The Home Life Building, also known as 253 Broadway, is an office building in
Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
Tribeca
Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...
and
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
neighborhoods at the northwest corner of Broadway and Murray Street, adjacent to
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost was an officer in the Dutch West India Compan ...
.
The Home Life Building is made of two adjacent structures at 251–257
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, erected between 1892 and 1894 as separate buildings. The original 16-story ''Home Life Insurance Company Building'' at 256 Broadway was designed by
Napoleon LeBrun & Sons in the
Renaissance Revival style. The 13-story ''Postal Telegraph Building'', immediately to the south at 253 Broadway, was designed by
George Edward Harding & Gooch in the
neoclassical style. The original Home Life Building is clad with marble, while the Postal Telegraph Building's facade consists of limestone at its base and brick on its upper stories. Ornamental details are used on both structures.
256 Broadway was erected for the
Home Life Insurance Company, while 253 Broadway was erected for the
Postal Telegraph Company
Postal Telegraph Company (Postal Telegraph & Cable Corporation) was a major operator of telegraph networks in the United States prior to its consolidation with Western Union in 1943.Nonnenmacher, TomasHistory of the U.S. Telegraph Industry/ref> Po ...
. Both buildings were constructed simultaneously between 1892 and 1894. Although 256 Broadway was intended as a 12-story building, it was expanded to 16 stories mid-construction, making it one of the
tallest buildings in the city when it was completed. After the Home Life Company bought 253 Broadway in 1947, the two buildings were joined internally to form a single structure, and became collectively known as the Home Life Building. The Home Life Company occupied the building until 1985. It was made a
New York City designated landmark
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 1991.
Architecture
The Home Life Building is in the
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
and
Tribeca
Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...
neighborhoods of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, just west of
New York City Hall and
City Hall Park
City Hall Park is a public park surrounding New York City Hall in the Civic Center of Manhattan. It was the town commons of the nascent city of New York.
History
17th century
David Provoost was an officer in the Dutch West India Compan ...
. It is on the northwest corner of Broadway and Murray Street, south of the
Rogers Peet Building. The Home Life Building is composed of two formerly separate structures: the Postal Telegraph Company Building on 253 Broadway, at the corner with Murray Street, and the original Home Life Insurance Company Building at 256 Broadway, immediately to the north.
The
New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services
The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is a City of New York government agency. It's mission is to make city government work for all New Yorkers. It is responsible for:
* Recruiting, hiring, and training City emp ...
administers most of the Home Life Building, with
New York City government
The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
offices on the upper floors. A private owner controls the basements and ground level. The Home Life Building is one of the few remaining major insurance company "home office" structures in New York City.
253 Broadway, also known as the Postal Telegraph Building or the Commercial Cable Building, was designed by
George Edward Harding & Gooch in the
neoclassical style.
It is 13 stories high, although the top floor is labeled as the 14th due to
the perception of thirteen being unlucky.
There are also two basement levels.
According to a contemporary news articles, it is tall.
256 Broadway, the original Home Life Building, was designed by
Napoleon LeBrun & Sons in the
Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
style,
with influences from both Italian Renaissance and French Renaissance designs.
The leading architect was likely Pierre Lassus LeBrun.
It is 16 stories tall, counting a
dormer in its
gable roof,
and reaches tall above the curb, including its gable roof.
There are also two basement levels.
Although 256 Broadway did not break any height records,
it was one of the
tallest buildings in the city at the time of its completion, and one of fifteen office buildings in the city taller than in 1900.
Form
253 Broadway extends north along Broadway and west along Murray Street.
It is shaped like an "L", extending west along Murray Street and then north to the Rogers Peet Building. The westernmost portion of the Murray Street arm extends north and is wide.
256 Broadway extends along Broadway with a lot deep.
256 Broadway has light courts on the north and south, which were intended to illuminate the interior space. The light courts give the structure an "H" shape, with two rectangular sections connected by a corridor adjacent to the light courts.
The deeper section of the "H" faces east toward Broadway, while the shallower section faces west. The westernmost part of 256 Broadway abuts the "L"-shaped forms of 253 Broadway and the Rogers Peet Building.
Facade
The
facade of 253 Broadway is made of light stone on the first four stories, and of light-gray brick and
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
on the remaining stories.
