Equitable Life Building (Manhattan)

Equitable Life Assurance Building
Circa 1890
General information
Status	Destroyed
Type	Commercial offices
Location	120 Broadway New York City United States
Coordinates	40°42′30″N 74°00′38″W / 40.70833°N 74.01056°W / 40.70833; -74.01056
Construction started	1868
Completed	May 1, 1870
Destroyed	January 9, 1912
Height
Roof	approx. 130 ft (40 m) to 142 ft (43 m) (As first completed) 155 ft (47 m) (As expanded in 1885) 172 ft (52 m) (Final height)
Technical details
Floor count	9
Lifts/elevators	10
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Arthur Gilman Edward H. Kendall
Structural engineer	George B. Post
Main contractor	David H. King Jr. (expansion)
References
[1]

The Equitable Life Assurance Building, also known as the Equitable Life Building, was the headquarters of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, at 120 Broadway in Manhattan, New York. Arthur Gilman and Edward H. Kendall designed the building, with George B. Post as a consulting engineer. The Equitable Life Building was made of brick, granite, and iron, and was originally built with seven above-ground stories and two basement levels, with a height of at least 130 feet (40 m). An expansion in 1885 brought the total height to 155 feet (47 m) and nine stories.

Construction began in 1868 and was completed in 1870 under the leadership of Equitable's president Henry Baldwin Hyde. It was the world's first office building to feature passenger elevators and consequently became successful attracting tenants. The Equitable Life Building was expanded numerous times; after the construction of annexes during the late 1880s, the building occupied its entire block, bounded by Broadway and Cedar, Pine and Nassau streets. Although it was advertised as fireproof, the Equitable Life Building was destroyed in a 1912 fire that killed six people. The 40-story Equitable Building was completed on the site in 1915.