Liberty Tower
- Architect
- Henry Ives Cobb
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- City
- Manhattan, NY
Liberty Tower, originally the Sinclair Oil Building, is a 33-story residential building at 55 Liberty Street in the Financial District. Designed by Henry Ives Cobb in the Gothic Revival style, it was built in 1909-1910 as a commercial office tower and was said upon completion to be the world's tallest building with such a small footprint, at a floor area ratio of 30 to 1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's law office was among its first tenants, and Sinclair Oil bought the building after World War I. Architect Joseph Pell Lombardi converted it to residential apartments in 1979.
the building
Column-like massing. The building's articulation is organized into three horizontal sections mirroring the parts of a classical column: a base, shaft, and capital, expressed in a limestone base and white architectural terracotta above with elaborate ornament.
FDR's law office. When the building opened in 1910, one of its first commercial tenants was the law office of future U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
the style
Henry Ives Cobb designed the tower in the Gothic Revival style, wrapping the narrow office building in white terracotta ornament over a limestone base.
More on Gothic Revivalthe architect
Henry Ives Cobb designed Liberty Tower, completed in 1909-1910.
significance
Designated a New York City Individual Landmark (LP-01243) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 24, 1982.
nearby
- Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York
- World Trade Center twin towers
- 140 Broadway
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- 63 Nassau Street Building
- John Street Methodist Church