View source for Singer Building

{{Short description|Former skyscraper in Manhattan, New York}}
{{other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Singer Building
| image            = Singer Bldg. LCCN00652684.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| highest_prev     = [[Philadelphia City Hall]]
| highest_next     = [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower]]
| highest_start    = 1908
| highest_end      = 1909
| highest_reflabel = talleststatus
| location         = 149 [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|40|42|35|N|74|00|39|W|region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe-wikidata=yes
| mapframe-id      = Q1144187
| start_date       = {{start date and age|1897}}
| completion_date  = {{ubl|1898 (Singer Building)|1899 (Bourne Building)}}
| renovation_date  = 1906–1908
| demolished_date  = 1967–{{end date and age|1969}}
| status           = demolished
| building_type    = Commercial offices
| roof             = {{cvt|612|ft}}
| tip              = {{cvt|674|ft}}
| architectural_style = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] and [[French Second Empire style|French Second Empire]]
| top_floor        = 41
| floor_count      = 41 (+1 below ground)
| elevator_count   = 16
| cost             =
| floor_area       =
| architect        = [[Ernest Flagg]]
| engineer         = {{ubl|Boller & Hodge (steel engineers)|Charles G. Armstrong (mechanical engineers)}}
| developer        = [[Singer Corporation|Singer Manufacturing Company]]
| owner            =
| management       =
| references       =
}}

The '''Singer Building''' (also known as the '''Singer Tower'''){{efn|The "Singer Tower" name generally referred only to the Singer Building's tower, which covered a small portion of the [[land lot]].<ref name="Semsch p. 9" /><ref name="HABS p. 89" />}} was an office building and [[early skyscrapers|early skyscraper]] in [[Manhattan]], New York City. The headquarters of the [[Singer Corporation|Singer Manufacturing Company]], was at the northwestern corner of [[Liberty Street (Manhattan)|Liberty Street]] and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] in the [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District]] of [[Lower Manhattan]]. [[Frederick Gilbert Bourne]], leader of the Singer Company, commissioned the building, which architect [[Ernest Flagg]] designed in multiple phases from 1897 to 1908. The building's architecture contained elements of the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] and [[French Second Empire style|French Second Empire]] styles.

The building was composed of four distinct sections. The original 10-story Singer Building at 149&nbsp;Broadway was erected between 1897 and 1898, and the adjoining 14-story Bourne Building on Liberty Street was built from 1898 to 1899. In the first decade of the 20th&nbsp;century, the two buildings were expanded to form the 14-story base of the Singer Tower, which rose another 27 stories. The [[facade]] was made of brick, stone, and [[Architectural terracotta|terracotta]]. A [[dome]] with a [[Roof lantern|lantern]] capped the tower. The [[Foundation (engineering)|foundation]] of the tower was excavated using [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]]s; the building's base rested on shallower foundations. The Singer Building used a [[steel frame|steel skeleton]], though [[load-bearing wall]]s initially supported the original structure before modification. When completed, the 41-story building had a [[marble]]-[[Stone veneer|clad]] entrance lobby, 16 elevators, {{Convert|410000|ft2|m2|abbr=}} of office space, and an [[observation deck]].

With a roof height of {{Convert|612|ft||abbr=}}, the Singer Tower was the [[Skyscraper#History of the tallest skyscrapers|tallest building in the world]] from 1908 to 1909, when it was surpassed by the [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower]]. The base occupied the building's entire [[land lot]]; the tower's floors took up just one-sixth of that area. Despite being regarded as a city icon, the Singer Building was razed between 1967 and 1969 to make way for [[One Liberty Plaza]], which had several times more office space than the Singer Tower. At the time of its destruction, the Singer Building was the [[List of tallest voluntarily demolished buildings|tallest building ever to be demolished by its owners]], a distinction it held until 2019.

== Architecture ==
The Singer Building was at the northwest corner of [[Liberty Street (Manhattan)|Liberty Street]] and [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] in the [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District]] of [[Lower Manhattan]], abutting the [[City Investing Building]] to the north.<ref name="nyt20120329">{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=March 29, 2012|title=The Hemming In of the Singer Tower|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/realestate/streetscapes-readers-questions-the-singer-tower-all-hemmed-in.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602090534/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/realestate/streetscapes-readers-questions-the-singer-tower-all-hemmed-in.html|archive-date=June 2, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="LC p. 355" /> The [[land lot]] was nearly rectangular, though slightly skewed due to the layout of the [[Commissioners' Plan of 1811#History of New York City|street grid]],<ref name="OConnor 2016">{{cite web|last=O'Connor|first=William|date=April 30, 2016|title=The Life and Death of The World's Tallest Building|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/30/the-life-and-death-of-the-world-s-tallest-building|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726004141/http://www.thedailybeast.com/web/20170726004141/http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-life-and-death-of-the-worlds-tallest-building|archive-date=July 26, 2017|access-date=August 12, 2020|website=[[The Daily Beast]]}}</ref><ref name="HABS p. 92">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=92}}</ref> and measured {{Convert|74.5|ft||abbr=}} on Broadway by {{Convert|110|ft||abbr=}} on Liberty Street.<ref name="HABS p. 92" /> The structure, as completed in 1908, was composed of four distinct sections:<ref name="AF p. 118">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1957|ps=.|p=118}}</ref> the original Singer and Bourne buildings, an annex next to both buildings, and the tower. All of these structures were designed by [[Ernest Flagg]] for [[Frederick Gilbert Bourne|Frederick Bourne]], who led the [[Singer Corporation|Singer Manufacturing Company]].<ref name="nyt20050102">{{note label|talleststatus}}{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|authorlink=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|date=January 2, 2005|title=Streetscapes: Once the Tallest Building, But Since 1967 a Ghost|work=The New York Times|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/realestate/02scap.html|access-date=August 1, 2010|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228143954/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/realestate/once-the-tallest-building-but-since-1967-a-ghost.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL-1100">{{cite web|date=March 23, 1982|title=Charles Scribner's Sons Building|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1100.pdf|access-date=March 31, 2021|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]]|page=4|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144220/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1100.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The structure was designed with elements of the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stern|Gilmartin|Massengale|1983|p=170}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|ps=.|p=43}}</ref> and the [[French Second Empire style]].<ref name="Pile 2005 p. 310">{{harvnb|ps=.|Pile|2005|page=310}}</ref> American architect [[George W. Conable]] prepared plans and working drawings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7335|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Building|date=April 1983|access-date=January 16, 2011|first=Larry E.|last=Gobrecht|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018215915/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7335|archive-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref> An architectural office with an engineering department led by Otto F. Semsch,<ref name="LC p. 355" /><ref name="nyt19680327">{{Cite news|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=March 27, 1968|title=End of Skyscraper: Daring in '08, Obscure in '68|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/27/archives/end-of-skyscraper-daring-in-08-obscure-in-68.html|access-date=August 15, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228143956/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/27/archives/end-of-skyscraper-daring-in-08-obscure-in-68.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and mechanical equipment engineer [[consultant]]s Charles G. Armstrong and steel engineers Boller & Hodge, oversaw construction.<ref name="LC p. 355" /> Over 40 other companies were involved in the construction process,<ref name="LC p. 355" /> and nearly 100 construction contracts were awarded. There were no general contractors on the project; the owners communicated directly with the suppliers responsible for each contract.<ref name="Ripley p. 9461">{{harvnb|Ripley|1907|ps=.|p=9461}}</ref><ref name="HABS p. 88">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=88}}</ref>

When the tower addition was completed in 1908, its roof was {{Convert|612|ft|m}} high.<ref name="ABM p. 429">{{harvnb|ps=.|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|p=429}}</ref><ref name="SkyscraperCenter"/><ref name="PA p. 170">{{harvnb|Progressive Architecture|1967|ps=.|p=170}}</ref> The tower was topped by a {{convert|58|ft|adj=on}} flagpole, giving it a ground-to-pinnacle height of {{convert|670|ft}}.<ref name="SkyscraperCenter">{{Cite web|title=Singer Building|website=The Skyscraper Center|publisher=[[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]]|url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/singer-building/2080|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612232448/https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/singer-building/2080|url-status=live}}</ref> The Singer Building was the world's tallest building at the time of its completion and the world's tallest building to be destroyed upon its demolition.<ref name="nyt20130617" /> Contemporary sources at the time of the building's construction described the "Singer Tower" as referring only to the building's tower portion, rather than its base. The "Singer Building" name originally referred only to a portion of the base, although by the mid–20th&nbsp;century it referred to the entire structure.<ref name="Semsch p. 9" /><ref name="HABS p. 89">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=89}}</ref>

===Form===
[[File:SingerBuilding2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt= Photograph of the Singer Building as seen from Broadway |The Singer Building seen from Broadway, looking north from the [[Equitable Building (Manhattan)|Equitable Building]], September 1967]]
The base of the building filled the entire lot. It was composed of the 10-story original structure (later expanded to 14&nbsp;stories) and the 14-story annex known as the Bourne Building.<ref name="LC p. 355" /> The original Singer Building, on the southeastern portion of the lot, had a frontage of {{Convert|58|ft||abbr=}} on Broadway and {{Convert|110|ft||abbr=}} on Liberty Street. The Bourne Building, on the southwestern portion, was 58&nbsp;feet deep and had a [[frontage]] of approximately {{Convert|75|ft||abbr=}} on Liberty Street.<ref name="Semsch p. 10">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> From 1906 to 1907, the original Singer Building was extended northward and the Bourne Building was extended westward.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=10–11}}</ref> The original Singer and Bourne buildings were about {{Convert|200|ft||abbr=}} tall.<ref name="nyt19070825">{{Cite news|date=August 25, 1907|title=Already Highest Structure in the World; Yet the Colossal New Singer Building Will Rise One Hundred Feet, Or Eight Stories, Higher When Completed Its Gigantic Steel Tower Will Dwarf City's Famous Skyscrapers to Insignificance.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/08/25/archives/already-highest-structure-in-the-world-yet-the-colossal-new-singer.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311221855/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/08/25/archives/already-highest-structure-in-the-world-yet-the-colossal-new-singer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 41-story tower above the northwest corner of the base was square in plan, with floor dimensions of {{Convert|65|by|65|ft|abbr=}}.<ref name="LC p. 355" /><ref name="HABS p. 92" /><ref name="ABM p. 429" /> When the [[dome]] and [[Roof lantern|lantern]] at the tower's pinnacle were included, the Singer Tower was the equivalent of a 47-story building.<ref name="LC p. 355" /><ref name="Ripley p. 9459" /> The tower was set back {{Convert|30|ft||abbr=}} behind the base's frontage on Broadway,<ref name="LC p. 355" /><ref name="HABS p. 92" /> and it filled only one-sixth of the total lot area.<ref name="Ripley p. 9459">{{harvnb|Ripley|1907|ps=.|p=9459}}</ref> There was a gap of {{Convert|10|ft||abbr=}} between the Singer Building's tower and the City Investing Building immediately to the north, which was built during the same time. The columns required to support the Singer Tower would have been too large to place atop the original Singer Building, so they were instead built in the northern portion of the lot.<ref name="nyt20120329" /> The tower had a [[Slenderness ratio|height-to-width ratio]] of 7:1, setting a record at the time of its completion.<ref name="AF 1967-08" /><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=1126}}</ref>

