International Mercantile Marine Company Building
Financial District, Manhattan
The International Mercantile Marine Company Building occupies a prominent and historic location at the south end of Broadway, facing both Bowling Green and Battery Park, on a lot that extends along the entire blockfront of Battery Place to Greenwich Street. The austere neo-classical style building is the result of a remodelling of the renowned red brick, Queen Anne style Washington Building (designed by Edward Hale Kendall and built in 1882-87) by Walter B. Chambers in 1919-21.
Chambers, an architect trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts who was an associate of Ernest Flagg, is known for designs that reflect an interest in severity and simplicity of composition and details. In the re-design of the Washington Building for the International Mercantile Marine Co., the tower and dormers were removed, the roof profile was altered, and the structure reclad in Indiana limestone, granite, and marble.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., organized in 1902 by J.P. Morgan, was a mammoth and ambitious combination of six of the leading American and British transatlantic steamship companies that operated the largest American-owned merchant fleet in the world. This building, which served as the company's New York headquarters as well as its booking office, was one of the first of the major modern steamship buildings that gave this section of lower Broadway the name "Steamship Row" in the 1920s and assisted in transforming the street into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day.
Restrained neo-classical details on this building include nautical and marine motifs, such as shields representing the company's major ports of call. In 1943 the International Mercantile Marine Co. merged with its then-principal subsidiary and became the United States Lines Co., which retained ownership of No. Broadway until 1979. The Allstate Life Insurance Co., owners since 1992, funded a major restoration the exterior in 1993-94.
The site of the International Mercantile Marine Co. Building was occupied in the seventeenth century by two taverns, popular for their location just north of Fort New Amsterdam. In the mid-eighteenth century, when lower Broadway was a desirable residential street for the wealthy and for government officials, John Watts and Capt. Archibald Kennedy built houses on this site. Kennedy's house served during the Revolutionary War as quarters for a number of British officers (and, legend says, for George Washington).
It remained a residence (in the 1830s-40s for prominent early banker Nathaniel Prime) until about 1851, when it became known as the Washington Hotel; the hotel stayed in operation until its demolition for the Washington Building, the predecessor of the present building. A bronze tablet on the Broadway corner of the International Mercantile Marine Co. Building commemorates this site history.
The International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMMC), organized in 1902 by J.P. Morgan, was a mammoth and ambitious combination of six of the leading American and British transatlantic steamship companies. During its forty years of existence it operated the largest American-owned merchant fleet in the world. The nucleus of the company was the International Navigation Co., originally chartered in Philadelphia in 1871 (and reorganized in 1893 in New Jersey), which owned and operated the American and Red Star Lines.3
IMMC amended the charter of this predecessor company, changed its name, and initially increased its capital from fifteen million dollars to sixty million dollars; the stock in the new company was already paid for and subscribed at the time of the formation announcement in October 1902 (the company soon reached a capitalization of $120 million). International Navigation controlled International Navigation Co., Ltd., a separate company set up to indirectly acquire several British properties — the Oceanic Navigation Co., Ltd. (White Star Line), the Atlantic Transport Co., and the Dominion Line. The subsidiary companies thus included in the combination were the American, Red Star, White Star, Atlantic Transport, and Dominion Lines, wholly owned by the company, as well as Frederick Ley land & Co. and National Steamship Co., in which IMMC secured a majority ownership.
In addition, IMMC purchased a substantial share in the Holland-America Line (which was sold in 1917). These passenger and freight lines operated between North America and Europe, Australia-New Zealand, the Caribbean, and Central America. The first president in 1902 and then chairman of the board (1904-12), Clement A. Griscom, was one of the wealthiest men in the United States and had been one of the founders of International Navigation in 1871. J. Bruce Ismay, a director of the White Star Line, succeeded Griscom as president (1904-12).
IMMC, formed at the peak of transatlantic shipping prosperity, continually operated with a "thin margin of safety"4 and never paid stockholder dividends in the years prior to World War I. Despite its expectations, IMMC never received subsidies from the U.S. government and it failed to eliminate its competition. Further, the existence of this huge company, which attempted to monopolize its market, may have actually exacerbated rate wars.
