26 Broadway
Encyclopedia
26 Broadway is a 31-story, 159 m, 520 ft New York City Designated Landmark at the southern tip of Manhattan
at Bowling Green
. The structure is currently the 197th tallest building in New York City and the 572nd tallest building in the United States.
moved its location from Cleveland, Ohio
. Standard Oil's first building on the site was a 10-story building 86 feet wide which extended between Broadway and North Street. It was designed by Ebenezer L. Roberts. In 1895, six stories were added and a 27 feet (8.2 m) extension was made on its north side designed by Kimball & Thompson
. After World War I
, Walter C. Teagle
made the decision to greatly expand the structure by buying all four of its neighboring buildings on the block; and to either demolish them or extensively renovate them so that the new building looked like one.
It was extensively overhauled in 1921-1928 by Thomas Hastings
the surviving partner of Carrère and Hastings
with Shreve, Lamb and Blake as associate architects. Hastings, who had helped design the Cunard Building (later called the Standard & Poors Building) across the street at 25 Broadway, was chosen as lead architect. At the time of construction, the pyramid was the tallest tower at the tip of Manhattan and was illuminated as a beacon for ships entering the harbor.
Standard Oil of New Jersey (then called Esso
), moved to 75 Rockefeller Plaza
in 1946. The Mobil
division moved to 150 East 42nd Street in 1954. Standard Oil sold the building in 1956. It is one of the first buildings in Manhattan to have setbacks
and is topped by a pyramid modeled on the Mausoleum of Maussollos
. The building was designated as a New York City landmark in 1995.
from 1988 to 2006, and the Sports Museum of America
from 2008 to 2009.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at Bowling Green
Bowling Green (New York City)
Bowling Green is a small public park in Lower Manhattan at the foot of Broadway next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam. Built in 1733, originally including a bowling green, it is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th century fence. At...
. The structure is currently the 197th tallest building in New York City and the 572nd tallest building in the United States.
History
The building which was originally built in 1885 according to design specifications by architect Francis H. Kimball, when Standard OilStandard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
moved its location from Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Standard Oil's first building on the site was a 10-story building 86 feet wide which extended between Broadway and North Street. It was designed by Ebenezer L. Roberts. In 1895, six stories were added and a 27 feet (8.2 m) extension was made on its north side designed by Kimball & Thompson
Kimball & Thompson
Kimball & Thompson was the name of an architectural partnership made up of Francis H. Kimball and G. Kramer Thompson from 1892 to 1898. They were early proponents of steel framed curtain-walled skyscrapers...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Walter C. Teagle
Walter C. Teagle
Walter Clark Teagle , was responsible for leading Standard Oil to the forefront of the oil industry and significantly expanding the company's presence in the petrochemical field.-Biography:...
made the decision to greatly expand the structure by buying all four of its neighboring buildings on the block; and to either demolish them or extensively renovate them so that the new building looked like one.
It was extensively overhauled in 1921-1928 by Thomas Hastings
Thomas Hastings (architect)
Thomas Hastings was an American architect.- Biography :He was born in New York City to Thomas Samuel Hastings, a Presbyterian minister, and Fanny de Groot. Hastings came from a colonial Yankee background, his ancestor Thomas Hastings having come from the East Anglia region of England to the...
the surviving partner of Carrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings , located in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States. The partnership operated from 1885 until 1911, when Carrère was killed in an automobile accident...
with Shreve, Lamb and Blake as associate architects. Hastings, who had helped design the Cunard Building (later called the Standard & Poors Building) across the street at 25 Broadway, was chosen as lead architect. At the time of construction, the pyramid was the tallest tower at the tip of Manhattan and was illuminated as a beacon for ships entering the harbor.
Standard Oil of New Jersey (then called Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
), moved to 75 Rockefeller Plaza
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in 1946. The Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
division moved to 150 East 42nd Street in 1954. Standard Oil sold the building in 1956. It is one of the first buildings in Manhattan to have setbacks
Setback (architecture)
A setback, sometimes called step-back, is a step-like recession in a wall. Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes.-History:...
and is topped by a pyramid modeled on the Mausoleum of Maussollos
Mausoleum of Maussollos
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister....
. The building was designated as a New York City landmark in 1995.
Museums
Lower portions of the building have been used for museums in the past; the Museum of American FinanceMuseum of American Finance
The Museum of American Finance, is an American financial-history museum, located in the Financial District of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York....
from 1988 to 2006, and the Sports Museum of America
Sports Museum of America
The Sports Museum of America was the United States' first national sports museum dedicated to the history and cultural significance of sports in America. It opened on May 7, 2008 and closed February 20, 2009.-History:...
from 2008 to 2009.