=== Facade ===
The facade was made of red brick, light-colored stone, and [[Architectural terracotta|terracotta]].<ref name="OConnor 2016" /> Some {{Convert|733000|ft2||abbr=}} of terracotta was used for both the facade and the interior partitions. About five million bricks were used in the entire project, including one million in the tower section.<ref name="sun19080628">{{cite news|date=June 28, 1908|title=Buildings as Big as a Town|page=22|work=[[The New York Sun]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57353608/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228143957/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57353608/buildings-as-big-as-a-town/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Semsch p. 35">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=35}}</ref> About {{Convert|1,500|ft3||abbr=}} of North River [[bluestone]] was also used,<ref name="Semsch p. 35" /> as was {{Convert|4,280,000|lb||abbr=}} of [[limestone]], mainly above the 33rd&nbsp;floor.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=38}}</ref> The contractors for these materials included [[John B. Rose|John B. Rose Company]] for the brick; Martin P. Lodge for the bluestone; J.&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Spurr & Sons for the limestone; and New Jersey Terra Cotta for the terracotta.<ref>{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|pp=88–89}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=36–38}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|pp=443–444}}</ref>

[[File:SingerBuilding5.jpg|thumb|alt= Photograph of the original Singer Building |The original Singer Building formed part of the base of the completed building. September 1967]]
For decorative elements, {{Convert|101|ST|LT t|abbr=}} of sheet copper was used.<ref name="sun19080628" /> Whale Creek Iron Works provided [[wrought iron|ornamental iron]] while [[Jno. Williams, Inc.|Jno. Williams Inc.]] provided the ornamental bronze.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=33, 52}}</ref> There were {{Convert|85203|ft2||abbr=}} of glass in the entire building, about 10{{Nbsp}}percent of which was interior glass.<ref name="sun19080628" /><ref name="Semsch pp. 44-45">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=44–45}}</ref> There was extensive [[ornament (art)|ornamentation]] throughout the building, including eight arches atop the tower's exterior.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=67}}</ref>

==== Base ====
The original Singer Building was faced with stone and brick. When it was built, the plans called for the lowest two stories to be [[cladding (construction)|clad]] with stone. The third story contained a balcony extending along both facades. The four following stories were faced with brick and contained windows with stone surrounds. The seventh story was clad with stone and had a balcony doubling as a [[cornice]], while the facade on the eighth story was made of brick. The original top stories comprised a decorative copper-and-slate roof with [[dormer]]s and stone chimneys. The main entrance was on Liberty Street and had sculptures and ornament.<ref name="nyt18970110">{{Cite news|date=January 10, 1897|title=The New Singer Building|language=en-US|page=7|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231157/|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144000/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231157/the-new-singer-building/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bourne Building was faced with [[Indiana Limestone]] on its lowest two stories and red brick above.<ref name="rer18981203">{{cite magazine|date=December 3, 1898|title=Office Buildings Underway|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=62|pages=828|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1603|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128043405/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The base had ironwork ornamentation in their [[mullion]]s and window railings.<ref name="Semsch p. 33">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=33}}</ref>

After the 1906–1907 modifications, the main entrance faced Broadway on the eastern facade. This main entrance had a three-story-tall semicircular arch. A two-story [[architrave]] was beneath the arch, with an engraved [[cartouche]] reading "Singer" at the center. The upper part of the arch had a fanlight with five vertical mullions, below which was a bronze grille measuring {{Convert|13|ft|abbr=}} wide and {{Convert|24|ft||abbr=}} tall.<ref name="HABS p. 93">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=93}}</ref>

As a result of the modifications, the first three stories were faced with [[Rustication (architecture)|rusticated]] North River bluestone.<ref name="HABS p. 92" /> Four stories were added between the seventh floor and the three-story roof during that time, and the Broadway facade was expanded from two bays to five.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /><ref name="rer19070629">{{cite magazine|date=June 29, 1907|title=Slicing a Skyscraper|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_27.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=79|pages=824|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2050|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128041423/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_27.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> With the modifications, the vertical bays were separated with vertical strips from the fourth to the 10th&nbsp;floors, with [[pediment]]s above the sixth-floor windows. The 11th and 12th&nbsp;floors of the modified base consisted of two rows of small windows, with the 11th-floor windows spaced between [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]] supporting a 12th-floor iron balcony. The top two stories contained dormer windows projecting from the [[mansard roof]].<ref name="HABS p. 93" /> The sloped portions of the roof were clad with slate shingles, while [[Porcelain tile|glazed roof tiles]] covered the flat portion.<ref name="HABS p. 94" />

==== Tower ====
[[File:King's Color-graphs of New York City9.jpg|thumb|right|Singer Building in 1910]]
The Singer Tower's facade was made of brick masonry ranging in thickness from {{Convert|12|in||abbr=}} at the top to {{Convert|40|in||abbr=}} at the base.<ref name="Semsch p. 36">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=36}}</ref> The Singer Tower contained five bays on each side, each measuring {{Convert|12|ft||abbr=}} wide.<ref name="LC p. 358">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=358}}</ref> Construction plans show that there were 36 windows on each floor.<ref name="nyt19070825" /> The faces of the tower were made of dark red brick, except for decorative elements such as trimmings, [[Coping (architecture)|copings]], [[Course (architecture)|courses]], and [[Window sill|windowsills]], which were made of North River bluestone.<ref name="LC p. 359" /> On each side, vertical limestone [[Pier (architecture)|piers]] separated the outermost bays from the three center bays, dividing the facade into three vertical sections.<ref name="NYCL-1100" /><ref name="LC p. 359" /> The outermost bays were illuminated by small windows.<ref name="NYCL-1100" /><ref name="AF p. 120">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1957|ps=.|p=120}}</ref> The corners of the tower were made of solid masonry, which concealed the diagonal steel bracing inside.<ref name="AF 1967-08">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1967|ps=.|p=107}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 120" /> The tower had cast-iron [[Balcony|balconies]] and [[Fascia (architecture)|fascias]], as well as wrought-iron [[jamb]]s and [[mullion]]s.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> The use of iron balconies, as well as the large amount of glass in the facade, was inspired by the design of the Little Singer Building at 561 Broadway, built in 1904.<ref name="AF p. 117">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1957|ps=.|p=117}}</ref>

Horizontal [[belt course]]s wrapped around the tower above the 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 29th, and 30th&nbsp;stories, while there were terracotta balconies on each side at the 18th, 24th, and 30th&nbsp;stories.<ref name="HABS p. 92" /> Iron balconies also projected from the building at intervals of seven stories.<ref name="Semsch p. 33" /><ref name="LC p. 359" /> Near the top of the tower, the vertical stone bands on each side formed a tall arch evocative of the tower's dome.<ref name="LC p. 360" /> On the 36th&nbsp;floor, an ornamental balcony cantilevered about {{Convert|8.5|ft||abbr=}} outward on each side;<ref name="Semsch p. 202" /> it was supported by brackets on the 35th&nbsp;floor.<ref name="nyt19070825" /><ref name="HABS p. 94">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=94}}</ref><ref name="ER p. 630">{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=630}}</ref> Stone architraves surrounded the corner windows of the 36th and 37th&nbsp;stories, while ornate stone arches framed the center bays on the 36th through 38th&nbsp;stories. There were oval windows on each corner at the 38th&nbsp;floor. Above that level, a heavy stone cornice ran around the corners and above the arches.<ref name="HABS p. 94" />

The top of the tower contained a {{Convert|50|ft|m|abbr=|-tall|adj=mid}} dome covering the top three stories,<ref name="HABS p. 92" /><ref name="Semsch p. 202">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=20}}</ref> capped by a lantern that measures {{Convert|9|ft||abbr=}} across at its base<ref name="Semsch p. 202" /> and stretches {{Convert|63.75|ft|0|abbr=}} tall.<ref>{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=542}}</ref> The dome's roof was made of slate, while the roof ornamentation, dormers, and lantern were made of copper sheeting.<ref name="LC p. 360">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=360}}</ref><ref name="Semsch p. 41">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=41}}</ref> In its final years, the dome's trapezoidal skylights were replaced with dormer windows.<ref name="HABS p. 94" /> The top of the lantern was {{Convert|612|ft||abbr=}} above ground level, and a steel flagpole rose {{Convert|62|ft||abbr=}} above the lantern, bringing the height of the Singer Tower to {{Convert|674|ft||abbr=}} when measured from ground to tip.<ref name="Semsch p. 33" /><ref name="ABM p. 434">{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|p=434}}</ref> The flagpole was actually {{Convert|90|ft||abbr=}} long, but the base of the flagpole was embedded into the tower.<ref name="ABM p. 434" /> The entire exterior was lit at night by 1,600 incandescent lamps and thirty {{Convert|18|in||abbr=|adj=on}} projectors,<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=105}}</ref> which were visible at distances of up to {{Convert|20|mi||abbr=}}.<ref name="sun19080628" />

