The Equitable Life Assurance Building was the headquarters of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Construction was completed on May 1, 1870, at 120 Broadway in Manhattan, New York City, and under the leadership of Henry Baldwin Hyde was the first office building to feature passenger elevators. At a record 130 feet (40 m), it is considered by some as the world's first skyscraper. The architects were Arthur Gilman and Edward H. Kendall, with George B. Post as a consulting engineer; hydraulic elevators made by the Elisha Otis company.
Video Equitable Life Building (Manhattan)
Destroyed by fire
The building, described as fireproof, was destroyed by a massive fire on January 9, 1912. Extremely cold weather caused the water from the fire trucks to freeze on the building. Six people died.
Maps Equitable Life Building (Manhattan)
New building
The present Equitable Building was completed in 1915 on the same plot, and was designed by Ernest R. Graham & Associates. The massive bulk of the newer building was a major impetus behind the city's 1916 Zoning Resolution.
References
External links
- Equitable Building (1915) at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
- Equitable Building (1915) at A View on Cities
- 100 Years Ago - The Equitable Building Fire from the Museum of the City of New York Collections blog
- Equitable building : destroyed by fire January 9th, 1912.--pamphlet about the fire, published in 1912 and available on Archive.org.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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