Singer Building
- Architect
- Ernest Flagg
- Year
- 1908
- Style
- Beaux-Arts
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The Singer Building, or Singer Tower, was an early skyscraper at Liberty Street and Broadway, built in phases from 1897 to 1908 as headquarters for the Singer Manufacturing Company. It was commissioned by company leader Frederick Gilbert Bourne and designed by Ernest Flagg, blending Beaux-Arts and French Second Empire elements.
the building
Built in stages. The tower grew from four separate sections: the original 10-story Singer Building of 1897-98, the 14-story Bourne Building of 1898-99, and their later expansion into a 14-story base topped by 27 more stories.
Facade and foundation. The facade combined brick, stone, and terracotta, capped by a dome and lantern. The tower's foundation was excavated using caissons, while the base rested on shallower footings, and the frame was steel though load-bearing walls were initially retained.
the style
Ernest Flagg's design mixed Beaux-Arts and French Second Empire elements, giving the tower its distinctive domed silhouette.
More on Beaux-Artsthe architect
Ernest Flagg designed the Singer Building across multiple phases from 1897 to 1908 for Frederick Gilbert Bourne and the Singer Manufacturing Company.
nearby
- Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York
- 140 Broadway
- Trinity Building
- World Trade Center twin towers
- 4 World Trade Center
- Liberty Tower