Bank of the Metropolis
- Architect
- Bruce Price
- Year
- 1902
- Style
- Beaux-Arts
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The Bank of the Metropolis operated in New York City from 1871 to 1918, moving through several addresses around Union Square before settling into its purpose-built 16-story home at 31 Union Square West in 1902-03. Designed by Bruce Price, the Renaissance Revival tower used a tripartite facade and neoclassical elements. The bank was founded in 1871 to serve the merchants who had begun clustering around Union Square as it filled with hotels, theaters, and commercial enterprises, including Steinway & Sons founder William Steinway among its founders.
the building
Tripartite Beaux-Arts front. The facade is organized in a tripartite design with neoclassical detailing, typical of the era's Beaux-Arts bank buildings.
Changing uses over time. After the bank merged into the Bank of Manhattan in 1918, the building continued as an office tower; its upper stories were converted to residential use in 1976, and the ground floor later held a restaurant.
the style
Price's Beaux-Arts design gave the bank a monumental, classically detailed presence on Union Square, in keeping with the era's bank architecture.
More on Beaux-Artsthe architect
Bruce Price, who designed the building, was a significant American architect of the period.
significance
The building was designated a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1988 (LP-01537) and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
nearby
- Century Building
- Lincoln Building
- Everett Building
- W New York Union Square
- Gorham Manufacturing Company Building
- Daryl Roth Theatre