Merchant's Exchange Building (New York)
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National City Bank Building
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(2012)
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| Location | 55 Wall Street Manhattan, New York City |
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| Coordinates | 40°42′22″N 74°00′33″W / 40.706039°N 74.009174°WCoordinates: 40°42′22″N 74°00′33″W / 40.706039°N 74.009174°W |
| Built | 1836-1841, additions 1907-1910 |
| Architect | Isaiah Rogers (original), McKim, Mead & White (additions) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival (original), Roman (additions) |
| NRHP reference # | 78001875 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 2, 1978 |
| Designated NHL | June 2, 1978 |
| Designated NYCL | December 21, 1965 |
The National City Bank Building at 55 Wall Street between William and Hanover Streets in the Financial District of downtown Manhattan, New York City, was built in 1836-41 as the Merchants' Exchange, replacing the previous exchange, which had opened in 1827 and burned down in the Great Fire of New York in 1835. The new building was designed by Isaiah Rogers in the Greek Revival style. The United States Custom House moved into the building in 1862 – with the conversion of the building overseen by William A. Potter – and occupied it until 1907, when it moved to the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at 1 Bowling Green.
After the Custom House left, James Stillman, president of National City Bank (predecessor bank of Citibank), arranged for his company to buy the building from the government to be their headquarters.Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead & White was engaged to enlarge the building, including removing the dome, adding four floors and a second colonnade and gutting the interior, the main floor of which McKim redesigned with William S. Richardson (1907-1910). The old main banking hall has been used as a ballroom and event space since 1998, and the remainder of the building is now condominium apartments.
55 Wall Street became the new home of National City Bank on December 19, 1908, when the bank moved across the street from 52 Wall Street. Stillman ordered that the building's Ionic colonnade be preserved and that the interior be remodeled to look like the Pantheon in Rome.
55 Wall Street served as Citibank's global headquarters from 1908 to 1961, when it moved to the newly completed 399 Park Avenue, one of the earlier migrations by Wall Street commercial and investment banks from downtown to midtown Manhattan. Years after the headquarters move, 55 Wall Street continued as a full service retail branch (still carrying the moniker Branch # 001), as well as a substantial location for private banking operations. The building served as the headquarters for the law firm of Shearman & Sterling, lead counsel for Citibank and the Rockefeller family for decades. The building was sold by Citibank in 1990 to private investors for $69 million. Citibank ended its branch banking presence at 55 Wall Street in 1992. It is currently owned by Cipriani.
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Wikipedia