===Structural features===
==== Superstructure ====
[[Load-bearing wall]]s initially supported the original Singer Building at 149&nbsp;Broadway, while the Bourne Building annex at 85–89&nbsp;Liberty Street had an internal [[steel frame|steel skeleton]].<ref name="LC p. 355" /> The original Singer Building was altered between 1906 and 1908 to use a steel skeleton.<ref name="Semsch p. 32" /> The entire building used 850 steel columns.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=21}}</ref> The columns were generally constructed in two-story segments.<ref name="Semsch p. 32" /> One- to three-story-tall column segments were used on the basements, first floor, and 14th through 16th&nbsp;floors.<ref>{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=599}}</ref> [[Rafter]]s supported the mansard roof of the base, excluding the tower.<ref name="ER p. 602">{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=602}}</ref> Milliken Brothers Inc. was the structural steel supplier for the project.<ref name="HABS p. 88" /><ref name="Semsch p. 202" />
[[File:Singer typical tower floor plan.png|thumb|alt= A typical floor plan in the tower section|Typical floor plan in the tower section]]
The Singer Tower addition of 1906–1908 had a steel skeleton and weighed {{Convert|18365|ST|LT t|abbr=}}.<ref name="LC p. 358" /> The tower's columns were spaced {{Convert|12|ft||abbr=}} apart on their centers.<ref name="ABM p. 429" /> Because the three center bays on each side contained windows, only the corners used diagonal [[Cross bracing|bracing]] and, as such, were treated as square prisms.<ref name="ER p. 602" /><ref>{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|pp=358–359}}</ref> Inside, there was another structure for the central elevator shafts, which were connected to the corners of the tower via longitudinal beams.<ref name="nyt19070825" /><ref name="LC p. 359">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=359}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=22}}</ref> A [[girder]] supported the columns at the tower's corners at the fourth floor, while 36&nbsp;columns rose from the basement into the tower.<ref name="Semsch p. 202" /><ref name="ER pp. 542–543">{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|pp=542–543}}</ref> Four pillars were placed at each corner of the tower and six more pillars were placed in the elevator shafts.<ref name="nyt19070825" /><ref name="ER pp. 542–543" /> Each [[truss]] extended upward for two stories, causing the columns and braces to act as wind-resistant cantilevers.<ref name="nyt19070825" /><ref name="ER p. 602" /> The braces on the north and south contained 11 panels each while those on the east and west contained 10 panels.<ref name="nyt19070825" /> The four columns at the center of the tower supported its dome.<ref name="Semsch p. 202" /><ref name="ER p. 543">{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=543}}</ref>

The superstructure was erected using two boom [[derrick]]s. One of them, with a capacity of {{Convert|40|ST|LT t}}, a {{convert|75|ft|adj=on}} mast, and a {{convert|65|ft|adj=on}} boom, lifted the steel beams from ground level to a 17th-story platform. The other was installed on the 17th&nbsp;floor and had a capacity of {{Convert|25|ST|LT t}}; this derrick erected the tower's steel.<ref>{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=442}}</ref><ref name="Semsch p. 28" /> Generally, it took less than five minutes to transfer the steel from ground level to the superstructure.<ref name="Semsch p. 28">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=28}}</ref> German steel was used in the Singer Tower's framing because of Flagg's belief that German workmanship was better than that of Americans.<ref name="LC p. 359" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=June 22, 1911|title=Why Steel Is Imported|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822036002657&view=1up&seq=503|journal=[[Engineering News-Record]]|volume=65|pages=765|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144020/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822036002657&view=1up&seq=503|url-status=live}}</ref> The tower's superstructure was intended to withstand wind pressure of {{Convert|30|psf||abbr=}},<ref name="ER p. 543" /><ref name="rer19070427" /><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|p=430}}</ref> even though the highest recorded wind pressure in the neighborhood was less than {{Convert|10|psf||abbr=}} at the time of the Singer Building's construction.<ref name="rer19070427">{{cite magazine|date=April 27, 1907|title=Anchorage of Singer Building Tower|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_18.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=79|pages=824|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2041|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128051102/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_18.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ripley p. 9460">{{harvnb|Ripley|1907|ps=.|p=9460}}</ref>

The internal structure also used {{Convert|4520|ST|LT t|abbr=}} of [[Portland cement]] and {{Convert|300000|ft2||abbr=}} of concrete subflooring.<ref name="Semsch pp. 44-45" /> The Singer Building's floors generally used terracotta flat arches {{Convert|10|in||abbr=}} deep, and many of the internal partitions also used terracotta blocks.<ref name="Semsch p. 36" />

==== Foundation ====
The underlying layer of [[bedrock]] extended as deep as {{Convert|92|ft||abbr=}}, above which were layers of [[quicksand]], [[hardpan]], [[Regolith|rocks, clay, and soil]]. The [[Water table|groundwater level]] was {{Convert|20|ft||abbr=}} below the Singer Building.<ref name="LC p. 357">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=357}}</ref><ref name="ER p. 116">{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|p=116}}</ref> The ground composition under the lot varied significantly, as the hardpan was compact in some places and loose in others.<ref name="Semsch p. 12">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=12}}</ref> Below the groundwater level, the saturation of the ground made it unfeasible to dig the cellar conventionally.<ref name="Ripley p. 9460" /> The Foundation Company excavated the tower's [[Foundation (engineering)|foundation]]<ref name="HABS p. 88" /><ref name="Semsch p. 12" /> using pneumatic [[Caisson (engineering)|caissons]].{{efn|The building's chief engineer cites 30 caissons,<ref name="Semsch p. 13" /> but the number of caissons is also cited as thirty-four.<ref name="HABS p. 92" /><ref name="ABM p. 432" />}} The caissons were used to extract the underlying soil, then filled with concrete to create piers.<ref name="Ripley p. 9460" /><ref name="ER p. 116" /><ref name="Semsch p. 13">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=13}}</ref>

Each caisson pier was designed to carry {{Convert|30,000|psf||abbr=}}.<ref name="LC p. 358" /> A gridiron of steel girders was placed atop the caisson piers.<ref name="ABM p. 432">{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|p=432}}</ref> Because of the design of the tower addition's wind-bracing superstructure, the upward pull on some of the piers was greater than the [[Structural load|dead load]] these piers carried. As a result, [[eyebars]] of different lengths were embedded in 10 of the caissons, the concrete being poured onto the eyebars.<ref name="ER p. 543" /><ref name="rer19070427" /><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=15}}</ref> The rods were embedded {{Convert|50|ft||abbr=}} into the caisson piers. The system, devised [[in house]] by Flagg's office, was more than twice as expensive as a conventional foundation would have cost for a building of the Singer Tower's size.<ref name="LC p. 358" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=November 10, 1906|title=How the New Singer Building Is to Be Anchored to the Earth|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_038_19.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=78|pages=766|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2017|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128055207/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_038_19.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The original plan was for the caissons to be sunk only {{Convert|20|ft||abbr=}} deep, but the builders changed plans midway through the excavations, so that the caissons would go to hardpan.<ref name="Semsch p. 13" />

The original portions of the building were built on [[wikt:grillage|grillages]] {{Convert|24|ft||abbr=}} below the sidewalk level.<ref name="Semsch p. 12" /> These foundations were strengthened when the tower was added.<ref name="rer19070629" /> The total weight of the Singer Building, including the tower addition, was carried by 54 steel columns atop the concrete foundation piers.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=16}}</ref>

=== Interior ===
The Singer Building was intended to be fireproof, and the tower section used mostly concrete floors, with wood used in some doors, windows, railings and decorative elements.<ref name="Semsch p. 40" /><ref name="HABS p. 95">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=95}}</ref> The base used more wood than the tower, mainly in the floors, windows, and doors.<ref name="Semsch p. 40">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=40}}</ref> All the building's stairs were made of [[cast iron]].<ref name="PA p. 170" /><ref name="Semsch p. 33" /> The interior trim in the Singer Building was made of metal painted to resemble wood, including in the doors. Actual wooden furniture was used in the Singer Company's main offices on the 34th&nbsp;floor.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=74, 76}}</ref> There were also ornamental plaster features executed by H.&nbsp;W.&nbsp;Miller&nbsp;Inc.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /><ref name="Semsch p. 68" /> Plaster was used extensively for the walls and ceilings.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /> The usable office space in the building totaled {{Convert|410000|ft2|m2 acre|abbr=}}.<ref name="ABM p. 429" />

The Singer Building took water from the [[New York City water supply system]], where it was filtered through ammonia coils and then through two filters into two suction tanks.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=56}}</ref> Inside the Singer Building, there were seven water tanks to serve a projected demand of {{Convert|15000|gal|L|abbr=|sp=us}} each hour. Three tanks on the Singer Tower's 29th, 39th, and 42nd&nbsp;floors had a combined capacity of 15,000 gallons and served several portions of the tower. To provide water to the base, there was one tank of {{Convert|5000|gal|L|abbr=|sp=us}} in the Bourne Building and three tanks of a combined {{Convert|18000|gal|L|abbr=|sp=us}} in the original Singer Building.<ref name="nyt19070825" /><ref name="Semsch pp. 57-58">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=57–58}}</ref> This allowed all the offices in the tower portion to be provided with cold, hot, and ice water.<ref name="Semsch pp. 57-58" /> Two heaters in the basement provided heated water to the entire building. There was also a refrigeration plant with two pumps and a small freezing system capable of producing {{Convert|500|to|1000|lb|abbr=}} of ice daily.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=92, 99}}</ref>

The Singer Building contained a vacuum steam system, although the ground-floor lobby and the basement vaults were heated by an indirect-steam system. Heating came from steel [[radiator (heating)|radiators]] on each floor; the radiators in the ground-floor banking rooms and the Singer Company's 33rd and 34th&nbsp;floor offices were enclosed within ornamental screens.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=63}}</ref> About 1,600 steam radiators were installed throughout the building.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=65}}</ref> As well as providing heat, the building's boilers also provided electric power to the entire building.<ref name="Semsch p. 87">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=87}}</ref> Initially, the Bourne and original Singer buildings had boilers aggregating {{Convert|546|hp||abbr=}} and power generators with a capacity of {{Convert|387.5|kW||abbr=}}.<ref name="Semsch pp. 80–81" /> With the 1906–1908 addition, boilers aggregating {{Convert|1925|hp||abbr=}} were installed,<ref name="ABM p. 434" /><ref name="Semsch p. 87" /> and generators with a capacity of {{Convert|1400|kW||abbr=}} were added, replacing the old ones. A steel smokestack at the northwest corner of the building was shared with the [[City Investing Building]] to the north.<ref name="Semsch pp. 80–81">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=80–81}}</ref>

