Bennett Building (New York City)

The Bennett Building is located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. The building faces Nassau Street to the east, Fulton Street to the south, and Ann Street to the north. Having frontage on all three streets, it has three street addresses: a primary address at 93-99 Nassau Street, as well as alternate addresses at 139 Fulton Street and 30 Ann Street. A staircase to the New York City Subway's Fulton Street station (served by the ) is outside the Bennett Building's southern facade. The Bennett Building's plot is L-shaped, measuring about on Fulton Street, on Nassau Street, and on Ann Street. When built, the Bennett Building occupied a smaller lot, quoted as being on Nassau Street, on Fulton and Ann Streets, and on the western lot line. == Architecture ==

The Bennett Building is a cast-iron loft building designed in the French Second Empire style. It contains ten full stories as well as a two-story penthouse. The Bennett Building was originally seven stories, with the top story as a mansard roof. The original section was designed by Arthur D. Gilman The Bennett Building is largely a commercial and office building, with 159 units, seven of which are residential. the Bennett Building was described in The New York Times as being probably the world's tallest building with a facade made of cast-iron. Facade The three facades contain paneled vertical pilasters, segmental-arched windows, and cornices.--> The Bennett Building's facade above the ground floor consists of bays separated by paneled pilasters; projecting cornices with moldings above each floor; arched door and window openings; and scrolled corbels flanking the window openings. Features The lowest six stories of the original structure on Fulton and Ann Streets are load-bearing walls, while the Nassau Street side is a non-bearing curtain wall. The top four stories, the penthouses, and the front wall of the Ann Street annex are also non-bearing walls, as these sections were built with cage construction. According to an 1873 advertisement in the New York Herald (whose owner James Gordon Bennett Jr. had developed the Bennett Building), the structure's offices ranged from small "cubicles" to relatively large spaces measuring . The Herald advertisement indicated that the building had a $125,000 rent roll per year, with rent rolls on the upper floors being progressively lower than on the lower floors, except for the ground-floor storefronts. The building was meant to attract insurance, mercantile, brokerage, and legal firms at the first floor, and bank and insurance company offices on the second floor. The Bennett Building was built with two elevators and two stairs. When the building was completed, elevator technology was still relatively new, which was one possible reason for why the rent roll was smaller on the upper floors. The building had steam heating from the outset, and after the advent of electric lighting, its owners added a generating plant. == History ==

James Gordon Bennett Sr. founded the New York Herald in 1835, and within ten years, it become one of the United States' most profitable newspapers. After moving the Herald multiple times in its first decade, Bennett Sr. bought the northwest-corner lot at Fulton and Nassau Streets in 1843. He eventually owned all the buildings at 135–139 Fulton Street, 30–34 Ann Street, and 93–99 Nassau Street. After the burning of the adjacent Barnum's American Museum at Broadway and Ann Street in 1865, Bennett Sr. hired Kellum & Son to build a fireproof structure for the Herald on the Barnum's site, completed in 1866. At the time, residential buildings in the area were being replaced by commercial developments. These tended to be fireproof structures of between four and six stories, utilizing the most advanced technology available at the time, such as elevators. Construction and early years Bennett Sr. turned over control of the Herald to his son James Bennett Jr. in April 1867. At the time of its completion, it was one of New York City's tallest buildings, towering over other structures on Nassau Street. The Bennett Building was not particularly close to either the courts of the Civic Center to the north or the financial firms physically surrounding Wall Street to the south. The financial downturn of the Panic of 1873 temporarily slowed down construction in the city, but when the economy recovered, buildings such as the Morse Building, the New York Tribune Building, and the Temple Court Building were built nearer the Civic Center to cater to lawyers. This led the Real Estate Record and Guide to describe Bennett Jr.'s development of the Bennett Building as "a little too previous" in 1882. Additionally, its height had been surpassed by other structures like the Morse Building by the 1880s. By then, the elevators and other mechanical systems were antiquated. In addition, the interiors were dirty, the management staff was considered inadequate, and the high ceilings were considered to be an inefficient use of space. A contemporary publication stated of the sale, "The name of Pettit is in itself a sufficient guarantee of bona fide transactions so long has it been connected with honorable and upright dealing". In May 1894, Pettit sold the original Bennett Building, but not its annex, to Theodore A. Havemeyer for $1.5 million. However, the sale fell through following month because of disagreement over whether Bennett Jr. had a right to bid at the sale of his father's estate's properties. The annex was initially considered a separate building, but it had no entrance of its own, leading the New-York Tribune to describe the annex as "the only office structure without its own entrance in this city". After the annex was completed, the building was said to be worth $2 million, and the New York Life Insurance Company held a $500,000 mortgage on the property. Early and mid-20th century In the years following the renovation, Pettit fell into debt, and New York Life appointed a receiver to collect the Bennett Building's rents. With a lawsuit pending against him, Pettit left New York City in mid-1898. Despite various attempts to locate or contact Pettit, these were all unsuccessful. That August, the building was sold to Henry B. Sire for $1.5 million. In 1904, as a result of a foreclosure suit, the Bennett Building was sold to New York Life for $907,000. The building was characterized at the time as "an unfortunate experiment made in real estate" by Pettit. Isman also anticipated acquiring the Ann Street annex at an upcoming foreclosure sale against Sire, the annex's owner. Ultimately, Isman and the city came to an agreement, and the water pipe was put back with a meter. The Bennett Building was sold again in 1951 to Harry Shekter, who planned to use the building as an investment. At the time, the Bennett Building was assessed at $700,000. Late 20th and early 21st centuries The Bennett Building was sold to Haddad & Sons Limited in 1983. Under Haddad's ownership, the building's exterior was slightly modified. New storefronts were added on Fulton Street and on the southern portion of the Nassau Street side; the ground-level facades on these sides were moved outward by . The main entrance was moved to Fulton Street from Nassau Street, while the Nassau Street entrance was changed so that it led to a staircase to the second floor. A canopy was added on all three sides above the ground floor. Galpern objected that landmark status would make it harder for him to conduct even basic repairs. On September 7, 2005, the Bennett Building was designated as a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, == Critical reception ==

Shortly after the Bennett Building was finished, it was described as "one of the most substantial and beautiful" buildings within New York City. In its first two decades, it had become known as an unofficial landmark of Lower Manhattan, and was described as "one of the largest and stateliest piles down-town". Following the Bennett Building's landmark designation in 1995, Gray stated that the building, "once one of New York's notable skyscrapers", had become "lost among the retail pandemonium of Upper Nassau Street." ==See also==