One New York Plaza
Encyclopedia
1 New York Plaza is an office building in New York City, built in 1969, and is located at the intersection of South and Whitehall Streets (40.70214°N 74.01175°W). It is the southernmost of all Manhattan skyscrapers.
the land under this development as part of the Battery Park Urban Renewal Area. The plan involved consolidating several blocks into a "superblock
" for public housing
. When that plan fell through the city hoped to entice the New York Stock Exchange
to relocate to the property. However the owner of the property—the firm of Atlas McGrath—successfully sued to retain their land, claiming they were more than willing to develop the site privately.
The building is 640 feet (195 m) tall with 50 floors. The building was designed by William Lescaze
& Assocs. and Kahn & Jacobs.
The facade was designed by Nevio Maggiora, consisting of a boxlike "beehive" pattern with the windows recessed within, made of aluminum-clad wall elements resembling a type of thermally activated elevator button popular at the time of construction.
On August 5, 1970, the building suffered a fire in which two people were killed and 35 injured. The deaths were caused after an occupied elevator was "summoned" to the burning floor when one of the thermally-activated call buttons - designed to react to a warm finger tapping it - reacted instead to the heat of the fire on that floor.
The building was renovated in 1994, and repainted from a dark Black/Grey Color scheme to a lighter White/Light Grey color. Today One New York Plaza stands as one of the more prominent buildings of Lower Manhattan
, being the southernmost skyscraper on Manhattan
.
Notable occupants of One New York Plaza include Goldman Sachs
, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
, and Morgan Stanley
.
History
In 1959 the City of New York attempted to acquire through eminent domainEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
the land under this development as part of the Battery Park Urban Renewal Area. The plan involved consolidating several blocks into a "superblock
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
" for public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
. When that plan fell through the city hoped to entice the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
to relocate to the property. However the owner of the property—the firm of Atlas McGrath—successfully sued to retain their land, claiming they were more than willing to develop the site privately.
The building is 640 feet (195 m) tall with 50 floors. The building was designed by William Lescaze
William Lescaze
William Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, and is one of the pioneers of modernism in American architecture....
& Assocs. and Kahn & Jacobs.
The facade was designed by Nevio Maggiora, consisting of a boxlike "beehive" pattern with the windows recessed within, made of aluminum-clad wall elements resembling a type of thermally activated elevator button popular at the time of construction.
On August 5, 1970, the building suffered a fire in which two people were killed and 35 injured. The deaths were caused after an occupied elevator was "summoned" to the burning floor when one of the thermally-activated call buttons - designed to react to a warm finger tapping it - reacted instead to the heat of the fire on that floor.
The building was renovated in 1994, and repainted from a dark Black/Grey Color scheme to a lighter White/Light Grey color. Today One New York Plaza stands as one of the more prominent buildings of Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
, being the southernmost skyscraper on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Notable occupants of One New York Plaza include Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is a law firm founded in New York City in the early 20th century that has grown into an international law firm with offices in New York City, Washington, DC, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm has 468 attorneys worldwide...
, and Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
.