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90 West Street
90 West Street (previously known as the West Street Building and the Brady Building) is a 23-story residential building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Located on West Street just south of the World Trade Center, the building was designed by Cass Gilbert, with Gunvald Aus and Burt Harrison as structural engineers, and John Peirce as general contractor. It was erected for the West Street Improvement Corporation, led by transportation magnate Howard Carroll.
The Gothic styling and ornamentation of 90 West Street served to emphasize its height. The design combined elements of the three-section "classical column" arrangement of 19th-century buildings with the "romantic tower" of Gilbert's later structures such as the Woolworth Building. Its waterfront site necessitated the installation of pilings deep into the ground. Other features included a terracotta facade with granite at the two-story base, as well as terracotta fireproofing inside the building. The building's design was widely praised when it was originally completed. The building is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
90 West Street was built in 1905–1907 as an office building called the West Street Building. "The Garret Restaurant", on the structure's top floors, was marketed as the highest restaurant in the world. The building underwent numerous ownership changes in the 20th century, and was known after its long-term owner, Brady Security and Realty Corporation, during the middle of the century. Following the collapse of the adjacent World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001, attacks, the West Street Building was severely damaged. The building was subsequently extensively refurbished and it reopened as a residential building called 90 West in 2005.
90 West Street is located on a plot facing West Street to the west, Cedar Street and the World Trade Center to the north, and Albany Street to the south. The lot is roughly parallelogram-shaped. The building shares its block with 130 Cedar Street, a 19-story hotel. The building carries the address numbers 87–95 West Street, inclusive, as well as odd address numbers 21–25 Albany Street and even address numbers 136–140 Cedar Street.
When built, the West Street Building overlooked the North River (now Hudson River) to the west. Until the construction of the World Trade Center in the 1970s, the West Street Building was one of the tallest buildings on Lower Manhattan's Hudson River shoreline. By the 1980s, Battery Park City was built on filled land along the shore of the river, cutting off the West Street Building from a view of the waterfront.
The West Street Building is 324 feet (99 m) tall and contains 23 above-ground floors. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, who had designed numerous public structures and government buildings in the Beaux Arts style. From the start, Gilbert intended the West Street Building as "a machine that makes the land pay". In an article for the Engineering News-Record, he wrote that in general, "architectural beauty, judged even from an economic standpoint, has an income-bearing value".
The West Street Building was one of the first skyscrapers to consistently use neo-Gothic-style decoration. At the time, it was still relatively rare for a steel-skeleton skyscraper to contain terracotta cladding, as the West Street Building did. The decoration was inspired by the Gothic architecture of Belgium, using religious models such as the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, as well as secular models such as Brussels Town Hall. Furthermore, in his initial plans, Gilbert wanted to create a five-story tower that rose from the center of the structure, topping the height of the Flatiron Building. This five-story tower was canceled by Carroll, presumably to save money, but the idea inspired the seven-story upper section of the building, topped by a mansard roof.
At the time of the West Street Building's construction, the facades of many 19th-century early skyscrapers consisted of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital. This contrasted with Gilbert's later skyscraper designs, which tended toward a "romantic tower" style. The West Street Building was one of four important Gilbert skyscrapers in the early 20th century, the others being the Second Brazer Building (1896), the Broadway–Chambers Building (1900), and the Woolworth Building (1913). The West Street Building used a reduced version of the tripartite facade layout; compared to previous commissions, the "base" was scaled down, the shaft was emphasized by tall vertical piers, and the capital was emphasized by its Gothic-style mansard roof.
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90 West Street
90 West Street (previously known as the West Street Building and the Brady Building) is a 23-story residential building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Located on West Street just south of the World Trade Center, the building was designed by Cass Gilbert, with Gunvald Aus and Burt Harrison as structural engineers, and John Peirce as general contractor. It was erected for the West Street Improvement Corporation, led by transportation magnate Howard Carroll.
The Gothic styling and ornamentation of 90 West Street served to emphasize its height. The design combined elements of the three-section "classical column" arrangement of 19th-century buildings with the "romantic tower" of Gilbert's later structures such as the Woolworth Building. Its waterfront site necessitated the installation of pilings deep into the ground. Other features included a terracotta facade with granite at the two-story base, as well as terracotta fireproofing inside the building. The building's design was widely praised when it was originally completed. The building is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
90 West Street was built in 1905–1907 as an office building called the West Street Building. "The Garret Restaurant", on the structure's top floors, was marketed as the highest restaurant in the world. The building underwent numerous ownership changes in the 20th century, and was known after its long-term owner, Brady Security and Realty Corporation, during the middle of the century. Following the collapse of the adjacent World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001, attacks, the West Street Building was severely damaged. The building was subsequently extensively refurbished and it reopened as a residential building called 90 West in 2005.
90 West Street is located on a plot facing West Street to the west, Cedar Street and the World Trade Center to the north, and Albany Street to the south. The lot is roughly parallelogram-shaped. The building shares its block with 130 Cedar Street, a 19-story hotel. The building carries the address numbers 87–95 West Street, inclusive, as well as odd address numbers 21–25 Albany Street and even address numbers 136–140 Cedar Street.
When built, the West Street Building overlooked the North River (now Hudson River) to the west. Until the construction of the World Trade Center in the 1970s, the West Street Building was one of the tallest buildings on Lower Manhattan's Hudson River shoreline. By the 1980s, Battery Park City was built on filled land along the shore of the river, cutting off the West Street Building from a view of the waterfront.
The West Street Building is 324 feet (99 m) tall and contains 23 above-ground floors. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, who had designed numerous public structures and government buildings in the Beaux Arts style. From the start, Gilbert intended the West Street Building as "a machine that makes the land pay". In an article for the Engineering News-Record, he wrote that in general, "architectural beauty, judged even from an economic standpoint, has an income-bearing value".
The West Street Building was one of the first skyscrapers to consistently use neo-Gothic-style decoration. At the time, it was still relatively rare for a steel-skeleton skyscraper to contain terracotta cladding, as the West Street Building did. The decoration was inspired by the Gothic architecture of Belgium, using religious models such as the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, as well as secular models such as Brussels Town Hall. Furthermore, in his initial plans, Gilbert wanted to create a five-story tower that rose from the center of the structure, topping the height of the Flatiron Building. This five-story tower was canceled by Carroll, presumably to save money, but the idea inspired the seven-story upper section of the building, topped by a mansard roof.
At the time of the West Street Building's construction, the facades of many 19th-century early skyscrapers consisted of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital. This contrasted with Gilbert's later skyscraper designs, which tended toward a "romantic tower" style. The West Street Building was one of four important Gilbert skyscrapers in the early 20th century, the others being the Second Brazer Building (1896), the Broadway–Chambers Building (1900), and the Woolworth Building (1913). The West Street Building used a reduced version of the tripartite facade layout; compared to previous commissions, the "base" was scaled down, the shaft was emphasized by tall vertical piers, and the capital was emphasized by its Gothic-style mansard roof.