Everything about Park Row Building totally explained
First known as the Ivins Syndicate Building, or just the Syndicate Building, the
Park Row Building is located on
Park Row in the
Financial District of the
New York City borough of
Manhattan.
History
One of the first structures to be called a
skyscraper, the building was completed in 1899 after three years of construction. The builder was William Mills Ivins, a prominent lawyer and former judge advocate general for New York State. He headed a syndicate of investors, which most likely gave root to the buildings original name. At 391 ft (119.2m) tall it was the tallest office building in the world from 1899 until 1908, when it was surpassed by the
Singer Building. In 1901, an announced building project by
Aetna, to be located at
33rd Street and
Broadway, would have overtaken Park Row as the tallest office building at 455 feet high, but it was never built. The building is 29 stories tall, with 26 full floors and two, three-story cupolas. It has a frontage of 103 ft on Park Row, 23 on Ann Street and 48 feet on Theater Alley. The base of the building covers a land area of approximately 15,000 square feet. The building contains about 8,000 tons of steel and 12,000 tons of other material, chiefly brick and terra cotta . The foundation of the Park Row Building was made of 3,900 Georgia spruce piles driven into wet sand and topped by granite blocks. The total cost to build this early skyscraper was $2,400,000 .
Once completed, the building offered 950 separate offices, each with a capacity of about 4 people. A rough estimate of 25,000 people were thought to have passed through the building each work-day. Upon completion, approximately 4,000 people a day worked there. By mid-1899 the building was owned by the investment banker and subway sponsor August Belmont under the name 'Park Row Realty Company'. The first headquarters of the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) subway were located in the building .
The architect was
Robert Henderson Robertson, a pioneer in steel skyscraper design.
Initial reviews
The overall public was impressed with the structure, many in awe of its height and mammoth proportions. As one of the earliest of the 'modern skyscrapers,' it towered at least 15 to 20 stories over most of its neighbors. With essentially no comparable structures against which to measure the building's strengths and weaknesses, the criticism from the architectural community was quite harsh.
The New York Times quoted a critic, who in 1898 wrote in
The Real Estate Record and Guide,
"New York is the only city in which such a monster would be allowed to rear itself," and called the blank side walls
"absolutely inexpressive and vacuous." In a 1908 article in
The New York Times, a
French architect,
Augustin-Adolphe Rey, wrote that
"one side of it's an entirely bare wall — what difference does it make how the other sides are treated?" Critic
Jean Schopfer, in a 1900 article published by the magazine
Architectural Review and titled
American Architecture from a Foreign Point of View, simply called the building
"detestable."
Such unfavorable reviews were merely a reflection of the day. Over the past century New York has become a vertical city of skyscrapers which helps cast the Park Row Building in a 'new light.'
Image gallery
Image:Park_Row_Building_New_York.jpg|Park Row Building - illustrated postcard
Image:15ParkRowTower.jpg|Park Row Building - Tower
Image:Park_Row_Building_1912_New_York_City.jpg|Early image of Park Row Building
Image:15_Park_Row.JPG|Building overlooking City Hall Park
Image:15_Park_Row_2.JPG|Building as seen from City Hall Park
Image:15_Park_Row_3.JPG|Front of building
Recent developments
- In 1999, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Park Row Building a landmark.
- In 2000, plans were developed for a gut renovation of the entire structure. It included converting all floors above the 11th into 210 rental apartments, at a cost of over $30 million. All floors below the 11th were to remain commercial. The most unusual apartments would be the pair made out of the two three-story cupolas.
- By 2002 initial renovations and residential conversions were completed.
- Currently, Floors 2 through 8 are partially occupied by J&R Music World, Inc. Residential units currently occupy floors 11 to 26, with new units being constructed on floors 9 and 10. Apartments range in size from 500 square-foot studios to 2,000+ square-foot lofts and 2 bedrooms. Apartments offer an array of desired views including: the Brooklyn Bridge (east), city hall/city hall park (north/west), St. Paul's church and the financial center (west/south) and the NY harbor/Brooklyn (south/east). Each floor has its own laundry room with washer/dryer units. The two 3-story turrets (floors 28, 29, and 30) are not up to current building and fire-codes and are unsuitable for use.
- The 27th floor is set to become an expanded health-club facility for residents.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Park Row Building'.
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