City Investing Building

The City Investing Building was an early skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City erected in 1908 as one of the largest buildings of its era. Located on Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, it was razed in 1968.

"165 Broadway" redirects here. For the modern skyscraper at the site, see One Liberty Plaza.
City Investing Building
View from the north with the Hudson Terminal (right), the Singer Building (middle back, the tallest structure) and the City Investing Building (middle front, slanted roof on tallest extension)
Alternative namesBenenson Building
165 Broadway
General information
StatusDemolished
TypeCommercial offices
Location165 Broadway
New York City, New York
Coordinates40°42′35″N 74°00′40″W
Completed1908
Demolished1968
OwnerCity Investing Company
Height
Roof486.5 ft (148.3 m)
Top floor33
Technical details
Floor count33
Design and construction
ArchitectFrancis H. Kimball
Main contractorHedden Construction Company
References
[1]

History

The building stood at 56 Cortlandt Street, between Broadway and Church Street, and was constructed between 1906 and 1908. The architect was Francis Kimball, and construction was done by the Hedden Construction Company of New Jersey. With a single 33-story tower, the main body mass extended to 26 stories, and an asymmetrical F-shaped footprint because of a real estate holdout, the Gilsey Building.[2]

Along with the neighboring 1908 Singer Building (briefly the tallest building in the world) the 1908 Hudson Terminal (the largest office building of its time), the mammoth 1915 Equitable Building, and others, the City Investing Building stood as one of the most frequently photographed downtown skyscrapers, and a demonstration, for good or bad, of urban density. The Equitable Building threw the City Investing Building into permanent shadow up to the 24th floor.[3] The situation led to New York City's 1916 Zoning Resolution, which required buildings to be set back above a certain height.[4]

From 1928 through 1932 it was known as the Benenson Building, then simply as its address, 165 Broadway.[5]

The City Investing and Singer buildings were razed in 1968 to make room for One Liberty Plaza, which had more than twice the interior area than the two former buildings combined.[6] At the time of their destruction, the Singer Building was the tallest building ever demolished and the City Investing Building was the third. As of 2011, they are the third- and eighth-tallest buildings to have been destroyed.

References
  1. City Investing Building at Emporis
  2. Landau, Sarah; Condit, Carl W. (1996). Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865–1913. Yale University Press. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-300-07739-1. OCLC 32819286.
  3. "Shadows Cast by Skyscrapers". Buildings and Building Management. Building Manager Publishing Company: 38. November 1918. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  4. Dunlap, David W. (July 25, 2016). "Zoning Arrived 100 Years Ago. It Changed New York City Forever". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  5. Korom, Joseph J. (2008). The American Skyscraper, 1850-1940: A Celebration of Height. Branden Books. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-8283-2188-4.
  6. Gray, Christopher (August 29, 2013). "Twins, Except Architecturally". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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