The design of 253 Broadway emphasizes horizontal layering, with
sill course
A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
s between each story, three intermediate
cornices, and a large bronze cornice at the top.
The lowest levels are recessed behind the main facade, while the
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
on the twelfth story is taller than on 256 Broadway.
The facade of 256 Broadway is of
Tuckahoe marble
Tuckahoe marble (also known as Inwood and Westchester marble) is a type of marble found in southern New York (state), New York state and western Connecticut. Part of the Inwood Formation (New York), Inwood Formation of the Manhattan Prong, it dates ...
.
The facade emphasizes its vertical components, with three-part
arcades stacked on each other, as well as ornamental details concentrated at the base and top.
256 Broadway's facade is divided into three vertical sections: a three-story base, a nine-story shaft with two transitional stories, and a two-story capital with a steep pyramidal roof.
The two interior light courts have a facade of brick.
253 Broadway
![Civic Center NYC Aug 2020 70](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2020_70.jpg)
253 Broadway has eleven windows per floor on Murray Street and five windows per floor on Broadway. The Murray Street
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
contains four vertical ribs that divide the center nine windows into three
bays with three windows each; the outermost columns of windows are treated as "towers" with one window per floor. On the Broadway elevation, the single-window-wide towers flank a central bay with three windows. The corner towers contain a window-and-rondel motif.
The main entrance to 253 Broadway, on the eastern elevation, is wide and contains a doorway to the main lobby. In the original design, smaller doors flanked either side of the main lobby; the left door led to the ground floor space while the right door led to the second floor.
The main entrance is under a slightly projecting rectangular vestibule that extends to the third story and is supported by two pillars.
The entrance was originally capped by bas-reliefs representing light and electricity.
A side entrance for Postal Telegraph employees was also provided on Murray Street in the original design.
The side entrances on Broadway were removed in a 1937–1938 renovation, as were the small storefronts under the loggia on either side of the entrance. The storefront on the left, at the Murray Street corner, was restored between 1990 and 1991. The 2nd and 3rd stories on Broadway are clad with glass bricks and recessed within a loggia supported by four columns.
Above the 6th through 11th floors, there are terracotta courses with alternating classical motifs. The courses above the even-numbered floors contain floral forms, while those above the odd-numbered floors contain
rinceau
In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which small ...
friezes. A loggia extends across the 12th story on Broadway, with
Ionic-style
capitals atop the loggia's square columns, as well as
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
-style antae. The 13th story contains balconies between the corner bays, facing both Murray Street and Broadway. There is a small copper cornice above the 12th story, and a larger copper cornice above the 13th story.
256 Broadway
![Home Life Insurance Company Building 256-57 Broadway top](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Home_Life_Insurance_Company_Building_256-57_Broadway_top.jpg)
The facade of 256 Broadway is five bays wide at ground level. The ground floor contains a rusticated
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
topped by an
entablature, except in the center bay, which has a balustrade. The northernmost bay of the ground floor contains a window within what was formerly the main entrance, while the southernmost bay is a freight entrance; these doorways have columns flanking either side as well as metal plaques above them. At ground level, the center bay projects slightly and has a glass door. On the 2nd floor, there is another arcade with elaborate columns. The three center bays on the 2nd story have large arched openings, with mullions supporting an entablature below the top of the arch, while the two outer bays contain smaller arches underneath the entablature as well as circular windows above it. There are elaborate reliefs on the second-story arcade.
The 3rd floor of 256 Broadway is consistent with the 4th floor of 253 Broadway. The center bay of the 3rd floor contains an
aedicule with two windows, topped by a pediment and flanked by
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s. The other windows on the 3rd floor are single arched windows. A sill course separates the 3rd and 4th floors, except at the center bay, which is interrupted by the pediment. The 4th through 12th stories have seven windows on each story: five in the center and one on either of the outer bays. The windows of these stories are rectangular, except on the 4th floor where they are arched. The 5th and 13th stories have marble balconies supported by brackets and decorated with classical motifs. Ornamental shells are located above the tops of the center windows on the 12th floor. Band courses separate each of the shaft floors, and there are bracketed sills underneath the windows of each floor, the center sills being continuous with each other.