Cunard, Hamburg-American, and North German Lloyd Lines companies continued to provide formidable competition. Cunard, which Morgan had once hoped to control, received subsidies from the British government. In response to Cunard's competition, White Star Line introduced the luxury liner Titanic; its disastrous sinking on its first voyage in 1912 resulted in heavy losses for IMMC. After defaulting on its obligations in 1914-15, the company was placed in receivership and was forced to reorganize.
Profits gained from shipping during the war and the elimination of German competition, however, turned the company around; despite higher wartime wages and insurance rates, disruptions, and the virtual loss of passenger service, the profits from shipments of war materials and requisitions by the British and American governments were substantial. Freight rates alone were estimated to have increased by 500 to 600 percent. As indicated in IMMC's Annual Report in 1916:
As the European war progressed there came about a most extraordinary change in the financial conditions of your Company, due to the shortage of tonnage and the abnormal increase of freight rates, and the earnings of the Company and of its subsidiaries reached a point far exceeding those of any previous period in its history.
In 1916 IMMC was able to purchase an interest in the New York Shipbuilding Corp. in Camden, New Jersey. As further indication of its prosperity following the war, IMMC announced its purchase of the Washington Building for around three million dollars in November of 1919.
The Washington Building Designed by Edward Hale Kendall and built in 1882-85 by W.H. Hazzard & Son, the renowned Queen Anne style Washington Building was clad in red brick with red sandstone trim and had rounded bay windows on the corners; an elaborately dormered mansard roof and a round tower overlooking the New York harbor were added in 1886-87, also to Kendall's design.
Twelve stories in height, the Washington Building had an iron-framed structure and a C-shaped plan (it had an interior light court to the north), with six interior elevators. Erected for the Washington Building Co., organized and controlled by Cyrus W. Field of transatlantic cable fame, the building was considered one of the largest, tallest and finest office towers in downtown Manhattan of its era. The Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. and United-States National Bank, both established in 1881, were early tenants.
Edward Kendall (1842-1901), born in Boston and educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1858-59, first worked with the Boston architectural firm of Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman from 1860 to 1865. Kendall and Gilman formed a short-lived partnership, during which they designed the Equitable Life Assurance Co. Building (1868-70, demolished), the first New York office building to have passenger elevators and one of the largest buildings of its day.
During his independent practice from 1871 to 1900, Kendall designed commercial buildings, warehouses, residences, and stations for the West Side "El." Among his notable commissions, in the Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles, were the Gorham Mfg. Co. Building (1883-84, 889 Broadway) and the Methodist Book Concern (1888-90, 150 Fifth Avenue).7 Kendall maintained his office in the Washington Building until 1890.
The International Mercantile Marine Company Building IMMC's Annual Report of 1918 included for the first time a New York office listing, at the Bowling Green Offices Building, 5-11 Broadway; the company's general offices were located in Hoboken and, additionally, there were branch offices in fourteen American cities. Company president Philip A.S. Franklin stated in the 1919 Annual Report that
The quarters at present occupied by your Company at 9 Broadway having become inadequate, the Washington Building, 1 Broadway, New York, was purchased and after the necessary alterations have been completed,... the Company will be in possession of suitable offices, which will permit of expansion. Title to the property has been taken in the name of a separate corporation under the name of "Number One Broadway Corporation.
In the midst of a shortage of downtown office space, IMMC found it prohibitive to construct a completely new building. As reported in the Record and Guide, construction materials were difficult to obtain after the war and construction costs were at a high level; in addition, the Washington Building had numerous tenants whose leases had not expired.
The austere neo-classical building that resulted from the remodelling and "modernization" of the Washington Building in 1919-21 by architect Walter B. Chambers was characterized as "a great white stone structure of classic dignity and proportion."10 Chambers' alterations included the removal of the tower, dormers, and bay windows; reconfiguration of the roof profile; and the cladding of the structure with Indiana limestone, marble, and granite.
