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Financial District, Manhattan

The Standard Oil Building, largely erected between 1921 and 1926 and finally completed in 1928, incorporates the company's original building (built in 1884-85 and enlarged in 1895). Designed by Thomas Hastings of the architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings, with Shreve, Lamb & Blake as associated architects, the building is notable for its distinctive tower, one of the southernmost spires in the Manhattan skyline, and the sweeping curve of the Broadway facade, which is punctuated by the arched openings of the main entrance portal and flanking large windows that dominate the street wall as it fronts Bowling Green. The irregular pentagonal site, one of the largest parcels assembled in lower Manhattan to that time, dictated both the building's distinctive shape and complicated construction history.

The powerful sculptural massing and arresting silhouette of the Standard Oil Building represent the new set-back skyscraper forms that emerged during the early 1920s.

Limestone curtain walls facing Broadway,Beaver Street, and New Street are enriched with large-scale neo- Renaissance ornamentation that enhance the building's picturesque quality. The building, erected as Standard Oil approached its fiftieth year of operation, reinforced the presence of the oil industry giant in the heart of New York City's financial and shipping center. From the headquarters building at No. 26 Broadway, John D.

Rockefeller's associates directed the Standard Oil Company that monopolized the American oil industry, endured a sensational anti-trust decision, and retained a dominant role in the international oil business. Although Standard Oil's successor firm sold the structure in 1956, the building at No. 26 Broadway has remained a prominent address in lower Manhattan.

The Standard Oil Building occupies the southern portion of the block bounded by Broadway, Beaver Street, New Street, and Exchange Place. (Fig. 1) The sixteen-story base of the structure, and the thirteenstory tower and ziggurat which rises above the central portion, are clad entirely in buff Indiana limestone,14 except for the brick and granite wall of the original portion of the Standard Oil Building on New Street, although the visible southern face of the original building is carefully covered with limestone at the upper floors to form a return harmonizing with t h e new structu re. Re nais sance-insp i r ed ornamentation incorporates an iconographic program that features the "SO" cipher, lamps, and torches in carved limestone and cast iron. The Broadway facade retains its formal base, fitting for a corporate headquarters, essentially unaltered except for the entrance at the corner of Broadway and Beaver Street; storefronts have been added to the Beaver and New Street facades. The original double-hung window sash in the upper stories and tower have been replaced with similar sash.

The Broadway Facade. (Figs. 6, 7) The long curved Broadway facade of the building is dominated at the street wall by the main entrance at 26 Broadway (Fig. 8), which is located near the center of the Broadway facade (and at the northern end of the addition; to the north is the original Standard Oil Building with a rebuilt facade). The deeply-recessed entry is flanked by reveals ornamented with carved panels; above the entrance with a revolving door hangs a wrought-iron light fixture incorporating the signs of the zodiac. The glazed screen/window above the entrance is framed by spandrels that feature the corporate iconography of tripled torches merging into a single flame, while the globes showing both hemispheres, held by a winged dragon and a eagle, in the spandrels flanking the arched opening suggest Standard Oil's position in world commerce. The main entrance is flanked by two-story arched window openings that retain special cast-iron window frames that incorporate the "SO" cipher in the spandrel panel. The two secondary entrances in the Broadway facade are interposed on large arched window openings, both of which are in pedimented door surrounds with clocks mounted above; the entrance (Fig. 9) at 28 Broadway gives direct access to the original portion of the building while the entrance at 24 Broadway, historically an entrance to jeweler's retail space, was raised in height in 1929 to make it more prominent. Though the Broadway facade is unified, the various building campaigns are visible in minor variations in ornamentation throughout the structure; for instance, the colonnade at the crowning three stories of the facade features shallow pilasters on the northern portion and engaged Ionic columns on the earlier-constructed southern portion. The midsection of the long facade with punched window openings is articulated by quoined end and central bays; ornament is concentrated in several horizontal elements, including a secondary cornice and balustrade at the tenth story level, where a setback occurs on the Beaver Street facade.

