers emerged in the land-strapped areas of New York City and Chicago toward the end of the 19th century. A land boom in Melbourne , Australia between 1888 and 1891 spurred
19881-405: Was used in place of the wood trim that was used for decoration in other buildings, and a sprinkler system was placed in the roof. Bankers Trust's offices occupied basement levels A and B, as well as the first, second, and fourth stories. The offices housed the banking, trust, and foreign departments of Bankers Trust. These offices were designed "in a pure classic style"; the metalwork in the offices
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