Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building

Manhattan, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Constructed between 1909 and 1912 at 49–51 Chambers Street in Manhattan's Civic Center, this Beaux-Arts skyscraper was designed by Raymond F. Almirall as the largest bank building in the United States at completion. A pioneering structure, it was the first skyscraper to employ the "H" layout—a design innovation that maximized natural light and ventilation throughout the building. The facade rises in limestone, brick, and granite, with the basement through second floors occupying the entire irregular lot, while the third through fifteenth floors feature the distinctive H-shaped plan designed to resemble paired towers. The lower floors once housed a grand banking hall, now repurposed as an event venue called Hall des Lumieres. Originally office space above, the upper levels were converted to 99 residential condominiums in 2017. The building, the third erected on the site by Emigrant Savings Bank, earned recognition as a New York City landmark and National Register listing in recognition of its architectural and historical significance.

Architect

Raymond F. Almirall

Movement

Beaux-Arts

Type: skyscraper, bank building
Heritage: New York City Landmark, National Register of Historic Places listed place
Place: Manhattan, United States

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Location

40.71389, -74.00528