The Whitney Company was contractor for the project, with T. Kennard Thomson as consulting engineer. Restrained neo-classical carved stone details, mainly concentrated on the lowest stories, make reference to IMMC's maritime role. Nautical and marine motifs include the figures of Neptune and Mercury (Gods of the Seas and Trade) in the spandrels over the main entrance on Broadway; the seashells, seaweed, and starfish that further embellish the entrance; and rope moldings and courses with a wave motif that appear elsewhere. Shields ("in Venetian mosaic" according to contemporary accounts) representing the company's major ports of call are located above the base.
The interior of the building [not subject to this designation] was also extensively remodelled, with changes to the foundation and structural framing, the installation of new mechanical systems, and the creation of an impressive two-story booking hall in the base (that corresponds to the arches on the exterior). IMMC originally occupied the four floors above the booking office, with its accounting, freight, and operations divisions, executive offices, and board room. The building, which remained occupied by tenants on seven floors during the alterations (and thus presented complex engineering problems), won an award from the Downtown League for best altered building in 1921.
This building, serving as the company's New York headquarters as well as its booking office, was one of the first of the major modern steamship buildings that gave this section of lower Broadway the name "Steamship Row" in the 1920s. (Battery Place on the south side of Bowling Green had formerly been known by that name, when Cunard and other steamship companies located there after the 1850s). Previously, ticketing had usually been handled by agents scattered in the vicinity who operated on commission, rather than the purchase of tickets directly from each company.
One of IMMC's leading rivals, Cunard, constructed a new building nearby at No. 25 Broadway, also in 1919-21, according to the design of Benjamin Wistar Morris and Carrere & Hastings. An indication of the importance of shipping in the economy of New York City is the observation by the chairman of the Broadway Association in 1926:
Of course the early history of lower Broadway is closely associated with ocean transportation. But today, when a large number of the great structures of that section are given over to the vast interests of the great trans-Atlantic carriers, it is obvious that the steamship business occupies a commanding position on lower Broadway from which its influence radiates throughout the world. ... lower Broadway... represents the largest passenger booking office in the world.
Today four-fifths of all Americans sailing for foreign countries board their ships in the Port of New York, and of these, most find their accommodations in the offices located on these few blocks.
These buildings assisted in transforming lower Broadway into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day. And because of its prominent location facing Bowling Green and Battery Park at the "beginning" of Broadway, No. 1 Broadway plays a key role.
Description
The International Mercantile Marine Co. Building is located at the south end of Broadway, facing both Bowling Green and Battery Park on a lot that extends along the entire blockfront of Battery Place to Greenwich Street. A thirteen-story17 neo-classical structure, it is clad in Indiana limestone (with marble spandrel panels) above a granite base. The three facades have similar articulation, with chamfered corners at the southeast and southwest.
The masonry cladding of the structure, seriously deteriorated, was restored in 1993-94; the work entailed replacement (around eight percent of the total), repair, resetting, re-anchoring, and waterproofing of the limestone and marble.
Base The base has double-story arched fenestration. The multi-pane window sash, with lights following the arch, are kalamein with a painted gold finish and have ornamental entablatures. Semi-domical awnings have been placed in many of the arches (since 1981). The cornice has dentils and a course with a wave motif.
Broadway
The central main entrance, with a pedimented surround, has spandrels with the figures of Neptune and Mercury (Gods of the Seas and Trade) as well as an American eagle, and is further embellished with seashells, seaweed, and starfish; an original white marble plaque (previously covered by a sign with the name of the company) now has the inscription "Number One" for the address. A bronze tablet on the southern corner commemorates the early history of this site. The southernmost bay, on the northern reveal, bears the inscription "Walter B. Chambers Archt. MCMXX1."
