Singer Building

New York City
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    Metrics
Height 186.6 m / 612 ft
Floors 41
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Singer Building

Type
CVU collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CVU 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Demolished

Completion

1908

Country
CVU follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

United States

City
CVU follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

New York City

Address

149 Broadway

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CVU "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Office

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CVU database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

All-Steel

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

186.6 m / 612 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
204.2 m / 670 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CVU floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

41

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

1

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

15

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

3 m/s

Construction Schedule

1905

Proposed

1906

Construction Start

1908

Completed

1968

Demolished

Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
Otis Elevator Company
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Ernest Flagg
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
John B. Rose Co.; Martin P. Lodge; J. J. Spurr & Sons
Elevator
Otis Elevator Company
Fire Proofing
National Fireproofing Company
Flooring
John T. Brady & Co.
Steel
Milliken Brothers, Inc.

Research

27 April 2018

World's Tallest Demolished Buildings

CTBUH Research

Although the world has more than 1,300 buildings of 200 meters or higher, no tall building of more than 187 meters has been demolished, with...

See more

Quick Facts

  • Tallest building in the world 1908 - 1909. Park Row Building and surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Tower
  • When built, the Singer Building was topped by a 62 ft. flagpole, giving it a tip height of 674 ft. (205.4 m.)
  • Was demolished in 1968 to make way for 1 Liberty Plaza, making it the tallest building ever to be demolished by design.
  • The 41-story tower with its 14-story base comprise an expansion of the original 10-story Singer Building, designed by the same architect and built in 1897 on the northwest corner of Broadway and Liberty Street.
  • The building contained 15 elevators, four of which serviced the tower portion.

Research

27 April 2018

World's Tallest Demolished Buildings

CTBUH Research

Although the world has more than 1,300 buildings of 200 meters or higher, no tall building of more than 187 meters has been demolished, with...

01 August 2011

New York City Scrapers

Nathaniel Hollister, Jan Klerks & Antony Wood, CTBUH

New York’s dramatic skyline, over a century in the making, has for years been the envy of cities around the world. From the very birth...

12 June 2008

The Tallest Buildings in the World: Past, Present & Future

CTBUH Research

Over time, the average height of the 100 tallest buildings in the world has been steadily increasing. However, by 2010, this average height will have...

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