====Lobby====
[[File:SingerBuilding15.jpg|thumb|alt= Photography of the interior view of the lobby |The interior view of the lobby mezzanine, September 1967. By this time, demolition had already commenced; masonry debris can be seen on the floor in this photo.]]
The lobby, accessed from Broadway,<ref name="HABS p. 94" /> was finished with [[Pavonazzo marble]] and had {{Convert|42|ST|LT t|abbr=}} of bronze work.<ref name="nyht19391114">{{cite news|date=November 14, 1939|title=New Copper Trimmings Fitted On Dome of the Singer Building|page=20|work=[[New York Herald Tribune]]|id={{ProQuest|1320004518}}}}</ref><ref name="Semsch p. 54">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=54}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' architectural writer [[Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|Christopher Gray]] characterized the lobby as exuding "celestial radiance".<ref name="nyt20050102" /> Two rows of eight square marble piers trimmed with bronze beading supported the lobby ceiling.<ref name="LC p. 360" /><ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref name="Semsch p. 54" /> Each pier was made of Pavonazzo marble and had a border of Montarenti Sienna marble.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> There were large bronze medallions atop each pier, depicting either the Singer Company's [[monogram]] or a needle, thread, and [[bobbin]].<ref name="nyt20050102" /><ref name="LC p. 360" /><ref name="Semsch p. 54" /> At the tops of the piers were decorative [[pendentives]],<ref name="Semsch p. 54" /> which supported glazed plaster domes above.<ref name="Semsch p. 68">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=68}}</ref> The pendentives were ornately decorated with gold leaf.<ref name="Semsch p. 72">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=72}}</ref> The domes' drums originally contained flat, circular amber glass lights in steel frames, which were later replaced with modern glass lighting fixtures.<ref name="HABS p. 95" />

Immediately outside the entrance, on either side of the lobby, were stairs leading up to a balcony and down to the basement,<ref name="HABS p. 94" /><ref name="Semsch p. 114">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=114}}</ref> while the south wall contained stairs to the original Singer Building.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref name="Semsch p. 114" /> The stairs were made of cast iron and wrought iron, and the handrails and [[newel]] posts were made of bronze.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> The elevators were clustered on the northern wall, opposite the stairs to the original Singer Building.<ref name="HABS p. 94" /><ref name="Semsch p. 114" /><ref name="LC p. 361">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=361}}</ref> Each of the elevator doors in the lobby were made of four bronze leaves.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> A balcony, trimmed with bronze, overlooked the lobby.<ref name="Semsch p. 54" /> There were Italian marble stairs at the rear of the lobby which split into two flights connecting to either portion of the balcony.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref name="Semsch p. 54" /> A master clock on the central landing of the rear stairs controlled all the clocks in the building.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=75}}</ref> The lobby was a popular spot for meetings.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126" />

There were also two secondary entrances on Liberty Street—one to the original Singer Building and one to the Bourne Building. Both secondary entrances connected to the main lobby to the north. There was retail space on the ground floor as well.<ref name="LC p. 361" />

==== Basement ====
The boiler room and mechanical plant were in the basement, and consisted of five boilers and five generators.<ref name="Semsch pp. 80–81" /> The boilers were clustered under the western portion of the building, while an engine room was in the center. A pump room and machine room were in the southeastern corner, with a chief engineer's office, electrician's room, and waste paper room. A compressor room was at the northeastern corner.<ref name="Semsch pp. 84–85" />

From the basement, a corridor extended east to the safe deposit vaults.<ref name="Semsch pp. 84–85">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=84–85}}</ref> There were 10 vaults used by the Safe Deposit Company of New York, within a space of {{Convert|10000|ft2||abbr=}}. The vaults each contained several thousand [[safe deposit box]]es, and the vault walls were formed of several layers of steel. The door to the largest vault weighed over {{Convert|16|ST|LT t|abbr=}}. The vaults abutted three committee rooms for the company.<ref name="Semsch p. 112">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=112–113}}</ref>

==== Other floors ====
The 2nd through 13th floors contained offices flanking a T-shaped corridor facing away from the elevators.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /> The ceilings of these story were generally painted in white [[watercolor]] while the walls were light tan.<ref name="Semsch p. 72" /> In addition, these stories contained oak trim, partitions, and decorative moldings.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> The average story at the base contained 40 offices.<ref name="ABM p. 429" />

The tower stories contained a U-shaped layout surrounding the elevators in the center of the building, with emergency stairs in the tower's core. In the Singer Building's tower, there were very few partitions, except for elevators and restrooms.<ref name="HABS p. 95" /><ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=71}}</ref> The average floor in the tower contained 16 offices.<ref name="ABM p. 429" /><ref name="nyt19070825" /> On these stories, the ceilings were painted ivory,<ref name="Semsch p. 72" /> the walls were olive green,<ref name="PA p. 170" /><ref name="Semsch p. 72" /> and the metal trim was painted to resemble wood grain.<ref name="PA p. 170" /> The Singer Company's main offices, on the 33rd through 35th&nbsp;floors, had a plethora of ornamental plaster.<ref name="Semsch p. 68" />

The highest publicly accessible point in the Singer Building was {{Convert|564|ft||abbr=}} above the curb, at the lantern balcony.<ref name="ER p. 630" /> When the [[observation deck]] opened on June&nbsp;23, 1908,<ref name="tribune19080624">{{cite news|date=June 24, 1908|title=Singer Tower Open to Public|page=6|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20967278/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125928/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20967278/singer-tower-open-to-public/|url-status=live}}</ref> visitors paid $0.50 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=0.50|start_year=1908|fmt=eq}}) to use the observation area at the top of the building. From this observation deck, visitors could see as far as {{Convert|30|mi||abbr=}} away.<ref name="LC p. 3542">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=354}}</ref> After two people jumped from the deck and died, the Singer Tower was nicknamed "Suicide Pinnacle", and its deck was closed by the 1930s.<ref name="nyht19391114" /> From the observation deck, a series of steep ladders and stairs led to the lantern.<ref name="Semsch p. 41" />

==== Elevators ====
There were 15 [[Otis Worldwide|Otis]] electric traction elevators in the completed building,<ref name="courier19070324">{{cite news|date=March 24, 1907|title=Up 41-Story Skyscraper in 60 Seconds|page=27|work=Buffalo Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57348426/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|p=435}}</ref> and one electric-drum elevator, for a total of 16 elevators.<ref>{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|pp=360–361}}</ref><ref name="Semsch p. 46">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=46}}</ref> The tower portion had nine elevators, eight of which ran from the lobby.<ref name="Ripley p. 9461" /> Four were "local" elevators making all stops between the lobby and the 13th&nbsp;floor; two of these continued down to the basement. Four "express" elevators ran from the lobby to the upper floors; three of them terminated at the 35th&nbsp;floor and the fourth at the 40th&nbsp;floor. Another "shuttle" elevator served only the 35th through 38th&nbsp;floors.<ref name="Ripley p. 9461" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=September 28, 1907|title=Elevators in the Singer Building|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_040_13.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=80|pages=475|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2063|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128053603/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_040_13.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The elevators could carry loads of up to {{Convert|2500|lb||abbr=}} and could travel from the lobby to the top floor at {{Convert|600|ft/min||abbr=}}, faster than any other elevator then in existence.<ref name="courier19070324" /><ref name="Semsch p. 46" /><ref>{{harvnb|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908|ps=.|p=436}}</ref>

The base had seven elevators: four in the Bourne Building and three in the original Singer Building. Two of the elevators in the base, one each in the Bourne and original Singer buildings, served all floors from the basement to the roof. The other five ran only from the first floor to the 14th&nbsp;floor.<ref name="Semsch p. 46" /> The original Singer Building's elevators were in a single group on the southeastern side of the building, while the Bourne Building's elevators were in two pairs opposite each other.<ref name="Semsch p. 114" /> The building's managers hired female [[elevator operators]], whom they characterized as "businesslike in appearance and polite in manner", as opposed to the "slovenly male operator with the ever-ready 'back talk'".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=June 7, 1998|title=Streetscapes/Readers' Questions; Lamartine Place, And Women Running Elevators|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/07/realestate/streetscapes-readers-questions-lamartine-place-and-women-running-elevators.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527075555/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/07/realestate/streetscapes-readers-questions-lamartine-place-and-women-running-elevators.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The cabs also had telephones, with which the elevator operators and starters could communicate.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=January 29, 1910|title=The Metropolitan Elevators|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_045_5.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=86|page=216|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2185|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128055334/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_045_5.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Semsch pp. 49–50">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|pp=49–50}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:New York City aerial view 1919.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of the aerial view of Lower Manhattan in 1919 with the Singer Tower in the center|Aerial view of Lower Manhattan in 1919 looking east; the Singer Tower is at center right.]]
During the late 19th&nbsp;century, New York City trailed [[Architecture of Chicago|Chicago]] in the development of [[early skyscrapers]]; New York had just four buildings over 16 stories tall in 1893, compared to twelve such buildings in Chicago.<ref>{{harvnb|Willis|1995|p=50|ps=.}}</ref> Part of the delay was caused by New York City authorities, who until 1889 would not allow metal-frame construction techniques.<ref>{{harvnb|Willis|1995|p=9|ps=.}}</ref> Skyscraper development in New York City changed in 1895 with the construction of the [[American Surety Building]], a 20-story, {{convert|303|ft|adj=on}} development that broke Chicago's height record. From then on, New York thoroughly embraced skeleton frame construction.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Condit|1968|page=119}}</ref> The early years of the 20th&nbsp;century saw a range of technically sophisticated, architecturally confident skyscrapers built in New York; academics [[Sarah Landau]] and [[Carl Condit]] term this "the first great age" of skyscraper development.<ref>{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|pp=298, 395|ps=.}}</ref>