An historic lamp sconce is placed between each of the two end bays. Alterations were made over the years to the northern three bays: 1) the northern bay (originally an entrance to the elevator hall) had two metal and glass doors flanked by sidelights, and currently has one metal and glass door (placed at the south side of the bay) and storefront window (1982-83); 2) the second bay originally had a multi-pane window with a limestone and granite base (similar to those surviving in the southern two bays), and c. 1981 the base was removed and two metal and glass doors flanked by sidelights were inserted; and 3) the main entrance, which originally had a revolving door, was altered before 1965 to incorporate a display window flanked by sidelights, and currently has a revolving door flanked by sidelights (c. 1981). All newer metal work has an anodized gold finish.
Battery Place
Two pedimented entrances set within the arches of the second bay from each end, once entrances to the booking office and designated "First Class" and "Cabin Class," are ornamented with shields with the inscription "IMM" flanked by dolphins; they originally had revolving doors with sidelights and currently have anodized aluminum and glass doors with transoms (1981); the western entrance is recessed and has granite steps and scissor gates. The entrances are flanked by historic lamp sconces. The other bays have light wells (with replacement windows or louvers) with metal bar railings.
Midsection
The six-story midsection has paired windows with replacement sash with a muntin grid; the original windows had six-over-six double-hung kalamein sash. The third story, a transition between the base and the midsection, has sections of balustrade and shields ("in Venetian mosaic" according to contemporary accounts) representing the company's major ports of call on the Broadway and Battery Place facades; the Broadway facade has three flagpoles (originally there were two on Broadway and four on Battery Place, all attached to the shields). Recessed spandrel panels are green Cippolino marble (those above the fifth floor are ornamented with rondels).
Upper Section
The three-story building cap consists of a two-story arcade (with oculi on the corners) which is surmounted by the principal (modillioned) cornice and another story with paired windows and a balustrade. The original windows of the top story had six-over-six double hung kalamein sash, while those of the arcade were eight-over-eight, with sidelights and (surviving) bossed spandrel panels (all have replacement sash).
Roof
The two-story roof is set back from the facade planes, with one story having arched windows and pilasters, and a standing-seam copper roof with square dormers (and oculi on the corners). There are three small one- and two-story service towers above the roof.
- From the 1995 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report
International Mercantile Marine Company Building
Financial District, Manhattan
The International Mercantile Marine Company Building occupies a prominent and historic location at the south end of Broadway, facing both Bowling Green and Battery Park, on a lot that extends along the entire blockfront of Battery Place to Greenwich Street. The austere neo-classical style building is the result of a remodelling of the renowned red brick, Queen Anne style Washington Building (designed by Edward Hale Kendall and built in 1882-87) by Walter B. Chambers in 1919-21.
Chambers, an architect trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts who was an associate of Ernest Flagg, is known for designs that reflect an interest in severity and simplicity of composition and details. In the re-design of the Washington Building for the International Mercantile Marine Co., the tower and dormers were removed, the roof profile was altered, and the structure reclad in Indiana limestone, granite, and marble.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., organized in 1902 by J.P. Morgan, was a mammoth and ambitious combination of six of the leading American and British transatlantic steamship companies that operated the largest American-owned merchant fleet in the world. This building, which served as the company's New York headquarters as well as its booking office, was one of the first of the major modern steamship buildings that gave this section of lower Broadway the name "Steamship Row" in the 1920s and assisted in transforming the street into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day.
Restrained neo-classical details on this building include nautical and marine motifs, such as shields representing the company's major ports of call. In 1943 the International Mercantile Marine Co. merged with its then-principal subsidiary and became the United States Lines Co., which retained ownership of No. Broadway until 1979. The Allstate Life Insurance Co., owners since 1992, funded a major restoration the exterior in 1993-94.
The site of the International Mercantile Marine Co. Building was occupied in the seventeenth century by two taverns, popular for their location just north of Fort New Amsterdam. In the mid-eighteenth century, when lower Broadway was a desirable residential street for the wealthy and for government officials, John Watts and Capt. Archibald Kennedy built houses on this site. Kennedy's house served during the Revolutionary War as quarters for a number of British officers (and, legend says, for George Washington).
