Equitable Life Building (New York City)
| Equitable Life Assurance Building | |
|---|---|
_pg677_THE_EQUITABLE_LIFE-ASSURANCE_SOCIETY_OF_THE_UNITED_STATES._BROADWAY,_BETWEEN_PINE_AND_CEDAR_STREETS.jpg)
circa 1890
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| General information | |
| Status | Destroyed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location |
120 Broadway New York City United States |
| Coordinates | 40°42′30″N 74°00′40″W / 40.7084°N 74.011°WCoordinates: 40°42′30″N 74°00′40″W / 40.7084°N 74.011°W |
| Construction started | 1868 |
| Completed | May 1, 1870 |
| Destroyed | January 9, 1912 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 7 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect |
Arthur Gilman Edward H. Kendall |
| Structural engineer | George B. Post |
| References | |
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 New York City and under the leadership of Henry Baldwin Hyde was the first office building to feature passenger elevators. At a then-record 130 feet (40 m), it is considered by some the world's first skyscraper. The architects were Arthur Gilman and Edward H. Kendall, with George B. Post as a consulting engineer and hydraulic elevators made by the Elisha Otis company.
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.
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.
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