City Investing Building

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 names	Benenson Building 165 Broadway
General information
Status	Demolished
Type	Commercial offices
Location	149-171 Broadway New York City, New York
Coordinates	40°42′35″N 74°00′40″W / 40.709858°N 74.011117°W / 40.709858; -74.011117
Completed	1908
Demolished	1968
Owner	City Investing Company
Height
Roof	148.29 m (486.5 ft)
Top floor	33
Technical details
Floor count	33
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Francis H. Kimball
Main contractor	Hedden Construction Company
References
^[1]

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.

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.^{[citation needed]}

References

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to City Investing Building.

Structures on Broadway in Manhattan and the Bronx

Buildings (The Battery – Houston Street)

Buildings (Houston Street – Times Square)
611 (Cable) 640 721 (Tisch School) 770 800 (Grace Church) 828 (Strand Bookstore) 889 (Gorham) 900 (Goelet) 935–939 Flatiron Building Madison Green 1181 (Baudouine) 1200 (Gilsey) 1232 (Grand Hotel) 1260 (Martinique Hotel) 1300 (Hotel McAlpin) 1313 Macy's 1328 (Marbridge) 1352 (Greenwich Savings Bank) Holy Innocents Church Times Square Tower 1466 (Knickerbocker Hotel)

Buildings (Times Square – Columbus Circle)

Buildings (Columbus Circle – The Bronx)

Parks and plazas
Bowling Green Zuccotti Park City Hall Park Union Square Madison Square Greeley Square Herald Square Times Square Columbus Circle Verdi Square Van Cortlandt Park

Subway stations

Former

Financial District

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

West of Broadway/ State Street	1 Broadway 21 West Street 65 Broadway 90 West Street 88 Greenwich Street 94 Greenwich Street 125 Greenwich Street 130 Cedar Street 195 Broadway American Stock Exchange Building Barclay–Vesey Building Bowling Green Offices Building Castle Clinton City Pier A Cunard Building Downtown Athletic Club Empire Building Firehouse, Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 James Watson House New York County Lawyers' Association Building Old New York Evening Post Building Robert and Anne Dickey House St. George's Syrian Catholic Church St. Paul's Chapel St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church Transportation Building Trinity and United States Realty Buildings Trinity Church Trinity Court Building Whitehall Building World Trade Center One 2 3 4 7 Perelman Performing Arts Center St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Vehicular Security Center Westfield Mall
East of Broadway/ State Street	1 Hanover Square 1 New York Plaza 1 Wall Street 1 Wall Street Court 1 William Street 2 Broadway 2 New York Plaza 5 Beekman Street 14 Wall Street 15 Broad Street 15 William 17 State Street 19 Dutch 20 Exchange Place 23 Wall Street 25 Water Street 26 Broadway 28 Liberty Street 32 Old Slip 37 Wall Street 40 Wall Street 45 Broad Street 48 Wall Street 52 Broadway 55 Broad Street 55 Wall Street 55 Water Street 56 Beaver Street (Delmonico's) 56 Pine Street 60 Wall Street 63 Wall Street 63 Nassau Street 70 Pine Street 75 Wall Street 90–94 Maiden Lane 116 John Street 120 Wall Street 130 William 140 Broadway 150 Nassau Street 161 Maiden Lane 161 Water Street 170–176 John Street 250 Water Street Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House American Bank Note Company Building American Surety Building Bennett Building Broad Exchange Building Chamber of Commerce Building Continental Bank Building Continental Center Corbin Building Down Town Association Equitable Building Excelsior Power Company Building Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building Fraunces Tavern Home Insurance Plaza John Street Methodist Church Keuffel & Esser Company Building Lee, Higginson & Company Bank Building Liberty Tower Morse Building New York City Police Museum New York Stock Exchange Building New York Times Building Park Row Building Potter Building
Former buildings	Alexander Macomb House Astor House Barnum's American Museum Blair Building City Hotel City Investing Building Equitable Life Building Gillender Building Gilsey Building Government House Hanover National Building Howard Hotel Kemble Building Knickerbocker Trust Company Building Manhattan Life Insurance Building Mills Building Mortimer Building New York Produce Exchange New York Tribune Building New York World Building Pearl Street Station St. Paul Building Singer Building Stadt Huys Tontine Coffee House Tower Building Western Union Telegraph Building World Trade Center 3 4 5 6 7

Other points of interest

Arts and culture	Charging Bull China Chalet Fearless Girl Four Continents The Sphere Titanic Memorial
Parks and plazas	Austin J. Tobin Plaza‎‎ (former) The Battery Bowling Green Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza Hudson River Park Imagination Playground Liberty Park Louise Nevelson Plaza Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden Vietnam Veterans Plaza Zuccotti Park
Food and drink	Brasserie Les Halles China Chalet Crown Shy Delmonico's Fraunces Tavern Rolfe's Chop House Saga The Dead Rabbit

Education

Schools	High School of Economics and Finance Leadership and Public Service High School Léman Manhattan Preparatory School Millennium High School New York Film Academy Pace University Pine Street School New York
Museums	China Institute Federal Hall National Memorial Fraunces Tavern George Gustav Heye Center Mmuseumm Museum of American Finance Museum of Jewish Heritage New York City Police Museum Skyscraper Museum South Street Seaport

Transportation

Public transport	Subway Bowling Green Broad Street Fulton Street Rector St/Greenwich St Rector St/Trinity Pl South Ferry/Whitehall St Wall St/William St Wall St/Broadway WTC Cortlandt PATH World Trade Center Ferries Pier 11/Wall Street South Ferry Battery Maritime Building Whitehall Terminal
Other transport	Downtown Manhattan Heliport Wall Street Skyport
Streets	Albany Beaver Bridge Broad Broadway Church/Trinity Place Cortlandt Dey Exchange Fulton Greenwich John Liberty Maiden Lane Marketfield Nassau Pearl South Spruce State Stone Theatre Alley Vesey/Ann Wall Washington West Whitehall William

See also: Manhattan Community Board 1