Boreel Building on Broadway, Manhattan

The old Boreel Building, at 115 Broadway (113-119), was constructed from 1878 to May 1879.

It was built on the site of the historic City Hotel (opened in 1794). John Jacob Astor bought the property in 1828. In 1842, his daughter Sarah married Robert Boreel. The property was conveyed to her as a dowry. The City Hotel was closed in 1849 and replaced with stores. By 1878, the old building was in bad condition and it was razed to make way for a new building for Sarah Boreel (1813-1895).

The Boreel Building was eight floors high and it was regarded as one of the finest office buildings in the City of New York. Stephen Decatur Hatch (1839 - 1894) was the architect. It was about 30 meters high. The structure was considered to be fire-proof and it was equipped with vertical roped hydraulic elevator, designed for tall buildings. The Boreel was one of the first of the type of really large fireproof office buildings in the city, and one of the first of those whose construction was influenced by the perfecting of passenger elevators.

In February 1901, the Boreel Building was purchased by the Central Realty, Bond and Trust Company from the heirs of Sarah Boreel. The deal covered the entire block bounded by Broadway, Cedar, Thames and Temple streets. The property was subsequently made over to the George A. Fuller Company. The Boreel Building was vacated on May 1, 1905 and demolition ended in December. In 1907, the 21-story United States Realty Building was erected on part of the site. The other part is now Thames Street, relocated for the enlargement of Trinity Building.