Engineering Societies' Building

The Engineering Societies' Building is at 25–33 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building occupies a rectangular land lot with a frontage of along 39th Street, a depth of , and an area of . The building was once connected to the Engineers' Club Building to the north. On the same block are The Bryant and 452 Fifth Avenue to the east; the Haskins & Sells Building to the west; and the American Radiator Building and Bryant Park Studios to the northwest. Other nearby places include the New York Public Library Main Branch one block to the north, as well as the Lord & Taylor Building to the southeast. The Engineering Societies and Engineers' Club buildings collectively served as a center for the engineering industry in the United States during the early and mid-20th century. The adjoining area included the offices of three engineering publications on 39th Street, ==Architecture ==

The Engineering Societies' Building was designed by Herbert D. Hale, of the firm Hale & Rogers, along with Henry G. Morse in the neo-Renaissance style. It was constructed as a shared clubhouse for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME), and American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE). Two additional stories are set back from the street; they were added in 1916. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who financed the building's construction, owned a private residence at 23 West 39th Street, thus preserving views from the east. Wrought-iron gates were placed in front of the driveway. The eastern driveway entrance was replaced in 1913 by a six-story building on 23 West 39th Street, while the western entrance still exists and contains a service gate. Facade The facade had decorations on all four sides because it was designed to be set back from adjoining structures. The facade's principal elevation faces south on 39th Street. It is five bays wide and is organized into three horizontal sections: a base, shaft, and capital. The eastern elevation is designed in a similar arrangement, while the western elevation is made of plain brick. Base The base is three stories high. The ground story is made of rusticated blocks of limestone above a water table made of stone. The middle three bays are slightly recessed from the outer bays, and a frieze runs above the ground story. There are five openings, each topped by voussoirs and a tall keystone. The westernmost opening serves as the current entrance to the building, and the center opening is a garage door; the other three openings are square-headed windows. Each arch has a balcony and an aedicular stone doorway, topped by a triangular pediment with a frieze and console brackets. The rest of each arch contains a glass-and-iron frame, as well as a console bracket above the center and carved fronds at the corner spandrels. The three arches are separated from each other by pairs of Doric-style columns, while the outer arches are flanked by a Doric column and a pilaster. Above the columns and pilasters are an entablature, which includes brackets with carved wreaths and dentils directly above each of the columns. A cornice with dentils projects above the fourth story. The outer bays each contain a tall aedicular window with a paneled sill. Above each aedicular window is a cornice and a wide tripartite window. Shaft The fifth through eleventh stories constitute the building's shaft, or midsection. As with the base, the three middle bays are slightly recessed and the outer bays are designed as projecting pavilions. Two of these piers each carry a live load of and contain steel columns weighing . There were three passenger elevators, surrounded by an iron grille lined with wire glass. On each side of the elevator core, wide stairways rose to the sixth floor, above which a stair led to the library. A freight elevator was installed on the eastern side of the building, while a service stairway on the north side connected all stories. Gold decoration was also used in the foyer, At the rear of the first floor were receiving and shipping offices, through which all freight and goods were handled. There was a parterre level and a gallery level above it, which contained red-leather chairs. The auditorium was designed around a small speaking platform, rather than around a large stage, so all audience members could easily see the speaker at all times. The front of the gallery was bordered in red plush, and the proscenium arch contained a decorative cartouche with the badges of the three founding societies. The ceiling was placed about below the fifth-floor slab, and the lamps were installed in the intermediate space. The speakers' platform had anterooms and a connection to the freight elevator. On the fifth floor, there were two large assembly rooms, which could be used either independently or in tandem. There were also two smaller rooms on this floor. The smaller rooms could be used either on their own or as an auxiliary space for either of the larger rooms. Cove lighting was used in the assembly rooms. Each of the ninth through eleventh floors were devoted to the offices of the founding societies: AIME to the