Western Union Telegraph Building
- Architect
- George B. Post
- Year
- 1875
- Style
- Baroque Revival
- City
- Manhattan, NY
The Western Union Telegraph Building stood at Dey Street and Broadway in the Financial District, a ten-story, 230-foot Baroque Revival tower designed by George B. Post and completed in February 1875. Western Union commissioned it in 1872 after outgrowing its previous space at 145 Broadway, and Post won the commission through an architectural design competition. It is considered one of the first skyscrapers in New York City.
the building
Clock tower pinnacle. A three-story mansard roof topped the original eleven-story design, and a clock tower pinnacle gave the building its full 230-foot height, making it one of the tallest structures in the city at completion, behind only Trinity Church, the New York Tribune Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge towers.
Telegraph operating floor. The interior held executive offices, a large telegraph operating room, and office space rented out to other tenants.
the style
Post designed the building in the Baroque Revival style, fitting for a headquarters meant to project Western Union's stature as a national communications company.
More on Baroque Revivalthe architect
George B. Post won the commission through a design competition; Henry Janeway Hardenbergh later carried out alterations, including work after a fire.
significance
A fire in 1890 destroyed the top five stories, though the superstructure of the ground floor and lowest five floors survived; Hardenbergh oversaw subsequent changes.
nearby
- 195 Broadway
- Saint Paul's Chapel and Graveyard
- Corbin Building
- New York Evening Post Building
- 3 World Trade Center
- Park Row Building