55 Wall Street

National City Bank Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
NYC Landmark
Location:	55 Wall Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York[2]
Built:	1836-1841, additions 1907-1910[3]
Architect:	Isaiah Rogers (original), McKim, Mead & White (additions)
Architectural style:	Greek Revival (original), Roman (additions)
NRHP Reference#:	78001875[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	June 2, 1978
Designated NHL:	June 2, 1978 [4]
Designated NYCL:	December 21, 1965

55 Wall Street in Manhattan, New York City is a former bank building that today houses luxury apartments.

It was originally the Merchants Exchange, a Greek Revival building built between 1836 and 1841. Between 1862 and around 1907, the U.S. Customs Service used the building before moving into the U.S. Customhouse on Bowling Green.^[2] In 1907, the National City Bank^[5] hired Charles F. McKim^[3] to increase the building to 7 floors and redesign the interior. The National City Bank (now Citibank) was closely tied to the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Architecture

The building was designed by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers in classical style and built in 1836-1842. The facade of the original four-story, Greek revival style featured sixteen massive Ionic columns, each a single block of Quincy Granite.

In 1899, National City Bank, which subsequently became Citibank, commissioned architects McKim, Mead & White to remodel the building for use as their headquarters. The architects added four stories to the building and superimposed a second colonnade of Corinthian columns above the original facade. They also redesigned the interior into an immense banking hall featuring a sixty-foot-high central dome and offices at each corner. Monumental Corinthian columns support an elegant entablature that circles the space. The room features elegant gray marble floors and walls, a coffered ceiling, and delicate mezzanine railings.

The exterior of this building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1965. The building was named a National Historic Landmark in 1978.^[4][6][7]

In 1998 it was completely rebuilt as The Regent Wall Street Hotel. After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, 55 Wall Street served as a relief center for workers and area residents. The hotel closed in 2003 due to lack of business after the 9/11 attacks. It has recently been renovated again and was converted to condos by the Cipriani S.A. empire of restaurants and ballrooms. The main banking hall "now serves as one of the most elegant ballrooms in the world"^[8]. It was the location for the finale of Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate and has been called a "facility unequaled in America"^[9]

The Designated Landmark of New York City plaque was installed by the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation in 2002.

References

1. ^ New+York County listings at the National Register of Historic Places
2. ^ ^{a b} Dolkart, Andrew S. & Postal, Matthew A.; Guide to New York City Landmarks, 3rd Edition; New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004. ISBN 0-471-36900-4; p.16-17.
3. ^ ^{a b} NHL Writeup^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b} "National City Bank Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-16. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1774&ResourceType=Building. 
5. ^ NHL Details
6. ^ ["National City Bank (Merchant's Exchange)", December 1976, by George R. AdamsPDF (546 KB) "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination"]. National Park Service. 1976-12. "National City Bank (Merchant's Exchange)", December 1976, by George R. AdamsPDF (546 KB). 
7. ^ [National City Bank (Merchant's Exchange)--Accompanying photos, 2 exterior and 1 interior, from 1976.PDF (668 KB) "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination"]. National Park Service. 1976-12. National City Bank (Merchant's Exchange)--Accompanying photos, 2 exterior and 1 interior, from 1976.PDF (668 KB). 
8. ^ Harris, Bill; One Thousand New York Buildings, 1st Edition; Black Dog and Leventhal. 2002. ISBN 1-57912-443-7; p.36.
9. ^ White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot; AIA Guide to New York City, 4th Edition; New York Chapter, American Institute of Architects; Crown Publishers/Random House. 2000. ISBN 0-8129-31069-8; ISBN 0-8129-3107-6. p.17.

External links

Media related to 55 Wall Street at Wikimedia Commons

• American Memory from the Library of Congress

Coordinates: 40°42′22″N 74°00′33″W / 40.706039°N 74.009174°W / 40.706039; -74.009174