[[Isaac Singer|Isaac M. Singer]] and [[Edward Cabot Clark|Edward C. Clark]] had founded I.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Singer & Company in 1851. The company, which manufactured sewing equipment, became the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865.<ref name="Gale Group Jorgensen 1994 p.">{{harvnb|ps=.|Jorgensen|1994|p=501}}</ref><ref name="Meighan 2012 p. 119">{{harvnb|ps=.|Meighan|2012|p=119}}</ref> The Singer Manufacturing Company was also involved in real estate during the latter half of the 19th&nbsp;century, Clark commissioning [[Henry Janeway Hardenbergh]] to design [[the Dakota]] and other New York City residential buildings in the 1880s. By the following decade, at the behest of Clark's son [[Alfred Corning Clark]], the Singer Company was instead working with Ernest Flagg, then a recent graduate of the [[École des Beaux-Arts]]. Frederick Bourne, who had become the Singer Company's president in 1889, oversaw the firm's expansion into European markets during that time.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=June 29, 1997|title=Style Standard for Early Steel-Framed Skyscraper|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/realestate/style-standard-for-early-steel-framed-skyscraper.html|access-date=May 24, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309033330/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/realestate/style-standard-for-early-steel-framed-skyscraper.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Original building and annex ===
In February 1890, the Singer Manufacturing Company acquired the lot at 151–153&nbsp;Broadway.<ref name="rer18900315">{{cite magazine|date=March 15, 1890|title=Real Estate Department|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_005_13.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=45|pages=367–368|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1148|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128045534/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_005_13.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The next month, they bought the lots at 149&nbsp;Broadway and 83&nbsp;Liberty Street, at the northwest corner of the two streets.<ref name="rer18900315" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=September 15, 1895|title=The Real Estate Field; Some Encouraging Signs in the Course of Business|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1895/09/15/archives/the-real-estate-field-some-encouraging-signs-in-the-course-of.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125912/https://www.nytimes.com/1895/09/15/archives/the-real-estate-field-some-encouraging-signs-in-the-course-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The three lots had cost the company over $950,000 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=950,000|start_year=1890|r=-3|fmt=eq}}), and at the time were occupied by four- to six-story buildings.<ref name="rer18900315" /> The three lots were separate prior to the Singer Company's acquisition but, under their ownership, were combined.<ref name="HABS p. 87">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=87}}</ref>

The Singer Manufacturing Company hired Ernest Flagg for the design of their new headquarters. Flagg filed plans for the new Singer Building at 149&nbsp;Broadway in early 1897. They called for a 10-story stone-and-brick building with banking rooms on the lowest two stories, rental office space on six of the center stories, and the Singer Company's offices on the upper stories.<ref name="nyt18970110" /><ref name="rer19000428">{{cite magazine|date=April 28, 1900|title=Gossip of the Week|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=65|pages=725|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1676|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128043405/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction began that year. While workers were excavating the site in June 1897, a water main burst and flooded the lot.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 4, 1897|title=An Excavation Flooded|page=1|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle|The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/57227928/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125946/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/57227928/an-excavation-flooded/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Despite this, the new Singer Building was completed in early 1898.<ref name="LC p. 355" /><ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 9, 1898|title=Thirty Years of Office Building|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_021_15.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=61|pages=642|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1569|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128041117/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_021_15.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December&nbsp;1897, before the new Singer headquarters was completed, Bourne bought three five-story structures for the company at 85–89 Liberty Street, on a plot measuring {{Convert|74.8|by|99.8|ft|abbr=}}.<ref name="rer19000428" /><ref name="nyt19000424">{{Cite news|date=April 24, 1900|title=In the Real Estate Field; 155 and 157 Broadway Bought by Singer Manufacturing Company. Property Adjoins Present Singer Building—Other Dealings by Brokers and at Auction.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/04/24/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-155-and-157-broadway-bought-by-singer.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007133052/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/04/24/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-155-and-157-broadway-bought-by-singer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=December 9, 1897|title=Real Estate; Valuable Downtown Building Sacrificed at Auction|page=10|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57347449/|access-date=August 6, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125902/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57347449/real-estate-valuable-downtown-building/|url-status=live}}</ref> Flagg was retained to design the 14-story Bourne Building on the site, and when he submitted building plans in 1898, the annex was estimated to cost $450,000.<ref name="rer18981203" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=June 2, 1898|title=Addition to the Singer Building|language=en-US|page=10|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57347591/|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125940/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57347591/addition-to-the-singer-building/|url-status=live}}</ref> Bourne did not take title to the Bourne Building's site until September 1899,<ref>{{cite news|date=September 28, 1899|title=Real Estate News|page=11|work=The New York Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231063/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125903/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231063/real-estate-news/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Bourne Building was completed the same year.<ref name="LC p. 355" /> By 1900, the Singer and Bourne buildings were both fully occupied.<ref name="rer19000428" /> The tenants included the law office of [[Augustus Van Wyck]],<ref>{{cite news|date=December 10, 1898|title=The Soul of Wit|page=1|work=The Brooklyn Citizen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57230961/|access-date=July 17, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125938/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57230961/the-soul-of-wit/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Trust Company of America]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 23, 1899|title=New Trust Company Formed; Ex-Controller Fitch to Be Its President—Its Capital of $2,500,000 Oversubscribed Three Times.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/05/23/archives/new-trust-company-formed-excontroller-fitch-to-be-its-president-its.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125915/https://www.nytimes.com/1899/05/23/archives/new-trust-company-formed-excontroller-fitch-to-be-its-president-its.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Boiler manufacturers [[Babcock & Wilcox]] were long-term tenants, occupying the Singer Building for more than forty years from the beginning of the 20th&nbsp;century.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 18, 1939|title=Rent 4 Floors to Expand Singer Building Offices|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/18/archives/rent-4-floors-to-expand-singer-building-offices.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125902/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/18/archives/rent-4-floors-to-expand-singer-building-offices.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===
Further acquisitions followed in the first decade of the 20th&nbsp;century. In 1900, Bourne bought an iron-front building at 155 and 157&nbsp;Broadway, with a frontage of about {{Convert|39.8|ft||abbr=}} on Broadway.<ref name="rer19000428" /><ref name="nyt19000424" /> The purchase of 163&nbsp;Broadway, a house with a frontage of only {{Convert|12.5|ft||abbr=}}, followed in 1902,<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 2, 1902|title=In the Real Estate Field; Subway Company Buys More Park Avenue Houses—No. 163 Broadway Sold to Singer Company.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/05/02/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-subway-company-buys-more-park-avenue.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125939/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/05/02/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-subway-company-buys-more-park-avenue.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and in 1903 by the purchase of the five-story 93&nbsp;Liberty Street, which added a frontage of {{Convert|27|ft||abbr=}}.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 19, 1903|title=In the Real Estate Field; Singer Manufacturing Company Buys 93 Liberty Street—Other Dealings by Brokers and at Auction.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/19/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-singer-manufacturing-company-buys-93.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317130013/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/19/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-singer-manufacturing-company-buys-93.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1905, the Singer Company controlled most of the block along both Broadway and Liberty Street; the original Singer Building was an L-shaped structure extending west and then north from the northwestern corner of Broadway and Liberty Street.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 26, 1905|title=Liberty Street's Future West of Broadway; Influence of Cortlandt Street Tunnel and Other Improvements—Significance of a Recent Lease—Transfers Showing Present Scale of Values.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/03/26/archives/liberty-streets-future-west-of-broadway-influence-of-cortlandt.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125948/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/03/26/archives/liberty-streets-future-west-of-broadway-influence-of-cortlandt.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Tower construction ====
Concurrently with the land acquisitions, Flagg was retained to design a second addition to the Singer Building in 1902. By early the next year, he was planning a building that would be the tallest in the world, with over 35 stories.<ref name="LC p. 355" /> However, the Singer Manufacturing Company did not reveal specific details until February 1906, when it announced that it would build a {{Convert|594|ft||abbr=|adj=on}} tower, the world's tallest.<ref name="LC p. 3542" /><ref>{{cite news|date=February 24, 1906|title=Highest of All|page=12|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354029/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125905/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354029/highest-of-all/|url-status=live}}</ref> Revised plans were filed in July&nbsp;1906, which provided for a more wind-resistant structure.<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 7, 1906|title=Changes in Singer Tower; New Plans Filed by the Architect Will Make the Building Stronger.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/07/07/archives/changes-in-singer-tower-new-plans-filed-by-the-architect-will-make.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125903/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/07/07/archives/changes-in-singer-tower-new-plans-filed-by-the-architect-will-make.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The company intended to occupy the space above the 31st&nbsp;floor and planned to rent out the bottom section of the tower to tenants to subsidize their use of the upper floors.<ref name="LC p. 355">{{harvnb|Landau|Condit|1996|ps=.|p=355}}</ref> The Singer Company projected that it would earn $250,000 in rent per year, given a baseline rental cost of {{Convert|3|$/ft2||abbr=}}.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 4, 1906|title=Dollars-And-Cents Side of Forty-Story Tower; Gigantic Structure to Be Built Primarily as a Money-Maker|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/03/04/archives/dollarsandcents-side-of-fortystory-tower-gigantic-structure-to-be.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125904/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/03/04/archives/dollarsandcents-side-of-fortystory-tower-gigantic-structure-to-be.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Engineers were hired to create the construction plans as soon as the architect's plans and specifications were published.<ref name="Semsch p. 30">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=30}}</ref>

Before the foundations were built, the builders drilled several test [[boreholes]] to determine the composition of the underlying soil.<ref name="Ripley p. 9459" /><ref name="Semsch p. 12" /> Contracts for digging the foundation were awarded in August 1906 before the plans were approved.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 19, 1906|title=Huge Structure Under Way|page=13|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/57354474/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125950/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/57354474/huge-structure-under-way/|url-status=live}}</ref> The plans for the Singer Tower were approved on September&nbsp;12, 1906,<ref name="Semsch p. 11">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=11}}</ref> and excavation began later that month,<ref name="LC p. 357" /><ref name="ER p. 116" /><ref name="Semsch p. 11" /> with work officially beginning on September&nbsp;19.<ref name="HABS p. 88" /><ref name="Semsch p. 11" /> A timber platform, measuring {{convert|30|ft}} wide and descending from Broadway to the excavation site, was constructed so that workers could receive materials and extract soil more efficiently.<ref name="ER p. 116" /> The first steel shipments for the anchorages arrived in October 1906.<ref name="Semsch p. 30" /> Foundation work was completed on February&nbsp;18, 1907.<ref name="Semsch p. 11" />