It remained a residence (in the 1830s-40s for prominent early banker Nathaniel Prime) until about 1851, when it became known as the Washington Hotel; the hotel stayed in operation until its demolition for the Washington Building, the predecessor of the present building. A bronze tablet on the Broadway corner of the International Mercantile Marine Co. Building commemorates this site history.
The International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMMC), organized in 1902 by J.P. Morgan, was a mammoth and ambitious combination of six of the leading American and British transatlantic steamship companies. During its forty years of existence it operated the largest American-owned merchant fleet in the world. The nucleus of the company was the International Navigation Co., originally chartered in Philadelphia in 1871 (and reorganized in 1893 in New Jersey), which owned and operated the American and Red Star Lines.3
IMMC amended the charter of this predecessor company, changed its name, and initially increased its capital from fifteen million dollars to sixty million dollars; the stock in the new company was already paid for and subscribed at the time of the formation announcement in October 1902 (the company soon reached a capitalization of $120 million). International Navigation controlled International Navigation Co., Ltd., a separate company set up to indirectly acquire several British properties — the Oceanic Navigation Co., Ltd. (White Star Line), the Atlantic Transport Co., and the Dominion Line. The subsidiary companies thus included in the combination were the American, Red Star, White Star, Atlantic Transport, and Dominion Lines, wholly owned by the company, as well as Frederick Ley land & Co. and National Steamship Co., in which IMMC secured a majority ownership.
In addition, IMMC purchased a substantial share in the Holland-America Line (which was sold in 1917). These passenger and freight lines operated between North America and Europe, Australia-New Zealand, the Caribbean, and Central America. The first president in 1902 and then chairman of the board (1904-12), Clement A. Griscom, was one of the wealthiest men in the United States and had been one of the founders of International Navigation in 1871. J. Bruce Ismay, a director of the White Star Line, succeeded Griscom as president (1904-12).
IMMC, formed at the peak of transatlantic shipping prosperity, continually operated with a "thin margin of safety"4 and never paid stockholder dividends in the years prior to World War I. Despite its expectations, IMMC never received subsidies from the U.S. government and it failed to eliminate its competition. Further, the existence of this huge company, which attempted to monopolize its market, may have actually exacerbated rate wars.
Cunard, Hamburg-American, and North German Lloyd Lines companies continued to provide formidable competition. Cunard, which Morgan had once hoped to control, received subsidies from the British government. In response to Cunard's competition, White Star Line introduced the luxury liner Titanic; its disastrous sinking on its first voyage in 1912 resulted in heavy losses for IMMC. After defaulting on its obligations in 1914-15, the company was placed in receivership and was forced to reorganize.
Profits gained from shipping during the war and the elimination of German competition, however, turned the company around; despite higher wartime wages and insurance rates, disruptions, and the virtual loss of passenger service, the profits from shipments of war materials and requisitions by the British and American governments were substantial. Freight rates alone were estimated to have increased by 500 to 600 percent. As indicated in IMMC's Annual Report in 1916:
As the European war progressed there came about a most extraordinary change in the financial conditions of your Company, due to the shortage of tonnage and the abnormal increase of freight rates, and the earnings of the Company and of its subsidiaries reached a point far exceeding those of any previous period in its history.
In 1916 IMMC was able to purchase an interest in the New York Shipbuilding Corp. in Camden, New Jersey. As further indication of its prosperity following the war, IMMC announced its purchase of the Washington Building for around three million dollars in November of 1919.
The Washington Building Designed by Edward Hale Kendall and built in 1882-85 by W.H. Hazzard & Son, the renowned Queen Anne style Washington Building was clad in red brick with red sandstone trim and had rounded bay windows on the corners; an elaborately dormered mansard roof and a round tower overlooking the New York harbor were added in 1886-87, also to Kendall's design.
Twelve stories in height, the Washington Building had an iron-framed structure and a C-shaped plan (it had an interior light court to the north), with six interior elevators. Erected for the Washington Building Co., organized and controlled by Cyrus W. Field of transatlantic cable fame, the building was considered one of the largest, tallest and finest office towers in downtown Manhattan of its era. The Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. and United-States National Bank, both established in 1881, were early tenants.
