26 Broadway in the context of Carrère and Hastings


26 Broadway in the context of Carrère and Hastings

⭐ Core Definition: 26 Broadway

26 Broadway, also known as the Standard Oil Building or Socony–Vacuum Building, is an office building adjacent to Bowling Green in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The 31-story, 520-foot-tall (160 m) structure was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings, in conjunction with Shreve, Lamb & Blake. It was built in 1884–1885 as the headquarters of Standard Oil, at the time one of the largest oil companies in the United States, and expanded to its current size in 1921–1928.

26 Broadway is on a pentagonal site bounded by Broadway to the northwest, Bowling Green to the west, Beaver Street to the south, New Street to the east/southeast, and the axis of Morris Street to the north. The first sixteen stories occupy much of the lot, with several setbacks, a curved facade along Broadway, and two light courts. Above it is a twelve-story tower topped by a stepped pyramid. The ground story has a 40-foot-tall (12 m) lobby leading to three banks of elevators. The Standard Oil executive offices on the top stories included a board room on the 21st floor.

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26 Broadway in the context of Bowling Green (New York City)

Bowling Green is a small historic public park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, at the southern end of Broadway. Built in the 18th century next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam, it served as a public gathering place and under the British was designated as a park in 1733. It is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th-century cast iron fence. The park included an actual bowling green and a monumental equestrian statue of King George III prior to the American Revolutionary War. Pulled down in 1776, the 4000-pound statue is said to have been melted for ammunition to fight the British.

Bowling Green is adjacent to another historic park, the Battery, located to the southwest. It is surrounded by several buildings, including the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (with the NYC office of the National Archives), the International Mercantile Marine Company Building, Bowling Green Offices Building, Cunard Building, 26 Broadway, and 2 Broadway. The Charging Bull sculpture is located on the northern end of the park. The park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places under the name Bowling Green Fence and Park. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, an NRHP district created in 2007.

View the full Wikipedia page for Bowling Green (New York City)
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