70 Pine Street

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70 Pine Street
American International Building3.JPG
General information
TypeResidential
(converted from offices)
Architectural styleArt Deco
Location70 Pine Street
Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA
Coordinates40°42′23″N 74°00′28″W / 40.70643°N 74.00766°W / 40.70643; -74.00766Coordinates: 40°42′23″N 74°00′28″W / 40.70643°N 74.00766°W / 40.70643; -74.00766
Construction started1930
Completed1932
OpeningMay 13, 1932[1]
OwnerEastbridge Group (67%), AG Real Estate (33%)
Height
Architectural952 ft (290 m)[2]
Roof850 ft (260 m)[3]
Top floor800 ft (240 m)
Technical details
Floor count67[2]
Floor area864,988 sq ft (80,360.0 m2)[4]
Lifts/elevators24[2]
Design and construction
ArchitectClinton and Russell, Holton & George
DeveloperRose Associates.[5]
Structural engineerTaylor Fichter Steel Construction
Main contractorJames Stuart & Co. Builders

70 Pine Street – formerly known as the American International Building, 60 Wall Tower and originally as the Cities Service Building – is a 67-story, 952-foot (290 m) residential building[6] located at the corner of Pearl Street and running to Cedar Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. It was built in 1931–32 by the Cities Service Company[7] for the oil and gas baron Henry Latham Doherty,[8] and was designed by the firm of Clinton & Russell, Holton & George in the Art Deco style.[9]

The building and its first floor interior were designated New York City Landmarks in June 2011.[10] As of 2016, the building is a luxury rental residential property.[11]

History[edit]

The Cities Service Building was constructed during the New York skyscraper race, which accounts for its gothic-like spire-topped appearance,[12] a popular architectural style at that time. When completed it was the third-tallest building in the world, after the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.[12] It was the last skyscraper to be built in Lower Manhattan prior to World War II, and was the tallest building in Lower Manhattan until the 1970s when the World Trade Center was completed. Upon the September 11 attacks, it regained for some years the status of the tallest downtown building until the completion of the new One World Trade Center in 2014. It is now the fourth-tallest building in Lower Manhattan. As of 2018, it is the fourteenth-tallest in New York City, and the 25th-tallest in the United States.[2]

A miniature model of the building is incorporated above the entrance

One of the most noted themes of the limestone-clad tower is a mountain with a snow cap. The building features an open-air platform with an enclosed glass observatory above it on the 66th floor,[8] offering a higher view of downtown than from any building except from the new World Trade Center. This observatory, which was once public, is now accessible only to AIG executives and employees. The tower was originally and famously built with double-decker elevators[7] that served two floors at a time to provide sufficient vertical service for the narrow tower and its limited elevator shafts. Soon afterwards, these elevators were removed because of their low popularity;[7] however, the Citigroup Center adopted this same idea in the 1970s.

Cities Service sold the building to the American International Group (AIG) in 1976[13] when it moved its company headquarters to Tulsa, Oklahoma. It served as AIG's world headquarters until its financial struggles in 2008, and the building was sold to developer Youngwoo & Associates in 2009.[14] The building was later purchased by MetroLoft in January 2012,[15] which sold it to Rose Associates later that year.[16]

Rose and DTH Capital transformed 70 Pine into a mixed-use building featuring luxury rental apartments and a variety of retail and restaurants in 2015.[17] 70 Pine now consists of 612 residential units and 132 extended-stay apartments run by Stay Lyric. [18] Retail tenants include a gourmet market and a high-end restaurant in the lobby, with a sister restaurant-bar planned for the spire.[19] In reviewing 70 Pine’s restaurant Crown Shy, the New York Times compares the building's lobby to “something Bernini would have designed” and recommends diners give themselves extra time to take it in before they eat. [20] The building also contains a fitness and recreation center, including a screening room in 70 Pine's historic bank vault.

Incidents[edit]

In November 2016, Justin Casquejo, a thrill-seeking teenage free solo climber and stunt performer, hung from the tower and was charged with misdemeanor base jumping and trespassing for climbing on the tower.[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ Postal, Matthew A. (June 21, 2011) "Sixty Wall Tower" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
  2. ^ a b c d "70 Pine Street" Archived 2015-03-31 at the Wayback Machine on Skyscraper Center website. Accessed: April 13, 2015.
  3. ^ American International Building at SkyscraperPage.com
  4. ^ The American International Building, Art Deco Era, part 3, New York Scrapers, greatgridlock.net.
  5. ^ Cuozzo, Steve (August 7, 2012) "Rose Takes Over at 70 Pine St", New York Post
  6. ^ Yankopolus, Jennifer Evans & Cramer, James A. (2005). Almanac of Architecture & Design 2006 (Almanac of Architecture and Design). Greenway Communication. p. 368. ISBN 0-9755654-2-7.
  7. ^ a b c Gambee, Robert (1999). Wall Street: financial capital. New York: W.W. Norton. p. 172. ISBN 0-393-04767-9.
  8. ^ a b Trager, James (2003). The New York chronology: the ultimate compendium of events, people, and anecdotes from the Dutch to the present. New York: HarperResource. p. 471. ISBN 0-06-052341-7.
  9. ^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot & Leadon, Fran (2010), AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195383867, p.36
  10. ^ Postal, Matthew A. (June 21, 2011) "Cities Service Building Designation Report" and Postal, Matthew A. (June 21, 2011) "Cities Service Building, First Floor Interior Designation Report" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
  11. ^ Cuozzo, Steve (January 25, 2016) "Landmark 70 Pine St. begins a new life in 21st century" New York Post
  12. ^ a b Wolfe, Gerard R. (2003). New York, 15 walking tours: an architectural guide to the metropolis. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 56. ISBN 0-07-141185-2.
  13. ^ Ewing, Michael (March 23, 2012) "Live Like an Insurance Baron: AIG Building 70 Pine Becomes City's Tallest Residences", New York Observer
  14. ^ Amateau, Albert (May 3, 2012). "New landmark at 70 Pine St". Financial Times. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  15. ^ "Metro Loft closes on purchase of 70 Pine". The Real Deal New York. January 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Cuozzo, Steve (August 7, 2012). "Rose takes over at 70 Pine St". New York Post. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  17. ^ Cuozzo, Steve (October 29, 2013) "New plans for downtown’s 70 Pine St. are sky-high" New York Post
  18. ^ Deffenbaugh, Ryan (May 8, 2019) [1] Crain’s New York Business
  19. ^ Kahn, Howie (May 16, 2019) [2] Wall Street Journal
  20. ^ Wells, Pete (June 11, 2019) [3] New York Times
  21. ^ "WTC-climbing teen daredevil surrenders to cops over newest stunts". Retrieved June 8, 2017.

Further reading

  • Abramson, Daniel M. (2001), Skyscraper Rivals:The AIG Building and the Architecture of Wall Street, Princeton Architectural Press. (Excerpt).

External links[edit]


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