Bowling Green, Financial District, Manhattan

The Standard Oil Building, largely erected between 1921 and 1926 and finally completed in 1928, incorporates the company's original building (built in 1884-85 and enlarged in 1895). Designed by Thomas Hastings of the architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings, with Shreve, Lamb & Blake as associated architects, the building is notable for its distinctive tower, one of the southernmost spires in the Manhattan skyline, and the sweeping curve of the Broadway facade, which is punctuated by the arched openings of the main entrance portal and flanking large windows that dominate the street wall as it fronts Bowling Green. The irregular pentagonal site, one of the largest parcels assembled in lower Manhattan to that time, dictated both the building's distinctive shape and complicated construction history. The powerful sculptural massing and arresting silhouette of the Standard Oil Building represent the new set-back skyscraper forms that emerged during the early 1920s. Limestone curtain walls facing Broadway, Beaver Street, and New Street are enriched with large-scale neo- Renaissance ornamentation that enhance the building's picturesque quality. The building, erected as Standard Oil approached its fiftieth year of operation, reinforced the presence of the oil industry giant in the heart of New York City's financial and shipping center. From the headquarters building at No. 26 Broadway, John D. Rockefeller's associates directed the Standard Oil Company that monopolized the American oil industry, endured a sensational anti-trust decision, and retained a dominant role in the international oil business. Although Standard Oil's successor firm sold the structure in 1956, the building at No. 26 Broadway has remained a prominent address in lower Manhattan.

The Architects

The Standard Oil Building was designed in 1920 by Thomas Hastings (1860-1929) of the architectural firm of Carre re & Hastings, with that firm's members, Shreve, Lamb & Blake, serving as associated architects. These architects — a group of the most respected tall building designers in New York City during the 1920s — brought various types of expertise to the project which are evident in the completed building. The firm of Carrere & Hastings had gained wide acclaim with its winning design for the New York Public Library in 1897 (constructed 1902-11) and subsequently enjoyed a wide-ranging practice; many of the firm's buildings in New York City, including the New York Public Library, are designated New York City Landmarks. By 1920, Thomas Hastings, the surviving partner of the firm of Carrere & Hastings, had developed a personal, Beaux-Arts-inspired approach to the design of the masonry envelope of steel-framed structures, and was exploring innovative solutions to the massing of tall buildings in response to the setback requirements of the New York City Building Zone Resolution adopted in 1916. Hastings considered the skeleton frame and the exterior sheathing as separate entities with different functions; the first supported the structure while the second enclosed it. His designs for the curtain walls of the Blair Building (24 Broad Street, 1902, no longer standing) and the United States Rubber Building (Broadway and West 58th Street, 1912-13) were for thin, veneer-like masonry facing, designed for architectural impact rather than to convey a sense of structure; that design approach was at odds with the more structural, expressive style advocated by other tall building designers working in New York City, including Pierre LeBrun, George B. Post, and Bruce Price. Hastings was a consulting architect in the design of the Cunard Building (25 Broadway, 1917-21), and his hand is evident in the massing and facade of the building, either through Hastings' influence on Benjamin Wistar Morris, a former member of the firm of Carrere & Hastings, or an active role in the project. Carrere & Hastings designed two other tall buildings of note, the Liggett Building (at the northeast corner Madison Avenue and East 42nd Street, no longer standing, 1919-20) and the Fisk Building (250 West 57th Street, 192021); both buildings have distinctive massing with pavilions of uniform setback rising above large bases, and are clad with thin masonry walls detailed to unite the two main portions of the building and add to their pictorial qualities. The Standard Oil Building is a culminating example of the firm's tall building commissions, incorporating even more complex massing, a varied limestone curtain wall, and bold sculptural elements at the upper stories meant to enhance distant views of the building.

At the time of the Standard Oil Building commission, Richmond H. Shreve (1877-1946), William F. Lamb (1883-1952), and Theodore Blake (1870-1949) were partners at Carrere & Hastings. Shreve and Lamb (with various associates before Arthur L. Harmon joined the firm in 1929) established a partnership during