The windows on the 13th through 15th stories are arched. The five center windows on the 14th story are recessed behind a colonnade with a balustrade, creating a
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
, although the two outer windows have their own slightly-projecting balconies. The 15th and 16th floors are situated within a steep copper-bronze pyramidal roof, and contain
dormers. The 15th floor has a colonnade for the five center windows and dormers for the two outermost windows. The 16th floor consists of one aedicule with two windows, similar to on the 3rd floor. Copper dormers with round pediments project from the north and south sides of the roof on the 15th floor.
The pinnacle is constructed of tie and angle iron.
Features
Structural features
253 Broadway uses a metal skeletal frame for its
superstructure.
The frame includes
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...
columns and steel beams and girders.
The front and rear walls of 253 Broadway were
load-bearing wall A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that is an active structural element of a building, which holds the weight of the elements above it, by conducting its weight to a foundation structure below it.
Load-bearing walls are one of the ea ...
s below the 6th floor and carried by girders above that story.
253 Broadway's floors are built upon steel beams infilled with flat terracotta arches and covered with cement.
253 Broadway's structural beams were laid out so that the floors could carry a total live and dead load of .
All of the interior partitions were made of terracotta or fireproof blocks.
The main corridors in 253 Broadway were wainscoted with marble, and mosaic floor tile was used in the halls and other areas.
256 Broadway uses a skeletal frame made almost entirely of wrought steel, with self-supporting outer walls made of marble. Terracotta and brick was used to enclose the interior steel frame.
The curtain walls ranged in thickness from in the two basement levels to on the upper stories.
The foundations of 256 Broadway were excavated to a depth of .
There are structural columns in the center of 256 Broadway's lot as well as on the edges.
256 Broadway's structural beams were laid out so that the floors could carry a total live and dead load of . The interiors used wooden floors,
and as built, the stairs and elevator screens were of cast iron, wrought iron, and marble.
"Costly marbles" were used to decorate the lower floors' corridors.
Interior
The southern half of 253 Broadway's ground floor is a room,
which housed Postal Telegraph's shipping, messenger, delivery, and warehouse operations. The 2nd through 9th floors were intended for use by other tenants; the 2nd floor had a banking space while the 3rd through 9th floors contained offices. The 10th and 11th floors were used as Postal Telegraph's main offices.
The ground and 2nd floors have ceilings of , while the 3rd through 11th floors have ceilings of .
The 12th floor had a ceiling of and contained Postal Telegraph's switchboards, transmitters, and receivers.
Iron stairways with marble steps extended from the ground floor to the roof, and four elevators were provided: two elevators serving all floors and two others running from the lobby to the four upper floors.
The elevators used call buttons, a then-new technology that the ''New York Tribune'' said eliminated the need for passengers to request elevators by yelling "up" or "down". The original elevators were themselves the first electric elevators commissioned by
Frank J. Sprague
Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially ...
.
The Postal Telegraph Building also had one of the first revolving doors in New York City.
Inside 256 Broadway, the northern half of the ground floor originally served as a banking hall for the Merchants' Exchange National Bank.
The second floor contained the main offices of the
Home Life Insurance Company. The ground floor had a ceiling of , while the second floor had a ceiling of .
When opened, 256 Broadway was also outfitted with its own electric plant and three hydraulic elevators, located in the two basement levels of the building.
256 Broadway also contained brass plumbing and iron elevator grillwork.
History
Context
Historically, the land was part of the farm holdings of
Trinity Church.
The surrounding area was developed as the Civic Center by the 19th century, with the construction of
New York City Hall, the
Tweed Courthouse
The Tweed Courthouse (also known as the Old New York County Courthouse) is a historic courthouse building at 52 Chambers Street in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. It was built in the Italianate style with Romanesque Revi ...
, and the
City Hall Post Office in City Hall. In addition, the adjoining stretch of Broadway became a commercial corridor in the mid-19th century, with four- and five-story commercial buildings.
One of the commercial concerns on Broadway was the Home Life Insurance Company, a
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
-based
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
company with a branch on
Wall Street, which moved its branch to 258 Broadway in 1866. Home Life acquired the five-story building at 254 Broadway three years afterward, where it occupied the ground story and leased the remaining space.