Edward Kendall (1842-1901), born in Boston and educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1858-59, first worked with the Boston architectural firm of Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman from 1860 to 1865. Kendall and Gilman formed a short-lived partnership, during which they designed the Equitable Life Assurance Co. Building (1868-70, demolished), the first New York office building to have passenger elevators and one of the largest buildings of its day.
During his independent practice from 1871 to 1900, Kendall designed commercial buildings, warehouses, residences, and stations for the West Side "El." Among his notable commissions, in the Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles, were the Gorham Mfg. Co. Building (1883-84, 889 Broadway) and the Methodist Book Concern (1888-90, 150 Fifth Avenue).7 Kendall maintained his office in the Washington Building until 1890.
The International Mercantile Marine Company Building IMMC's Annual Report of 1918 included for the first time a New York office listing, at the Bowling Green Offices Building, 5-11 Broadway; the company's general offices were located in Hoboken and, additionally, there were branch offices in fourteen American cities. Company president Philip A.S. Franklin stated in the 1919 Annual Report that
The quarters at present occupied by your Company at 9 Broadway having become inadequate, the Washington Building, 1 Broadway, New York, was purchased and after the necessary alterations have been completed,... the Company will be in possession of suitable offices, which will permit of expansion. Title to the property has been taken in the name of a separate corporation under the name of "Number One Broadway Corporation.
In the midst of a shortage of downtown office space, IMMC found it prohibitive to construct a completely new building. As reported in the Record and Guide, construction materials were difficult to obtain after the war and construction costs were at a high level; in addition, the Washington Building had numerous tenants whose leases had not expired.
The austere neo-classical building that resulted from the remodelling and "modernization" of the Washington Building in 1919-21 by architect Walter B. Chambers was characterized as "a great white stone structure of classic dignity and proportion."10 Chambers' alterations included the removal of the tower, dormers, and bay windows; reconfiguration of the roof profile; and the cladding of the structure with Indiana limestone, marble, and granite.
The Whitney Company was contractor for the project, with T. Kennard Thomson as consulting engineer. Restrained neo-classical carved stone details, mainly concentrated on the lowest stories, make reference to IMMC's maritime role. Nautical and marine motifs include the figures of Neptune and Mercury (Gods of the Seas and Trade) in the spandrels over the main entrance on Broadway; the seashells, seaweed, and starfish that further embellish the entrance; and rope moldings and courses with a wave motif that appear elsewhere. Shields ("in Venetian mosaic" according to contemporary accounts) representing the company's major ports of call are located above the base.
The interior of the building [not subject to this designation] was also extensively remodelled, with changes to the foundation and structural framing, the installation of new mechanical systems, and the creation of an impressive two-story booking hall in the base (that corresponds to the arches on the exterior). IMMC originally occupied the four floors above the booking office, with its accounting, freight, and operations divisions, executive offices, and board room. The building, which remained occupied by tenants on seven floors during the alterations (and thus presented complex engineering problems), won an award from the Downtown League for best altered building in 1921.
This building, serving as the company's New York headquarters as well as its booking office, was one of the first of the major modern steamship buildings that gave this section of lower Broadway the name "Steamship Row" in the 1920s. (Battery Place on the south side of Bowling Green had formerly been known by that name, when Cunard and other steamship companies located there after the 1850s). Previously, ticketing had usually been handled by agents scattered in the vicinity who operated on commission, rather than the purchase of tickets directly from each company.
One of IMMC's leading rivals, Cunard, constructed a new building nearby at No. 25 Broadway, also in 1919-21, according to the design of Benjamin Wistar Morris and Carrere & Hastings. An indication of the importance of shipping in the economy of New York City is the observation by the chairman of the Broadway Association in 1926:
Of course the early history of lower Broadway is closely associated with ocean transportation. But today, when a large number of the great structures of that section are given over to the vast interests of the great trans-Atlantic carriers, it is obvious that the steamship business occupies a commanding position on lower Broadway from which its influence radiates throughout the world. ... lower Broadway... represents the largest passenger booking office in the world.
