There was just the plain-old Empire Building, an 1898 neoclassical office tower at 71 Broadway at Rector Street.
Impressive enough to warrant is own postcard, it held the distinction of being one of the city’s first steel-framed skyscrapers and was praised for its ornate beauty.
[One critic, however, did complain that it had a “grotesque resemblance to a waffle iron” according to this 1996 report by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.]
For 33 years, it was the only skyscraper with Empire in its name. Then in 1931 came the Empire State Building—82 stories taller and an instant icon.
The humbled Empire Building stuck it out until 1997, when it was converted to apartments.
Tags: architecture in New York City, Art Deco Skyscrapers, Empire Building, Empire State Building, financial district buildings, neoclassical buildings New York City, New York skyscrapers, vintage New York postcards
Ephemeral New York 
August 23, 2011 at 6:41 pm |
I used to live in this building on the 14th floor overlooking Trinity Church.
Lovely building and it has its own entrance to the subway in the basement too.
August 24, 2011 at 12:37 am |
It looks lovely. And Trinity Churchyard views!
August 24, 2011 at 10:20 am |
‘DSK’ briefly held under house arrest in this building before
being moved to the Tribeca townhouse.
August 24, 2011 at 1:58 pm |
Guess we won’t be seeing him in the neighborhood again…..
January 28, 2023 at 5:29 pm |
My daughter gave me an old postcard with this building. Google was no help in finding it until I did an image search. I was afraid it had been torn down. Glad to hear it’s still surviving.