Records showed that Home Life had intended to acquire the neighboring property at 253 Broadway instead.
By 1890, Home Life's headquarters were overcrowded.
Another commercial concern on Broadway was the
Postal Telegraph Company
Postal Telegraph Company (Postal Telegraph & Cable Corporation) was a major operator of telegraph networks in the United States prior to its consolidation with Western Union in 1943.Nonnenmacher, TomasHistory of the U.S. Telegraph Industry/ref> Po ...
, formed in the 1880s by
John William Mackay
John William Mackay (November 28, 1831 – July 20, 1902) was an Irish-American industrialist. Mackay was one of the four Bonanza Kings, a partnership which capitalised on the wealth generated by the silver mines at the Comstock Lode. He al ...
, who built the Postal network by purchasing existing telegraph firms that were insolvent.
By 1890, the Postal Telegraph Company had become a viable competitor to
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
. Its headquarters was also overcrowded, and management had to move out to make room for more operations staff.
Construction
By February 1892, Postal Telegraph had decided to build a new headquarters at Broadway and Murray Street, next to Home Life's building. The Home Life Insurance Company purchased 256 Broadway from
Trinity Church on March 16, 1892. It simultaneously sold off the lot at 254 Broadway, which had of frontage on Broadway. One week later, Postal Telegraph signed a 99-year lease agreement with Trinity Church to lease the adjacent lots at 251–254 Broadway. The two companies applied for their building permits three months apart: Postal Telegraph in May 1892 and Home Life in August 1892.
253 Broadway
The terms of Postal Telegraph's lease required Mackay to pay for the demolition of existing buildings on the site, and build a structure at least 10 stories tall. The lease prohibited serving of alcoholic beverages below the third story of Postal Telegraph's new building.
Harding and Gooch were selected as architects for the Postal Telegraph Building,
apparently through an
architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a type of design competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel ...
.
Construction on that Postal Telegraph Building began on June 14, 1892.
During the Postal Life Building's construction, there were at least two worker deaths: one in February 1893 when a derrick fell, and another that May when a worker fell off the roof. Additionally, the Postal Life Building's project superintendent was seriously injured in October 1893 when he was shot by a homeless man looking for work.
256 Broadway
Home Life held a design competition for its planned headquarters, with six architecture firms competing.
The judge,
William Robert Ware
William Robert Ware (May 27, 1832 – June 9, 1915), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools.
He received his o ...
, selected
Napoleon LeBrun
Napoleon Eugene Charles Henry LeBrun (January 2, 1821 – July 9, 1901) was an American architect. He began his career in Philadelphia designing churches and theatres including St. Augustine's Church, the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Pa ...
& Sons as the winning architects.
The plan called for a building with three stories at the base, eight stories in the shaft, and a dormer and pediment under a peaked roof.
At the time, life insurance companies generally had their own buildings for their offices and branch locations. According to architectural writer Kenneth Gibbs, these buildings allowed each individual company to instill "not only its name but also a favorable impression of its operations" in the general public.
This had been a trend since 1870,
with the completion of the former
Equitable Life Building in Manhattan's
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
.
Furthermore, life insurance companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries generally built massive buildings to fit their large clerical and records-keeping staff.
Work on 253 Broadway began on November 2, 1892.
During construction, Home Life took up space in the
New York World Building
The New York World Building (also the Pulitzer Building) was a building in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, along Park Row between Frankfort Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. Part of the former " Newspaper Row", it was designed by ...
. The original plans called for Home Life's building to be 12 stories tall, extending on Broadway and deep.
Excavations for Home Life's building caused the adjacent building at 257 Broadway, occupied by the Merchants' Exchange National Bank, to tilt out of alignment.
The 257 Broadway building had shallower foundations, and the
settling
Settling is the process by which particulates move towards the bottom of a liquid and form a sediment. Particles that experience a force, either due to gravity or due to centrifugal motion will tend to move in a uniform manner in the direction e ...
caused the top of the bank building to trespass upon Home Life's property.
Home Life was already seeking extra space, and it acquired the bank building in early 1893; in exchange, the bank would occupy the ground and basement stories of the Home Life's building.
