Hamburg American Building, Interior Architecture

Central room of the New York offices of the Hamburg-American shipping line, at 45 Broadway, in 1908. It was built in 1907. Photo shows interior architecture, a model of a ship in a glass case is in the center of the room, a marble counter, post lamps and two leather chairs. Photo by Byron Company. Source: Museum of the City of New York.

This was the old Hamburg-American Building, formerly Aldrich Court Building, designed as an office building by Youngs & Cable and completed in 1887. In 1905, the building was bought by the Hamburg-American Steamship Company and renovated in 1907 with plans by architect R.L. Daus. The room shown above, where the lighting from above permitted the introduction of a glass dome, was sumptuously treated in the style of the French Renaissance. The walls were covered with an almost white Italian statuary marble, interspersed with pilasters and posts, which are covered with a magnificent French marble. The female figure was modeled by Goudard & Bussard (there was another the other side) and represented the emblematic figures usually found at the prow of a ship. Four cartouches in the corners of this central room were crowned by heads representing Neptune and the accompanying children were dragging nets.

It was was seized by the United States Government during the World War I. In 1933, it became the headquarter of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and later housed federal agencies. It was demolished in 1982 to make way for the 45 Broadway Atrium.