page_title: Park Row Building
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Park Row Building / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Park Row Building, 1899
context_page_description: The Park Row Building, also known as 15 Park Row, is an early skyscraper on Park Row in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The 391-foot-tall, 31-story building was completed in 1899 to designs by R. H. Robertson, a pioneer in steel skyscraper design, and engineered by the firm of Nathaniel Roberts. The Park Row Building includes 26 full floors, a partial 27th floor, and a pair of four-story cupolas. The architectural detail on the facade includes large columns and pilasters; numerous ornamental overhanging balconies; and other ornamentation sculpted by J. Massey Rhind.
  The Park Row Building was developed by the Park Row Construction Company as an office building, utilizing a steel frame and elevators to make it one of the world's tallest buildings at the time. It was constructed over a period of two years and nine months. Upon completion, about 4,000 people worked at the Park Row Building, with tenants such as the Associated Press and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. Until the completion of the Singer Building in 1908, it was the city's tallest building overall and the world's tallest office building.
context_section_description: In 1896, seven lots at 15 Park Row were purchased by William Mills Ivins Sr., a prominent lawyer and former judge advocate general for New York State. He was acting on behalf of an investment syndicate that included wealthy businessman August Belmont Jr., for which he was employed as legal counsel. Ivins transferred the land to the syndicate, but due to his involvement, the building was sometimes known during development as the Ivins Syndicate Building. The group also purchased lots on either side, including at 3 Park Row near Ann Street, so that no other skyscraper could be developed to obstruct the view of the windows on the side facades. The syndicate was unable to buy the corner lots on Ann Street "at any reasonable price", resulting in the unusual shape of the building. 
  The Park Row Building was envisioned as an entirely speculative development, and from the start, was intended as the world's tallest office building. R. H. Robertson was employed to devise designs for the building, the first plans for which were publicized in March 1896. The skyscraper was to be erected by the Park Row Construction Company, a company operated by Belmont. The building was mortgaged for $2.25 million to the Equitable Life Assurance Society in mid-1897.
  Work started on October 20, 1896, and Ivins was concurrently asked to "retire" from the company in 1896 or 1897. During construction, the Park Row Building's engineers attempted to install concrete floor slabs, which were $20,000 cheaper and 4,500 short tons (4,000 long tons; 4,100 t) lighter than the more established hollow-tile floor technology. The New York City Board of Examiners opposed the use of concrete floors, and the builders sued and won the right to install concrete floors in December 1897. Because construction had already begun, the Park Row Building used both types of floors. Subsequently, the existing tile arches were found to be defective, exposing some of the structural steelwork, and had to be reinstalled. At the time, defective tile arches were relatively common since they served a protective purpose. The Park Row Building was completed on July 20, 1899, after two years and nine months of construction.
caption: Seen in 1899, looking eastward toward the Park Row facade, with Ann Street visible at far right
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