The design was accordingly revised to 16 stories, with of frontage on Broadway.
At the time, the superstructure had already reached the seventh floor, and the roof was not significantly changed.
Use
Completion and fire
![Civic Center NYC Aug 2022 250](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Civic_Center_NYC_Aug_2022_250.jpg)
The Postal Telegraph and Commercial Cable companies had held a dinner in May 1894 to celebrate the completion of 253 Broadway. Work on both buildings was formally completed that August, with a city building inspector approving occupancy certificates for both buildings on the same day.
Upon the structures' completion, the ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' stated that both buildings had "a good deal of unoccupied space", but that leasing agents for the buildings stated that there were many tenants coming into the Home Life Building, and that the Postal Telegraph Building was seeing high profits from leasing. One of the early tenants in the Home Life Building was the New York City Rapid Transit Commission, forerunner to the
New York City Board of Transportation
The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (NYCBOT or BOT) was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in ...
. At 253 Broadway, Postal Telegraph took the top three floors, a section of the basement, and a ground-floor corner office.
Sprague Electric also occupied offices there.
Postal Telegraph acquired the ground lease for 253 Broadway in 1897.
The buildings were damaged in a December 1898 fire that started at the Rogers Peet Building at 258 Broadway. The
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
was unable to reach the top stories of 256 Broadway, although external damage only reached that building's 8th floor.
256 Broadway suffered a loss worth about 22% of its $900,000 estimated value. The floor materials used in the two buildings affected the amount of damage they sustained. The interior of 256 Broadway was completely gutted, except for walls, ceilings, and floor slabs, because the fire had been able to spread through the wooden floors of that structure. 253 Broadway, which featured cement floors, saw comparatively minor damage, with only the 13th floor being affected.
After the fire, opponents of skyscrapers used the damage at 256 Broadway as an example for their cause, while supporters cited the fact that both structures were still structurally sound.
Fire codes had been changed in 1897 so that buildings taller than had to be fireproof. The lowest eight floors of 256 Broadway's facade, severely damaged by the fire, were rebuilt.
Another fire broke out at the top floor of 253 Broadway in 1900, but as with the fire two years earlier, only the 13th floor was affected. A high-pressure fire-suppression system was also activated in Lower Manhattan in 1908, providing protection to both buildings.
Early 20th century
Home Life moved its headquarters from Brooklyn to 256 Broadway in 1906. The company gradually expanded its presence in 256 Broadway; it only occupied the 2nd through 6th floors in 1916, but was using fifteen full floors by the 1940s.
The ground floor and basement of 256 Broadway contained the
First National City Bank
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
from 1936 to 1964.
Next door, Postal Telegraph continued to be the main occupant at 253 Broadway until 1928, when it moved to the International Telephone Building at 67 Broad Street. Despite having moved out, Postal Telegraph extended its lease of 253 Broadway with Trinity Church in 1929.
In 1930, the
Corn Exchange Bank
The Corn Exchange Bank was a retail bank founded in 1853 in New York state. Over the years, the company acquired many community banks.
History
In 1855, the Corn Exchange Bank moved into an existing building in New York City at the northwest ...
acquired the ground lease for the building.
In 1936, Junior Leasing Corporation bought 253 Broadway at an assessed value of $1.45 million, as well as took over Corn Exchange Bank's ground lease.
A $1 million renovation of 253 Broadway, designed by
Ely Jacques Kahn
Ely Jacques Kahn (June 1, 1884September 5, 1972) was an American commercial architect who designed numerous skyscrapers in New York City in the twentieth century. In addition to buildings intended for commercial use, Kahn's designs ranged throug ...
, was completed the next year, and 253 Broadway became known as the Paragon Building. The first three floors were refaced in glass blocks; the spaces above the ground-floor stores were recessed; the windows were replaced; five new elevators were installed; and new air conditioning, plumbing, and wiring systems were installed. Postal Telegraph moved back to 253 Broadway in 1939, signing a long-term lease for six floors in the building. Four years later, Postal Telegraph merged with Western Union.
The space vacated by Postal Telegraph was filled by the
federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
,
including a unit of the
United States Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
. During this time, the ground floor space was occupied by Wallach's Inc. and the basement housed a branch of the
Longchamps restaurant chain.