The superstructure was constructed afterward. A temporary elevator was installed while the tower's superstructure was being erected.<ref>{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=48}}</ref> During the construction process, city building inspectors alleged the builders had violated city law by installing concrete flooring instead of hollow-tile floors. As a result, the builders were ordered to replace some non-compliant arches.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 16, 1907|title=Pick Flaws in Skyscraper|language=en-US|page=11|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354286/|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125906/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354286/pick-flaws-in-skyscraper/|url-status=live}}</ref> By August&nbsp;1907, the steel frame had reached 36 stories, surpassing the [[Washington Monument]]'s height.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 27, 1907|title=Highest of Skyscrapers|page=4|work=[[Buffalo Evening News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354162/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125917/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354162/highest-of-skyscrapers/|url-status=live}}</ref> That month, [[Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland|Prince Wilhelm]] of Sweden visited the 29th&nbsp;floor to see the construction process.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 30, 1907|title=Prince Sees City From a High Point; Wilhelm, Taken to Twenty-Ninth Floor of Singer Building, Is Much Impressed.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/08/30/archives/prince-sees-city-from-a-high-point-wilhelm-taken-to-twentyninth.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125937/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/08/30/archives/prince-sees-city-from-a-high-point-wilhelm-taken-to-twentyninth.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On October&nbsp;4, 1907, the building [[topped out]] with the hoisting of the flagpole.<ref>{{Cite news|date=October 5, 1907|title=In Highest New York; Young Steeple Jack to Put Copper Ball on the Singer Tower Flagstaff.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/10/05/archives/in-highest-new-york-young-steeple-jack-to-put-copper-ball-on-the.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429175700/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/10/05/archives/in-highest-new-york-young-steeple-jack-to-put-copper-ball-on-the.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=October 6, 1907|title=Gotham's Tallest Flagpole Set|page=9|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354715/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144006/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57354715/gothams-tallest-flagpole-set/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the building topped out, the interiors were furnished and plastered.<ref name="Semsch p. 68" /> Despite high winds, there were no serious accidents during construction.<ref name="nyt19680327" /> There was a small fire on the 40th&nbsp;floor in February&nbsp;1908, which the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described at the time as "the highest fire in any building in the world".<ref>{{cite news|date=February 18, 1908|title=Highest Fire in World: Blaze on Fortieth Floor of Singer Building Is Quickly Put Out, However|page=I1|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|id={{ProQuest|159125760}}}}</ref>

==== Base expansion ====
In late 1905, Flagg was hired to design a westward annex to the Bourne Building and a northward annex to the original Singer Building. The Bourne and Singer buildings were to be united internally, and the old Singer Building was to be expanded to 14 stories.<ref name="Semsch p. 10" /> The top story of the Bourne Building would also be expanded so that it would cover the same area as the Bourne Building's lower floors.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 11, 1905|title=Estimates Receivable|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_035_10.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=75|pages=522|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1830|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128052911/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_035_10.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Plans for the Bourne and Singer extensions were filed in late 1906 and early 1907, respectively.<ref name="Semsch p. 11" />

During the construction of the Singer Tower, the original Singer Building was shored up and additional foundations were built.<ref name="rer19070629" /><ref name="Semsch p. 13" /><ref>{{harvnb|Engineering Record|1907|ps=.|pp=275–276}}</ref> The top three stories of the old Singer Building, including the [[mansard roof]], were temporarily taken apart in June&nbsp;1907, so that four more stories could be inserted above the existing seventh story. As such, the old eighth story of the old Singer Building became the new 12th&nbsp;story. This added {{Convert|15,600|ft2||abbr=}} of usable space without disturbing tenants on the lower floors.<ref name="rer19070629" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=June 14, 1907|title=Slicing a Skyscraper; Top of the Singer Building to Be Cut Off for a Three-Story Addition.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/14/archives/slicing-a-skyscraper-top-of-the-singer-building-to-be-cut-off-for-a.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125926/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/14/archives/slicing-a-skyscraper-top-of-the-singer-building-to-be-cut-off-for-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Several columns were erected at the old building's front and rear elevations, extending from the basement to the 11th&nbsp;floor to support the raised roof. Holes were created in the existing floors of the Singer Building so that they could be supported by steel columns instead of by the bearing walls.<ref name="Semsch p. 32" /> The old Singer Building was extended north by {{Convert|74|ft||abbr=}}, the three extra bays on Broadway having the same style as the original two.<ref name="HABS p. 89" />[[File:Singer City Investing Hudson Terminal 1909 crop.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of the Singer, City Investing and Hudson Terminal Buildings|Singer Building with the [[Hudson Terminal]] in 1909|left]]In the Bourne Building, the three existing elevators were removed and replaced with four elevators, necessitating the complete replacement of the framing around the old elevator shafts.<ref name="Semsch p. 32">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=32}}</ref> A small window replaced the main entrance to the original Singer Building.<ref name="HABS p. 89" />

===Completion and further use===
On May&nbsp;1, 1908, the tower was opened to the public.<ref name="LC p. 357" /><ref name="Semsch p. 11" /> The construction workers held a dinner that week to celebrate the completion of work.<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 6, 1908|title=Skyscraper Men Dine|language=en-US|page=9|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57519226/|access-date=August 17, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> A month later, on June&nbsp;23, the observation balcony opened.<ref name="tribune19080624" /> The Singer Building quickly became a symbol of Manhattan with its floodlit tower.<ref name="nyt19680327" /> Surpassing [[Philadelphia City Hall]] in height, the Singer Building remained the tallest in the world for a year after its tower's completion.<ref name="Haughey 2018 p. 235">{{harvnb|ps=.|Haughey|2018|page=235}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 118" /> The record was surpassed by the {{convert|700|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower]],<ref name="nyt20050102" /><ref name="AF p. 118" /> at 24th&nbsp;Street and [[Madison Avenue]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=August 22, 2001|title=Commercial Real Estate: A Tower's Big-Time Restoration; MetLife's Immense Clock Gets a Detailed Overhaul|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-tower-s-big-time-restoration-metlife-s-immense-clock-gets.html|access-date=June 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406164713/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/nyregion/commercial-real-estate-tower-s-big-time-restoration-metlife-s-immense-clock-gets.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Although the Singer Tower was the world's tallest building, it was not the tallest structure, nor was the Metropolitan Life Tower upon its completion. The [[Eiffel Tower]], which was {{Convert|1063|ft||abbr=}} tall, superseded both buildings in this respect.<ref name="OConnor 2016" />}}

In the building's first few months, the elevators were involved in at least two deaths; a painter was decapitated on May&nbsp;4, 1908,<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 4, 1908|title=Head Cut Off by Elevator|language=en-US|page=2|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57491936/|access-date=August 17, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125930/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57491936/head-cut-off-by-elevator/|url-status=live}}</ref> while a plumber's assistant was crushed between an elevator cab and a shaft on July&nbsp;24, 1908.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 24, 1908|title=Singer Building Elevator Kills a Workman|page=4|work=[[New York Evening World]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57491981/|access-date=August 16, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317130014/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57491981/singer-building-elevator-kills-a-workman/|url-status=live}}</ref> In a publicity stunt in 1911, the aviator [[Harry Atwood]] flew around the Singer Building.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKcyAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA290|title=Atwood's Remarkable Flight|journal=Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal|publisher=[[Chilton Company]]|year=1911|page=290|issue=v. 16|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125944/https://books.google.com/books?id=IKcyAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA290|url-status=live}}</ref> The expanded building's tenants included the [[Chatham and Phenix National Bank]], whose main office moved to the Singer Building in 1916.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 23, 1916|title=Big Bank Will Move; The Chatham and Phenix to Take Quarters in the Singer Building.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/12/23/archives/big-bank-will-move-the-chatham-and-phenix-to-take-quarters-in-the.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811140231/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/12/23/archives/big-bank-will-move-the-chatham-and-phenix-to-take-quarters-in-the.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Safe Deposit Company of New York originally used the vaults.<ref name="Semsch p. 112" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=May 13, 1908|title=Singer Company in Control; Safe Deposit Company of New York to Have Vaults in Singer Building|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/05/13/archives/commodity-prices-lower-the-lowest-level-reached-in-three-years.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317125930/https://www.nytimes.com/1908/05/13/archives/commodity-prices-lower-the-lowest-level-reached-in-three-years.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The power source for the building's steam plant was converted from coal to oil in 1921, making the Singer Building the city's first office building to use oil as a fuel.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 24, 1921|title=Singer Building to Use Oil Instead of Coal Fuel|page=30|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57494477/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144122/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57494477/singer-building-to-use-oil-instead-of/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1921, the Singer Company placed the building up for sale at an asking price of $10&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 24, 1921|title=Any One Want Real Skyscraper? Singer Tower Is For Sale|page=31|work=New-York Tribune|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57492951/|access-date=August 14, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144050/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57492951/any-one-want-real-skyscraper-singer/|url-status=live}}</ref> Four years later, the company made an agreement with a buyer representing the Utilities Power and Light Corporation, a holding company for several states' power companies. The transaction involved a cash deal of $8.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 14, 1925|title=$8,500,000 Deal On for the Singer Building, With 41-Story Tower, Once World's Tallest|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/04/14/archives/8500000-deal-on-for-the-singer-building-with-41story-tower-once.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144054/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/04/14/archives/8500000-deal-on-for-the-singer-building-with-41story-tower-once.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 14, 1925|title=$8,500,000 Deal Is Under Way For 41-Story Singer Building|page=1|work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1113064043}}}}</ref> According to property records, the sale was never finalized.<ref name="HABS p. 88" /> Also in 1925, a subbasement vault was dug for the Chatham and Phenix National Bank after the bank's merger with the Metropolitan Trust Company, and three of the lower floors were renovated for the bank's use.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 16, 1925|title=$250,000,000 Moved as Police Line Path; Armed Autos Also Guard Transfer of Treasure to New Bank in Singer Building|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/03/16/archives/250000000-moved-as-police-line-path-armed-autos-also-guard-transfer.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029062653/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/03/16/archives/250000000-moved-as-police-line-path-armed-autos-also-guard-transfer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:NYC Manhattan 1938 Franz Grasser.jpg|thumb|An [[Agfacolor]] photo of New York City in 1938, with the Singer Building in the distance|alt=refer to caption|326x326px]]The Singer Company made relatively few changes to the building; ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote that the firm was "wise enough to leave magnificence alone".<ref name="PA p. 170" /> Over the Singer Building's existence, its lighting system was changed at least five times.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /><ref name="PA p. 171">{{harvnb|Progressive Architecture|1967|ps=.|p=171}}</ref> The copper ornamentation on the tower's dome was restored in 1939.<ref name="nyht19391114" /> The flagpole and roof cresting were removed entirely in early 1947.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /> The building experienced an electrical fire in 1949 that forced the evacuation of the entire building, although only one person was injured.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 22, 1949|title=Singer Building Darkened by Fire; One Man Burned, 8 Rescued From Stalled Elevators—Smoke Disrupts Business|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/22/archives/singer-building-darkened-by-fire-one-man-burned-8-rescued-from.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144054/https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/22/archives/singer-building-darkened-by-fire-one-man-burned-8-rescued-from.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 22, 1949|title=3,500 Evacuate Singer Building As Power Fails: Short Circuit and Blaze Just Before Noon Puts Out Lights, Halts Elevators Fires in Downtown Skyscraper and a Tenement Keep Firemen on the Move|page=22|work=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1326786063}}}}</ref> To comply with modern building codes, automatic elevators were installed in either 1957<ref name="PA p. 171" /> or 1959.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /> In addition, some offices received air conditioning, though they retained their original thermostats.<ref name="PA p. 171" /> The revolving doors at the base had been removed by 1958, being replaced with standard doors. Toward the end of its existence, the Singer Building's two large ground-level storefronts were subdivided into smaller ones.<ref name="HABS p. 89" />