ninth, AIEE to the tenth, and ASME to the eleventh. Outside the elevators on these stories was a terrazzo floor with a plaque corresponding to the society that occupied that story. These floors were all devoted to administrative and executive work, and they were arranged in different layouts for each society. The twelfth floor contained the stacks, while the thirteenth floor had a reading room with stacks, a delivery desk, reading tables, and chairs. The twelfth and thirteenth stories contain some original moldings but have been largely redesigned. The fourteenth story has a mezzanine. When fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger used the building as a showroom, there was a grand suite on the sixteenth floor, with three private bathrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room. ==History==

The first proposal for what would become the Engineering Societies Building occurred in 1895, when American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) member W. D. Weaver asked businessman Andrew Carnegie to fund a building for the shared use of several societies. This plan did not pass. Development Planning Carnegie acquired five land lots on 39th Street, measuring , in May 1903. Carnegie had acquired these lots specifically because they were directly behind the Engineers' Club. Carnegie offered to donate $1 million (about $ million in ) to fund the construction of a clubhouse for several engineering societies on that site. The engineering building would house the ASME, AIME, and AIEE. Originally, the Engineers' Club was to occupy space in the engineering building. However, this was deemed logistically prohibitive, so two buildings connected at their rears were developed. In March 1904, Carnegie increased his gift to $1.5 million (about $ million in ). The gift was to be shared by both the club and the societies, with $450,000 for the Engineers' Club and $1,050,000 for the engineering societies. The New York Times wrote of the sites: "The location agreed upon is probably the best which could be found on the American continent. For the next quarter of a century at least it will be close to the business centre of New York." Design and construction After Carnegie's gift, the ASME, AIME, AIEE, and Engineers' Club formed a Conference Committee to plan the new buildings. Other architects were allowed to submit plans anonymously and without compensation. Any architect was eligible if they had actually practiced architecture under their real name for at least two years. The four best plans from non-invited architects would receive a monetary prize. William Robert Ware was hired to judge the competition. Herbert D. Hale of Hale & Rogers was the grandson of the preacher Edward Everett Hale. Hale and Morse received one of the four prizes for non-invited architects; the others were Trowbridge & Livingston, Frank C. Roberts & Co. with Edgar V. Seeler, and Allen & Collens. An additional land lot at 23 West 39th Street was acquired the next April. By July 1905, construction had not yet started because Hale & Rogers considered all bids for the construction contract to be too expensive. That December, the United Engineering Society prepared a set of five criteria. The new building had to contain offices for the three societies, an auditorium, a library, space for other engineering societies, and a driveway. By the following month, the building was under construction and had reached the fourth floor. Andrew and Louise Carnegie laid the cornerstone, a box containing various mementos, at a simple ceremony on May 8, 1906. Society house The Engineering Societies' Building was dedicated on April 16 to 19, 1907. At the official opening on April 16, U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt sent a congratulatory letter to the United Engineering Societies, and the societies thanked Carnegie for his gift. The next day, April 17, the presidents of each society gave speeches and medals were given to society members. The ASME, AIEE, and AIME hosted their first events over the next two days. 1900s to 1940s The Engineering Societies' Building and the Engineers' Club Building quickly became part of an engineering hub in Midtown Manhattan, with both national and international conferences being held there. as well as a 1911 speech by astronomer Percival Lowell, who spoke of life on Mars. and a large stamp exhibition in 1913. Several awards were also granted there, including the AIEE's annual Edison Gold Medal, as well as the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure's 1913 Grashof Medal, given to George Westinghouse. The Engineering Foundation was established at the building in 1915, and a "Museum of Safety and Sanitation" was housed there as well. In 1913, Beverly Sedgwick King designed a six-story annex to the Engineers' Club on the adjacent lot at 23 West 39th Street. The annex, completed in 1915, The Wells Construction Company built the annex. The weight of the extra stories could not be supported on the existing pilings, so four new columns were constructed through the building, supported directly on the bedrock. The Engineering Societies' Building continued to be used for major events, as in 1925, when U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover became an honorary ASCE member. The United Engineering Foundation held a fundraiser in 1928 to raise money for scientific research and to expand the library. The building also hosted conventions, such as for the electrical industry and for the mining and metallurgical industry. 