Merger and later use
![WTM3 NYU FC 0035](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/WTM3_NYU_FC_0035.jpg)
Home Life acquired 253 Broadway in November 1946, paying Trinity Church $1.7 million in cash.
The agreement was finalized in January 1947.
Openings were created in the
party wall
A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business. Typically, the builder ...
between 253 and 256 Broadway, and staircases were built to connect the corridors in the two formerly-separate buildings. By doing this, Home Life more than doubled the amount of usable space it had.
The main entrance was relocated to 253 Broadway in 1963, while the ground floor of 256 Broadway became retail space. The entrance to 256 Broadway was replaced with a show window.
The ground floor and basement of 256 Broadway was leased in 1964 by women's shop Plymouth Shops, Inc.
Sapolsky & Slobodien installed air conditioning and replaced the windows between 1963 and 1969. A subsequent renovation was undertaken by Ira Greenburg in 1984, and the following October, 253 Broadway Associates bought the combined building.
In 1988, the
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments effec ...
approved a plan for the
government of New York City
The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
to rent and later buy the Home Life Building for $26 million. The Home Life Building was split vertically into two
condominiums in 1989. The basement through second floor was owned by 253 Broadway Associates and used as retail space, while the upper floors were owned by the New York City government and used as offices; parts of the third floor were jointly owned. Among the agencies that had taken space in the city-owned portion of the building were the
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. In 1991, the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC) designated the building as a landmark.
The LPC started renovating six floors in the Home Life Building in 2016, intending to move its offices there the next year. However, the renovation's expected completion date was subsequently delayed to 2021, and the renovation cost increased from $29 million to $62 million. The city government announced in 2017 that it would renovate the Home Life Building with an estimated budget of $18.5 million.
Critical reception
When the buildings were completed in 1894, a writer for the ''Real Estate Record and Guide'' stated that they "war violently with one another, and the pity is, the strife is one
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
time can not mitigate". The writer concluded that "either would be better were the other away".
Later critics did not view the different designs as conflicting. Architectural writers
Sarah Landau
Dr. Sarah Bradford Landau (born 1935) is a noted architectural historian who taught for many years in the Department of Art History at New York University.
Landau earned her B.F.A. at the University of North Carolina (1957). She earned her M.A ...
and
Carl W. Condit stated in 1996 that "it is hard to understand what seemed in 1894 so egregious", with the "only jarring discordance" being the glass blocks on 253 Broadway.
In 2011, architectural critic
Christopher Gray
Christopher Stewart Gray (April 24, 1950 – March 10, 2017) was an American journalist and architectural historian,Schneider, Daniel B (August 27, 2000)"F.Y.I. Hell's Kitchen in the Raw" ''The New York Times''. March 4, 2010. noted for his week ...
wrote in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' that Postal Telegraph's "precise gray brick" building and Home Life's marble structure "almost civic in character" contrasted with each other.
According to Gray, 253 Broadway initially received heavy criticism from architectural critics, even though "to 21st-century eyes the Postal Telegraph Building looks dull but inoffensive."
The ''Real Estate Record'' writer from 1894 said that "the obstreperousness of commerce fairly protrudes" from 253 Broadway, and that "its defects are gross".
Three years later, the ''Architectural Record'' published an article that criticized 253 Broadway's shaft as “honestly ugly", but less bad compared to the base and capital, which the unnamed critic derided as "goocheries".
256 Broadway was better received, albeit with fewer reviews until the early 20th century.
One critical review came from the ''Real Estate Record'', which in 1894 wrote that 256 Broadway gave a "festal" impression "that contradicts the grim commercialism of the actuary".
Montgomery Schuyler
Montgomery Schuyler AIA, (August 19, 1843, Ithaca, New York – July 16, 1914, New Rochelle, New York) was a highly influential critic, journalist and editorial writer in New York City who wrote about and influenced art, literature, music ...
wrote in 1910 that 256 Broadway's facade was "skillfully and tastefully expressed".
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{Broadway (Manhattan)
1894 establishments in New York (state)
Broadway (Manhattan)
Civic Center, Manhattan
Neoclassical architecture in New York City
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City
Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan
Tribeca