Today four-fifths of all Americans sailing for foreign countries board their ships in the Port of New York, and of these, most find their accommodations in the offices located on these few blocks.
These buildings assisted in transforming lower Broadway into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day. And because of its prominent location facing Bowling Green and Battery Park at the "beginning" of Broadway, No. 1 Broadway plays a key role.
Description
The International Mercantile Marine Co. Building is located at the south end of Broadway, facing both Bowling Green and Battery Park on a lot that extends along the entire blockfront of Battery Place to Greenwich Street. A thirteen-story17 neo-classical structure, it is clad in Indiana limestone (with marble spandrel panels) above a granite base. The three facades have similar articulation, with chamfered corners at the southeast and southwest.
The masonry cladding of the structure, seriously deteriorated, was restored in 1993-94; the work entailed replacement (around eight percent of the total), repair, resetting, re-anchoring, and waterproofing of the limestone and marble.
Base The base has double-story arched fenestration. The multi-pane window sash, with lights following the arch, are kalamein with a painted gold finish and have ornamental entablatures. Semi-domical awnings have been placed in many of the arches (since 1981). The cornice has dentils and a course with a wave motif.
Broadway
The central main entrance, with a pedimented surround, has spandrels with the figures of Neptune and Mercury (Gods of the Seas and Trade) as well as an American eagle, and is further embellished with seashells, seaweed, and starfish; an original white marble plaque (previously covered by a sign with the name of the company) now has the inscription "Number One" for the address. A bronze tablet on the southern corner commemorates the early history of this site. The southernmost bay, on the northern reveal, bears the inscription "Walter B. Chambers Archt. MCMXX1."
An historic lamp sconce is placed between each of the two end bays. Alterations were made over the years to the northern three bays: 1) the northern bay (originally an entrance to the elevator hall) had two metal and glass doors flanked by sidelights, and currently has one metal and glass door (placed at the south side of the bay) and storefront window (1982-83); 2) the second bay originally had a multi-pane window with a limestone and granite base (similar to those surviving in the southern two bays), and c. 1981 the base was removed and two metal and glass doors flanked by sidelights were inserted; and 3) the main entrance, which originally had a revolving door, was altered before 1965 to incorporate a display window flanked by sidelights, and currently has a revolving door flanked by sidelights (c. 1981). All newer metal work has an anodized gold finish.
Battery Place
Two pedimented entrances set within the arches of the second bay from each end, once entrances to the booking office and designated "First Class" and "Cabin Class," are ornamented with shields with the inscription "IMM" flanked by dolphins; they originally had revolving doors with sidelights and currently have anodized aluminum and glass doors with transoms (1981); the western entrance is recessed and has granite steps and scissor gates. The entrances are flanked by historic lamp sconces. The other bays have light wells (with replacement windows or louvers) with metal bar railings.
Midsection
The six-story midsection has paired windows with replacement sash with a muntin grid; the original windows had six-over-six double-hung kalamein sash. The third story, a transition between the base and the midsection, has sections of balustrade and shields ("in Venetian mosaic" according to contemporary accounts) representing the company's major ports of call on the Broadway and Battery Place facades; the Broadway facade has three flagpoles (originally there were two on Broadway and four on Battery Place, all attached to the shields). Recessed spandrel panels are green Cippolino marble (those above the fifth floor are ornamented with rondels).
Upper Section
The three-story building cap consists of a two-story arcade (with oculi on the corners) which is surmounted by the principal (modillioned) cornice and another story with paired windows and a balustrade. The original windows of the top story had six-over-six double hung kalamein sash, while those of the arcade were eight-over-eight, with sidelights and (surviving) bossed spandrel panels (all have replacement sash).
Roof
The two-story roof is set back from the facade planes, with one story having arched windows and pilasters, and a standing-seam copper roof with square dormers (and oculi on the corners). There are three small one- and two-story service towers above the roof.
- From the 1995 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report