New York Architecture Images- Lower Manhattan Merchants' Exchange (now Regent Wall Street Hotel) Landmark |
|
architect |
Isaiah Rogers, architect. Addition and interior redesign 1904-1910; McKim, Mead & White, architects. |
location |
55 Wall Street at William Street. |
date |
1836-1842 |
style |
Renaissance Revival |
construction |
|
type |
Bank |
notes |
When the Merchants' Exchange burned down in the great fire of 1835, the Boston architect Isaiah Rogers, was called down to create a bigger and better exchange, with a columned, blue granite facade. Although the Exchange failed at mid-century, the empty building was a logical home for the expanding customs collection for the port of New York. The Merchants' Exchange became the Customs House until 1907, when the National City Bank purchased it and asked the architectural firm of McKim, Meade and White to double the building for their new headquarters. It is was the Regent Wall Street Hotel until 2004. (Former) NATIONAL CITY BANK BUILDING INTERIOR, 55 Wall Street (aka 53-57 Wall Street, 7-29 Exchange Place, 2-4 Hanover Street, and 34-40 William Street), Manhattan. Landmarks Preservation Commission. Designated January 12, 1999; LP-1979 Summary The interior of 55 Wall Street was designed in a classical Roman style on a grand scale, to be the headquarters of the National City Bank, one of the country's oldest and most important financial institutions. In 1904, the bank hired the preeminent firm of McKim, Mead & White to remodel and create an addition for a prominent earlier building by Isaiah Rogers. The original structure had been constructed in 1836-42 in a dignified Greek Revival style as the Merchants' Exchange, and later housed the Stock Exchange and then the U.S. Custom House. When this later institution outgrew these quarters, the building was purchased by National City Bank. The bank president, James Stillman, saw the reuse and remodeling of this renowned edifice for the bank's headquarters as a statement of his company's prestige. Originally only four stories high, the granite building was fronted by twelve enormous columns. McKim, Mead & White added four more stories and completely redesigned the interior, creating an immense, cruciform-plan banking hall with offices hidden in each of the four corners. The construction, which lasted from 1908 to 1910 resulted in an imposing room which extends under a sixty-foot-high central dome, with monumental Corinthian columns which support an elegant entablature encircling the space. The vast scale of the intersecting barrel vaults and tall, arched window openings is juxtaposed by elegant design details such as the luxurious gray marble on the floors and walls, the coffered ceiling, and the delicate mezzanine railings, all of which contribute to the grandeur and dignity of the room. The exterior of this building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1965. by
Manos Angelakis. In 1863 the US government leased and later purchased the building to be used as the New York Customs House. In 1899 the building was sold to the National City Bank who renovated the original structure and added four stories in addition to reconstructing a magnificent main entrance, now used as a ballroom, in the Corinthian style. In January 2000, 55
Wall Street, now named The Regent
Wall Street, became the first luxury hotel in New
York’s financial district -- the street that is the financial epicenter
of the world. Operated by Regent International Hotels, a company that
provides five-star hospitality while maintaining the individual
personality of each of its properties, the hotel is decorated in a
contemporary interpretation of Italian design. The 144 rooms and suites
all have high ceilings, an attribute rarely found in modern-
construction properties, are decorated in velvets, chenille and
silk damask, and boast views of Wall Street or overlook an
interior courtyard (if your suite overlooks Wall Street, the view
West to Trinity Church is indeed beathtaking). They all have marble
bathrooms, with a soaking tub for two and separate shower,
beautiful terry bathrobes and slippers and a full range of
personal care products. The suites feature Bvlgari amenities. |