The twenty-story Whitehall Building (1-17 West Street & 17 Battery Place), named for Peter Stuyvesant's seventeenth-century house that had been located nearby, was constructed in 1902-04 and designed by the preeminent turn-of -the-century architect Henry J. Hardenbergh. This highly visible site at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, overlooking Battery Park, inspired the architect to create a building with bold design features and a dramatic color scheme. Built as a speculative office tower by the real estate and development firm of Robert A. and William H. Chesebrough, the building was an immediate success and the developers began plans to build an addition. They hired the prolific architectural firm of Clinton & Russell to design a thirty-one-story addition facing West Street, with a tower overlooking the original building. Constructed in 1908-10, the Greater Whitehall, as the addition was called, was the largest office structure in the city at the time of its completion. The building's huge size coupled with its location on landfill at the edge of Manhattan island created the need for unusual types of foundations and methods for their installation. The elegant limestone facade, designed in a neo-Renaissance style with a traditional organization of base, shaft, and capital complements the original structure. Together the two sections of the building create a dramatic visual introduction to the towers of Manhattan.
In 1999, both buildings were converted into residential apartments, while the original building retains some offices/retail. Both buildings were designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on February 8, 2000.
Despite the fact that these buildings have been dwarfed by newer buildings in Battery Park, these buildings' prominent waterfront location and beautiful Beaux-Arts form make it incomparable. An outstanding pair, and one of my favorites. What I wouldn't give for an apartment on the upper floors of the annex...
Left-Arrow. From:
http://kayandme.blogspot.com/
NYC - Battery: Whitehall Building by
wallyg, on Flickr
NYC - Battery: Whitehall Building by
wallyg, on Flickr
Whitehall Building (1904), 17 Battery Place, New York, New York by
lumierefl, on Flickr
older by
Dreamer7112, on Flickr
N.Y. Skyline, 1913 (LOC) by
The Library of Congress, on Flickr
DSC_5839 copy by
gambleg42, on Flickr
NEW YORK | Whitehall Building & Annex | 259/424 FT. | 20/31 FLOORS | 1904/1910
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