Former New York Life Insurance Company Building

Former New York Life Insurance
Company Building
the building after Hatch's and McKim, Mead & White's extension and redesign
Location 346 Broadway, New York, New York
Coordinates 40°42′58″N 74°0′13″W / 40.71611°N 74.00361°WCoordinates: 40°42′58″N 74°0′13″W / 40.71611°N 74.00361°W
Built 1894
Architect Stephen D. Hatch; McKim, Mead & White
Architectural style Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Governing body Local
NRHP Reference #

82003376

[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 28, 1982
Designated NYCL February 10, 1987
Original building, before being extended, and then replaced

The Former New York Life Insurance Company Building, also known as the Clock Tower Building, is an office building located at 346 Broadway (with a secondary address of 108 Leonard Street) between Catherine Lane and Leonard Street, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in two stages, from 1868 to 1870 and from 1894 to 1899, it is a New York City Landmark and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[2]

History

The New York Life Insurance Company's headquarters building was originally built in 1868-1870. It needed to be expanded eastward to Lafayette Street and Stephen Decatur Hatch was engaged for the job.[2] Hatch designed the extension, but died before construction could be completed.[3] The firm of McKim, Mead & White took over the work, and completed the extension in 1894, following Hatch's design.[2] The company then decided to replace the original building as well, and McKim, Mead & White provided an Italian Renaissance Revival style "palazzo-like" design[2] with a clock tower whose clock was manufactured and installed by the E. Howard Clock Company.[4]

New York Life left for the New York Life Building on Madison Square Park in 1928.[3] In 1967, the City of New York acquired the building and moved several city agencies along with the Criminal Court, Summons Part there. The city retained use of the building until the early 2010s, when it sold the building.[5]

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and both the exterior and interior were designated New York City landmarks in 1987 [2] by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building is also included in the AIA Guide to New York City.[3]

In January, 2012 workers began scaffolding the clock tower section above the building (around the actual clock). At this point the metal sculpture seen sitting above the clock in older photos is no longer in place.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Postal, Matthew A. (ed. and text); Dolkart, Andrew S. (text). (2009) Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.) New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1, p.34
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot with Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195383867., p.83
  4. ↑ 346 Broadway Tower Clock
  5. ↑ Department of Citywide Administrative Services

External links