1950s By the 1950s, the Engineering Societies' and Engineers' Club buildings were becoming overburdened, in large part due to their own success. A 1955 New York Times article described the buildings as "the engineering crossroads of the world". This led the United Engineering Societies' four constituent organizations to consider relocating as early as 1953. though other cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago were also contemplated. The societies created a five-person committee in April 1955 to select a site and obtain financing. In response, the city and state governments of New York tried to convince the societies to stay within New York City. By June 1956, the societies had voted against relocating out of the city. They were considering constructing an entrance from 40th Street on property owned by the Engineers' Club. A joint committee, consisting of three members each from the AIChE, ASCE, AIEE, AIME, and ASME, was created to determine the future of the clubhouse. In November 1956, Shreve, Lamb & Harmon were hired to conduct a study on whether to relocate the societies or redevelop the existing site. The Engineering Societies selected a site for a new clubhouse on First Avenue in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, across from the headquarters of the United Nations, in August 1957. Herbert Hoover announced plans for the new building that November, and construction on that building started in 1959. The societies began moving into the United Engineering Center in August 1961. Commercial use 1960s to 1990s The United Engineering Societies sold 25 West 39th Street to Fred Rudinger Associates in 1960 for $2 million. Rudinger planned to convert the basement, first story, and second story to a health club with a gymnasium, swimming pool, and saunas. The main lobby would become stores, the auditorium would be retained for fashion-industry events, and the other stories would become showrooms and offices. William B. Goldin was hired to design a new marble-and-walnut lobby. The top twelve stories had ceilings measuring high, making them ideal for photography equipment. The renovation was designed by Wechsler & Schimenti. Structural engineer Eugene Ho determined the existing columns to be strong enough to support the weight of new floor slabs. The building was resold in 1969 to a client represented by Armand Lindenbaum, who paid $2.7 million. At the time, the lowest stories were characterized as containing a seven-story garage with 215 parking spots. The top twelve office stories had of space, occupied by tenants such as Lane Bryant and baby-food company Beech-Nut. By the 1980s, there was a wine bar-restaurant named Lavin's at 25 West 39th Street, as well as Caribbean tourism offices. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger bought the building in 1996 as a showroom for his company, also called Tommy Hilfiger. and his clothing collection took up a portion of the old library. Hilfiger spent $56 million to renovate the building. 2000s to present As early as 2001, Hilfiger was considering selling 25 West 39th Street and an adjacent department store at 485 Fifth Avenue for a combined $100 million. In 2005, he sold the building to Crown Acquisitions and the Chetrit and Nakashe families for $53 million. His brand consolidated its showrooms at the Starrett–Lehigh Building in Chelsea, Manhattan, but had the right to occupy the building through June 2006. After the sale to Crown Acquisitions, three of the upper stories were leased to fashion brand 7 for all Mankind, fashion designer Rachel Roy, and watch company Movado. Thor Equities itself used 25 West 39th Street as its headquarters. This led Hilfiger to sue for breach of contract in June 2007, saying he was owed $5.4 million. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2008 because the sale involved the controlling interest in the property, rather than the property itself. Thor Equities had hired a team to potentially place the building for sale by mid-2016, with an asking price of $200 million. Thor would continue to occupy space on three floors; at the time, the fifth and ninth floors were vacant. Thor leased one story to coworking company Spark Labs that August, and designer Halston took another story the following year. In late 2018, Thor leased space to Manhattan Community Squash Center. During 2019, Thor leased one story each to women's coworking space The Wing, engineering firm PVE, and marketing firm Converge. The next year, Thor hired Industrious to manage three floors of coworking space. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020, Thor sued The Wing for $2.7 million in unpaid back rent. Music management firm Phase One Network took one story in 2021, and the building was fully occupied by January 2022. == See also ==