===Demolition===
Taller buildings continued to be constructed in New York City; by its 50th&nbsp;anniversary in 1958, the Singer Building was only the 16th&nbsp;tallest in the city.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 13, 1958 |title=Singer Building, Once Highest In World, Marks 50th Birthday |language=en-US |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |id={{ProQuest|114455893}} |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> Singer announced it would sell the building in 1961, and the company moved to [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]].<ref name="p1325841053">{{cite news|date=November 17, 1961|title=Singer Rents Six Floors In Center: Firm Will Move There in 1962|page=38|work=New York Herald Tribune|id={{ProQuest|1325841053}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=November 16, 1961|title=Singer to Move Uptown, Sell Broadway Building|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/11/16/archives/singer-to-move-uptown-sell-broadway-building.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214164140/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/11/16/archives/singer-to-move-uptown-sell-broadway-building.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to property records, Iacovone Rose bought the Singer Building and immediately sold it to Financial Place&nbsp;Inc.<ref name="HABS p. 88" /> Real estate developer [[William Zeckendorf]] acquired the building and attempted to convince the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (NYSE) to move there.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126" /><ref name="nyt19640319" /> The plans failed after the NYSE opted to expand its [[New York Stock Exchange Building|existing headquarters]] instead. Even so, the [[construction of the World Trade Center]] nearby in the mid-1960s caused real-estate values in Lower Manhattan to increase dramatically.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126" /> In 1964, [[United States Steel]] bought the Singer and City Investing buildings.<ref name="nyt19640319">{{Cite news|date=March 19, 1964|title=Siteon Broadway Goes to U.S.&nbsp;Steel; Webb & Knapp Sells 2 Blocks Stock Exchange Spurned|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/19/archives/siteon-broadway-goes-to-us-steel-webbknappsells-2-blocks-stock.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144145/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/19/archives/siteon-broadway-goes-to-us-steel-webbknappsells-2-blocks-stock.html|url-status=live}}</ref> U.S.&nbsp;Steel planned to demolish the entire block to erect a 50- or 54-story headquarters on the same site.<ref name="PA p. 171" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=April 5, 1968|title=U.S.&nbsp;Steel To Erect a 54-Story Skyscraper Here; Lower Broadway Project Is Hailed by City as 'Great Planning Achievement'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/04/05/archives/us-steel-to-erect-a-54story-skyscraper-here-lower-broadway-project.html|access-date=October 6, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008230832/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/04/05/archives/us-steel-to-erect-a-54story-skyscraper-here-lower-broadway-project.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, under U.S.&nbsp;Steel's ownership, the Singer Building began to decay.<ref name="PA p. 171" />

The [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) was created in 1965,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=April 15, 1990|title=Architecture View; A Commission That Has Itself Become a Landmark|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/15/arts/architecture-view-a-commission-that-has-itself-become-a-landmark.html|access-date=August 17, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302125014/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/15/arts/architecture-view-a-commission-that-has-itself-become-a-landmark.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in the wake of several notable buildings in the city having either been demolished or threatened with demolition.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hanson|first=Kitty|date=December 11, 1964|title=Bob's New Law Last Chance for City Landmarks|page=214|work=[[New York Daily News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57421044/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420232000/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57421044/bobs-new-law-last-chance-for-city/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the Singer Building was considered to be one of the most iconic buildings in New York City,<ref name="nyt19670822" /> the LPC never considered designating it as a landmark, which would have prevented the building's demolition.<ref name="AF 1967-08" /> In August&nbsp;1967, LPC executive director Alan Burnham said that, if the building were to have been made a landmark, the city would have to either find a buyer or acquire the building on its own.<ref name="nyt19670822">{{Cite news|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=August 22, 1967|title=Landmark on Lower Broadway to Go; End Near for Singer Building, A Forerunner of Skyscrapers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/22/archives/landmark-on-lower-broadway-to-go-end-near-for-singer-building-a-for.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420231957/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/22/archives/landmark-on-lower-broadway-to-go-end-near-for-singer-building-a-for.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) pp. 1126-1127">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|pp=1126–1127}}</ref> [[Sam Roberts (journalist)|Sam Roberts]] later wrote in ''The New York Times'' that the Singer Building had been one of the city's notable structures that "weren't considered worth preserving".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|authorlink=Sam Roberts (newspaper journalist)|date=April 23, 2015|title='Saving Place' Exhibition Celebrates New York Landmarks, Saved and Lost|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/arts/design/saving-place-exhibition-celebrates-new-york-landmarks-saved-and-lost.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126063657/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/arts/design/saving-place-exhibition-celebrates-new-york-landmarks-saved-and-lost.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Demolition had commenced by September 1967,<ref>{{cite news|date=September 15, 1967|title=Singer's Swan Song|page=609|work=New York Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57420896/|access-date=August 13, 2020|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420231959/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57420896/singers-swan-song/|url-status=live}}</ref> despite protests by ''Architectural Forum'' magazine and other preservationists, who suggested incorporating the lobby into the U.S.&nbsp;Steel Building.<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1967|ps=.|p=108}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126" /> A writer for ''The New York Times'' observed in March&nbsp;1968 that the lobby looked like "a bomb had hit it".<ref name="nyt19680327" /> The last piece of scrap had been carted away in early 1969, when the ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]'' observed: "The Singer fell victim to a malady called progress."<ref>{{cite news|last=Leahy|first=Jack|date=March 2, 1969|title=They're Tearing New York Down|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57420474/ 20], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22638132/ 22]|work=New York Daily News|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

The U.S.&nbsp;Steel Building (later known as [[One Liberty Plaza]]) was built on the site and completed in 1973.<ref name="LC p. 361" /> One Liberty Plaza contained {{convert|37000|sqft|m2}} per floor, compared with the {{convert|4200|sqft|m2}} per floor in the Singer Building's tower.<ref name="nyt20050102" /> One Liberty Plaza had at least twice the two former buildings' combined interior area.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=August 29, 2013|title=Twins, Except Architecturally|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/realestate/twins-except-architecturally.html|access-date=May 19, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019041113/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/realestate/twins-except-architecturally.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of the Singer Building's demolition, it was the tallest building ever to be destroyed.<ref name="nyt20130617">{{Cite news|last=Hiler|first=Katie|date=June 17, 2013|title=Once Tallest Standing, Then the Tallest to Come Down|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/science/once-tallest-standing-then-the-tallest-to-come-down.html|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113003957/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/science/once-tallest-standing-then-the-tallest-to-come-down.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1126" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=October 17, 2018|title=The Beautiful Landmarks You Won't Believe Were Torn Down – and What Replaced Them|language=en-GB|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/iconic-buildings-demolished-what-replaced-them/singer-building/|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=December 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205130538/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galleries/iconic-buildings-demolished-what-replaced-them/singer-building/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Kelly|first=Jon|date=December 6, 2012|title=How Do You Demolish a Skyscraper?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20535821|access-date=December 12, 2012|work=[[BBC News Magazine]]|publisher=BBC|archive-date=December 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208093748/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20535821|url-status=live}}</ref> The record was surpassed during the [[September 11 attacks|September&nbsp;11, 2001, terrorist attacks]], which caused the [[Collapse of the World Trade Center|collapse]] of the nearby [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]].<ref name="OConnor 2016" /> The Singer Building remained the tallest building to be destroyed by its owners<ref>{{cite web|last=Warerkar|first=Tanay|date=May 14, 2018|title=NYC Is Home to 23 of the World's Tallest Intentionally Demolished Buildings|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/5/14/17353148/270-park-avenue-tallest-building-demolition|access-date=August 12, 2020|website=Curbed NY|archive-date=October 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011043215/https://ny.curbed.com/2018/5/14/17353148/270-park-avenue-tallest-building-demolition|url-status=live}}</ref> until 2019, when workers started demolishing the {{convert|707|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} [[270&nbsp;Park Avenue (1960)|270&nbsp;Park Avenue]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Elizabeth|date=January 8, 2020|title=270 Park Avenue, A Quintessential Modernist Skyscraper, Is Being Slowly Destroyed By Chase Bank|url=http://gothamist.com/news/270-park-avenue-quintessential-modernist-skyscraper-being-slowly-destroyed-chase-bank|access-date=August 12, 2020|website=[[Gothamist]]|language=en|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126042052/https://gothamist.com/news/270-park-avenue-quintessential-modernist-skyscraper-being-slowly-destroyed-chase-bank|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 21st century, the Singer Building became a subject of the unfounded [[Tartary#Tartaria conspiracy theory|Tartaria conspiracy theory]], which claimed that the skyscraper was evidence of a long-lost civilization<!--called the "Tartarian Empire"-->.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Hatherley | first=Owen | title=Amerikanist Dreams | volume=43 | issue=20 | magazine=London Review of Books | date=October 21, 2021 | url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/owen-hatherley/amerikanist-dreams | access-date=February 28, 2022 | archive-date=October 26, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026042602/https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/owen-hatherley/amerikanist-dreams | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg 2021">{{cite web | title=Inside the 'Tartarian Empire,' the QAnon of Architecture | first=Zach | last=Mortice | website=Bloomberg | date=April 27, 2021 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theory | access-date=February 28, 2022 | archive-date=February 23, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223232307/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theory | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Impact ==
[[File:Tallest buildings 1908 - 1974 (en).svg|thumb|alt=Diagram of the world's tallest buildings from 1908 to 1974; the Singer Building is the shortest.| Diagram of the world's tallest buildings from 1908 to 1974; the Singer Building is at far left.|300x300px]]

