Tower Building
The Tower Building was an early skyscraper, in New York, designed by architect Bradford Gilbert (1853-1911) and built between 1888 and 1889. It was an office building erected in a narrow plot of land at 50 Broadway. It was 128 feet (39 m) in height, and 11 stories high.
Tower Building is considered by some to be the first skyscraper, because it was the first building to use a steel skeleton structure. However, a skyscraper has more to do with its height, as the name suggests, than with technology, but the steel frame system of construction became a standard for tall office buildings. The Tower Building was sold in 1905 and demolished in 1914.
◄ The Tower Building
Title of the photo: Exchange Court and the Cooper Building, 52 and 50 Broadway, 1907. Frank M. Ingalls photograph collection, New-York Historical Society. Note: the prominent tailor Henry Prouse Cooper had its office in the building (see photo below).
The Tower Building was completed in 1889 and the Exchange Court Building (on the left), in 1898.
The entrance to the Tower Building, in 1900. Henry Prouse Cooper Tailors occupied the ground floor. Photo by Robert L. Bracklow / New York Historical Society.
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Tower Building
