Park Row Building
- Architect
- R. H. Robertson
- Year
- 1899
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The Park Row Building at 15 Park Row is a 391-foot, 31-story early skyscraper designed by R. H. Robertson, a pioneer of steel skyscraper design, and engineered by Nathaniel Roberts's firm. Built between 1897 and 1899 by the Park Row Construction Company as an office building, its steel frame and elevators made it one of the tallest buildings in the world at completion, holding that title until the Singer Building surpassed it in 1908. About 4,000 people worked here, with tenants including the Associated Press and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company.
the building
Twin cupolas and sculpted facade. The building's 26 full floors, partial 27th floor, and paired four-story cupolas are dressed with large columns, pilasters, and overhanging ornamental balconies. J. Massey Rhind sculpted several of these details, including the balconies and figures atop the building.
the style
Robertson worked in the Neoclassical style, giving the steel-framed tower a facade of columns, pilasters, and Rhind's sculptural ornament rather than a purely utilitarian expression of its height.
More on Neoclassicalthe architect
R. H. Robertson was a pioneer in steel skyscraper design; he designed the Park Row Building, engineered with Nathaniel Roberts's firm, completed in 1899.
significance
The Park Row Building is a National Register of Historic Places listed place and a New York City Individual Landmark (LP-02024), designated in 1999. It was the world's tallest building until the Singer Building's completion in 1908.
nearby
- Potter Building
- Corbin Building
- 195 Broadway
- New York Times Building
- Woolworth Building
- Saint Paul's Chapel and Graveyard