Flagg, a noted critic of existing skyscrapers, justified taking on the project as a way of generating support for skyscraper reform, by convincing the public that such tall skyscrapers were detrimental because they blocked light from reaching the surrounding streets.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Fenske|2005|page=22}}</ref> As late as 1904, one architectural magazine wrote that "ten stories were his limit".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Desmond|first=H. W.|date=March 1904|title=A Rational Desmond|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t6355fg2m&view=1up&seq=291|journal=[[Architectural Record]]|volume=15|pages=279|access-date=April 20, 2022|archive-date=April 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420232000/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft6355fg2m&view=1up&seq=291|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Flagg, buildings over {{Convert|100|ft}} tall, or 10 to 15 stories, needed to have a [[Setback (architecture)|setback]] tower occupying no more than a quarter of the lot.<ref name="Semsch p. 9">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=9}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 120" /><ref name="HABS p. 87" /> He had once written, "Our rooms and offices are becoming so dark that we must use artificial light all day long."<ref name="nyt20120329" /> The Singer Building's design expressed Flagg's opinions on city planning and skyscraper design.<ref name="HABS p. 87" /> The building's design partly influenced the city's [[1916 Zoning Resolution]], which required many skyscrapers in New York City to have setbacks as they rose.<ref name="LC p. 361" /><ref name="PA p. 171" /> For over four decades, the ordinance prevented the city's new skyscrapers from overwhelming the streets with their sheer bulk.{{Efn|As per the 1916 Zoning Act, the wall of any given tower that faces a street could only rise to a certain height, proportionate to the street's width, at which point the building had to be set back by a given proportion. This system of setbacks would continue until the tower reaches a floor level when that level's floor area was 25% that of the ground level's area. After that 25% threshold was reached, the building could rise without restriction.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Kayden|The Municipal Art Society of New York|2000|p=8}}</ref> This law was superseded by the [[1961 Zoning Resolution]], which allowed skyscrapers to have a slab-like shape and additional floor area in exchange for the inclusion of ground-level open spaces.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Kayden|The Municipal Art Society of New York|2000|pp=11–12}}</ref>|name=zoning}} These setbacks were not required if the building occupied 25 percent or less of its lot area.<ref name="LC p. 361" />

''New York Times'' architectural critic [[Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|Christopher Gray]] said in 2005 that the Singer Building's tower resembled "a bulbous mansard and giant lantern".<ref name="nyt20050102" /> Architectural writer [[Jason Barr]] stated in 2016 that the Singer Building was a "transitional building" in skyscraper development.<ref name="OConnor 2016" /> Landau and Condit described the building as "an aesthetic triumph that enriched the city by demonstrating the sculptural possibilities of the steel-framed skyscraper".<ref name="LC p. 361" /> ''Architectural Forum'' wrote in 1957 that the Singer Building was a "very coherent, virile piece of design".<ref name="AF p. 118" /> Just before the building's demolition, ''Architectural Forum'' wrote that the building was "distinguished for more than mere height".<ref name="AF 1967-08" /> [[Ada Louise Huxtable]] said, "The master never produced a more impressive ruin than the Singer Building under demolition."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Byles|first=Jeff|date=January 22, 2006|title=The Romance of the Wrecking Ball|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-romance-of-the-wrecking-ball.html|access-date=August 14, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203162435/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/thecity/the-romance-of-the-wrecking-ball.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1127">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1995|ps=.|p=1127}}</ref>

Not all critics appraised the Singer Building positively. ''[[The New York Globe]]'' in the 1900s had called the Singer Building an "architectural giraffe" and said such a tall building would hinder the ability of fire services to rescue people on the upper floors.<ref name="nyt19680327" />

==See also==
* [[History of the world's tallest buildings]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite magazine|url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1967-09.pdf|title=As Ye Sew, So Shall They Reap |date=Sep 1967|magazine=Progressive Architecture|volume=48|ref={{harvid|Progressive Architecture|1967}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Condit|first=Carl W.|title=American Building: Materials and Techniques from the Beginning of the Colonial Settlements to the Present|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1968|oclc=600614625}}
* {{cite book|last=Fenske|first=Gail|title=The American Skyscraper: Cultural Histories|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-52162-421-3|oclc=56752831|editor-last=Moudry|editor-first=Roberta|chapter=The Beaux-Arts Architect and the Skyscraper: Cass Gilbert, the Professional Engineer, and the Rationalization of Construction in Chicago and New York}}
* {{cite magazine|url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1957-04.pdf|title=Forgotten Pioneering|date=April 1957|volume=106|magazine=Architectural Forum|ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1957}}}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4chHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT235|title=A History of Architecture and Trade|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2018|isbn=978-1-351-79679-8|editor-last=Haughey|editor-first=Patrick|series=Routledge Research in Architecture}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXH65xKQKRMC&pg=PA95|title=Historic American Buildings Survey Selections|publisher=Historic American Buildings Survey|year=1969|volume=7|ref={{harvid|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969}}|postscript=. {{PD-notice}}}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y10RAQAAMAAJ|title=Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands|volume=Durable Goods|publisher=St. James Press|year=1994|isbn=978-1-55862-338-5|editor-last=Jorgensen|editor-first=Janice}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpeNSAfYASoC&pg=PA9|title=Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience|last=Kayden|first=Jerold S.|author2=The Municipal Art Society of New York|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-471-36257-9}}
* {{cite book|last1=Landau|first1=Sarah|title=Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 1865–1913|last2=Condit|first2=Carl W.|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-300-07739-1|oclc=32819286|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofnewyorksky0000land|url-access=registration}}<!--{{Cite nysky|ref={{harvid|Landau|Condit|1996}}}}-->
* {{cite magazine |date=July–August 1967 |title=Landmarks: Too Good to Last |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1967-07-08.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=127 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Forum|1967}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Meighan|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UD6IAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119|title=Scotland's Lost Industries|publisher=Amberley Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4456-2401-3}}
* {{cite book | last=Pile | first=John F. | title=A History of Interior Design | publisher=Laurence King | year=2005 | isbn=978-1-85669-418-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVQJvcI1XeoC&pg=PA310 }}
* {{cite magazine|last=Ripley|first=Charles M.|date=October 1907|title=A Building Forty-Seven Stories High|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sojNAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA9459|journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]]|volume=XIV|pages=9459–9461}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t3sv0525r&view=1up&seq=8|title=A History of the Singer Building Construction, Its Progress From Foundation to Flag Pole|first=Otto Francis|last=Semsch|publisher=The Trow Press|date=1908}}
* {{cite magazine|date=July 1908|title=The Singer Building, New York|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c033529558&view=1up&seq=441|journal=Architects' and Builders' Magazine|volume=40|issue=10|pages=429–444|ref={{harvid|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1908}}}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Stern|first1=Robert A. M.|title=New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890–1915|date=1983|publisher=Rizzoli|last2=Gilmartin|first2=Gregory|last3=Massengale|first3=John Montague|isbn=0-8478-0511-5|oclc=9829395}} <!--{{cite New York 1900}}-->
* {{Cite book|last1=Stern|first1=Robert A. M.|last2=Mellins|first2=Thomas|last3=Fishman|first3=David|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32159240|title=New York 1960: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Second World War and the Bicentennial|date=1995|publisher=Monacelli Press|isbn=1-885254-02-4|oclc=32159240|page=|pages=}}<!--{{Cite New York 1960}}-->
* {{cite magazine|date=1907|title=Volume 55|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=128|journal=[[Engineering Record]]|volume=55|ref={{harvid|Engineering Record|1907}}}}
** {{cite magazine|date=March 2, 1907|title=Methods Used in Underpinning the Singer Building, New York|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=128|journal=Engineering Record|volume=55|pages=275–276}}
** {{cite magazine|date=May 25, 1907|title=Steel Details in the Upper Part of the Singer Building Tower|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=642|journal=Engineering Record|volume=55|pages=630–632}}
** {{cite magazine|date=May 18, 1907|title=Structural Details of the Singer Building, New York|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=611|journal=Engineering Record|volume=55|pages=599–602}}
** {{cite magazine|date=May 4, 1907|title=The Anchorages of the Singer Building Tower|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=554|journal=Engineering Record|volume=55|pages=542–543}}
** {{cite magazine|date=February 2, 1907|title=The Foundations of the Singer Building Extension, New York|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085454786&view=1up&seq=128|journal=Engineering Record|volume=55|pages=116–118}}
* {{cite book |first1=Norval |last1=White |author-link1=Norval White |last2=Willensky |first2=Elliot |last3=Leadon |first3=Fran|title=[[AIA Guide to New York City]] |edition=5th |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19538-386-7}}<!--{{cite aia5}}-->
* {{cite book|last=Willis|first=Carol|title=Form Follows Finance: Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago|publisher=Princeton Architectural Press|year=1995|isbn=978-1-5689-8044-7}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|149 Broadway Singer Building}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/buildings/102519/singer-building-new-york-city-ny-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310165140/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/102519/singer-building-new-york-city-ny-usa |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |title=Emporis building ID 102519 |work=[[Emporis]]}}
* {{skyscraperpage|1031}}
* {{structurae|20002471}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-ach|rec}}
{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Philadelphia City Hall]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Skyscraper#History of the tallest skyscrapers|Tallest building in the world]]|years=1908–1909<br /><small>187&nbsp;m</small>}}
{{S-aft|rows=3|after=[[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of tallest buildings in the United States|Tallest building in the United States]]|years=1908–1909<br /><small>187&nbsp;m</small>}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Park Row Building]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of tallest buildings in New York City#Timeline of tallest buildings|Tallest building in New York City]]|years=1906–1909<br /><small>187&nbsp;m</small>}}
{{S-end}}
{{Broadway (Manhattan)}}
{{Buildings in New York City timeline}}

[[Category:1899 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1908 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1968 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Broadway (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1968]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Financial District, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Former skyscrapers]]
[[Category:Former world's tallest buildings]]
[[Category:Headquarters in the United States]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1899]]
[[Category:Office buildings completed in 1908]]
[[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Trust Company of America]]