Prudential Headquarters

Prudential Financial, as it is known today, began as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society in 1875. For a short time it was called the Prudential Friendly Society, and for many years after 1877 it was known as the Prudential Insurance Company of America,[11] a name still widely in use. Based in Newark, New Jersey, the company has constructed a number of buildings to house its headquarters downtown in the Four Corners district around Broad and Halsey streets. [12] In addition to its own offices, the corporation has financed large projects in the city, including Gateway Center and Prudential Center. Prudential has about 5,200 employees in the city.

Main Building
Home Office
General information
Completed	1892
Demolished	1956
Height
Roof	45.73 m (150.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	11
Design and construction
Architect	George B. Post
Main contractor	Hedden Construction Company
References
[1][2]

Gibraltar Building
General information
Completed	1927
Height
Roof	67 m (220 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	14
Floor area	299,990 sq ft (27,870 m^2)[3]
Design and construction
Architect	Cass Gilbert
References
[4][5][6]

Prudential Building
General information
Completed	1942
Height
Roof	91 m (299 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	21
Design and construction
Structural engineer	Gunvald Aus Company
References
[7][8]

Prudential Plaza
General information
Completed	1956
Opening	1960
Height
Roof	114 m (374 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	24
Design and construction
Architect	Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith and Haines
References
[9][10]

Prudential Tower
General information
Status	Complete
Construction started	2013
Completed	2015
Opening	2015
Height
Roof	45.73 m (150.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	20
References
[1][2]

Prudential Home Office

The four original Prudential headquarters buildings were built from 1892 to 1911 as early examples of steel framing in Newark, clad in gray Indiana limestone with Romanesque Gothic styling, the work of George B. Post. The four buildings were known as the Main, the North, the West, and the Northwest and were the tallest in the city at the turn of the 20th century. All were demolished in 1956 to make way for the current headquarters. The proposed 45-story Prudential Tower would have been one of the tallest in Newark had it been built.[13]

Gibraltar Building

The Gibraltar Building, headquarters for the financial services company until 1986, is situated between two other office towers later built for the firm, all of which are connected by underground passage[14] The name is inspired by the company's logo, the Rock of Gibraltar. The Gothic Revival structure was designed by the architect Cass Gilbert, renowned for many works including the Woolworth Building and the United States Supreme Court Building. Gilbert was also architect for the Kinney Building at the southeast corner of Broad and Market Streets.[15] Sold in 1987 and later renovated and restored, it now is home the Superior Court of New Jersey's Essex County Vicinage Family Court, Chancery, and Tax Court, as well as other government agencies and private enterprises.[6][16] [4]

Prudential Building

"Prudential Building" redirects here. For the building in Chicago formerly known as the Prudential Building, see One Prudential Plaza.

Shortly after Prudential Building was completed in 1942, it was taken over by the federal government for use by the Office of Dependency Benefits (ODB), which was moved to Newark from Washington during World War II. The ODB was responsible for payments to military dependents and their families. Work went on round the clock at 213 Washington Street until it was returned to Prudential in 1946.

Prudential Plaza

Prudential's current headquarters, the Prudential Plaza, opened in 1960 during the New Newark era when modernist buildings were built downtown. The International style building is one the tallest and most prominent on the Newark skyline. The facade of Vermont marble includes 1600 windows set in aluminum frames. On August 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the discovery of terrorist threats against the Plaza prompting large-scale security measures such as concrete barriers and internal security changes such as X-ray machines.[17]

The lobby of building was originally adorned with triptych of mosaics designed by Hildreth Meiere entitled “The Pillars of Hercules”. The panels had been removed and put in storage; two were formally installed at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. and another in Newark Museum.[18][19]

Prudential Tower

In 2011, Prudential announced plans to construct another office tower near the Plaza headquarters. The company had received a $250 million urban transit tax credit, from the state, which required that it create new jobs and build within walking distance of a transit hub.[20] The site of the $444 million 650,000 sq ft (60,000 m²) tower is on Broad Street just west of Military Park.[21][22][23] Construction began in July 2013.[24][25][26] The exterior of the tower was completed as of January 2015 and the building opened in July 2015.[27]

• 
  Construction April 2014
• 
  January 2015
• 
  Night view of completed tower

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Newark
• Four Corners Historic District

References

1. Emporis GmbH. "Prudential Life Insurance - Main Building, Newark - 102776 - EMPORIS". emporis.com.
2. "The American Skyscraper, 1850-1940". google.nl.
3. "153 Halsey Street". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
4. Kennedy, Shawn G. (October 26, 1987). "ABOUT REAL ESTATE; NEW LIFE AWAITS BUILDING SAVED IN HEART OF NEWARK". Retrieved October 25, 2017 – via www.NYTimes.com.
5. Emporis GmbH. "153 Halsey Street, Newark - 121332 - EMPORIS". Emporis.com.
6. "Hartz Mountain Developments". HartzMountain.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
7. "Prudential Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
8. "Prudential Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
9. "Prudential Plaza Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
10. "Prudential Plaza Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
11. "History of The Prudential Insurance Company of America – FundingUniverse". fundinguniverse.com.
12. "Emporis: Prudential Insurance Company Headquarters". Emporis.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
13. Emporis GmbH. "Prudential Tower, Newark - 103166 - EMPORIS". Emporis.com.
14. "NEW LIFE AWAITS BUILDING SAVED IN HEART OF NEWARK" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
15. Emporis:Kinney Building.
16. "Newark Building Active" (PDF). The New York Times.
17. George, Jason; Cave, Damien (August 3, 2004). "A Surprise at Prudential: It's a Terror Target". New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
18. Kahn, Eve M. (October 4, 2012). "Newark Museum to Exhibit Hercules Mosaic Panel". Retrieved October 25, 2017 – via www.NYTimes.com.
19. McGee, Celia (May 1, 2014). "Hildreth Meière, the Forgotten Art Deco Artist". Retrieved October 25, 2017 – via www.NYTimes.com.
20. "Prudential considering land near NJPAC for additional office space, sources say", The Star Ledger, September 19, 2011, retrieved March 15, 2012
21. Portlock, Sarah (March 15, 2012), "Prudential changes location of proposed new office tower to Broad Street, near Military Park", The Star Ledger, retrieved March 15, 2012
22. "Prudential plans to build new, $444M skyscraper in downtown Newark". NJ.com.
23. "Prudential considers second tower for new Broad Street location". NJ.com.
24. Joshua Burd (June 4, 2013). "Prudential details plan to integrate new $444M office tower at ground level in Newark". NJBIZ.
25. "Skanska Begins Construction of Prudential's Newark Office Tower - High Rise Facilities". High Rise Facilities.
26. "Brick City Live - As employees settle in, prospects for Prudential Tower to become a center of gravity in its new neighborhood". brickcitylive.com.
27. "4 unique features of the newest addition to Newark skyline". NJ.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.