{"nrhp_refnum":"05001287","name":"Park Row Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"15 Park Row","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.71128690000006,"lon":-74.00798305199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 31-story office skyscraper at 15 Park Row in Lower Manhattan, facing City Hall Park, designed by R.H. Robertson and completed in 1899 in the Classical Revival style.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an important late nineteenth-century skyscraper, planned and designed specifically to be the world's tallest building. It used innovative structural techniques and elevator technology. It is also a major work of R.H. Robertson, a leading New York architect and a pioneer of skyscraper design.","narrative":"Rising thirty-one stories on Park Row opposite City Hall Park, this Lower Manhattan office tower was planned to be the tallest building in the world. A syndicate of investors led by August Belmont, with lawyer William M. Ivins assembling the land, commissioned architect Robert Henderson Robertson. Construction began in October 1896 and the building was occupied in July 1899. The irregular lot forced an unusual footprint, and the foundations rest on about 3,900 spruce piles. Granite, limestone, brick and terra cotta clad the facade, which is crowned by two round copper-domed towers with lanterns. The ground floors were remodeled in 1930 with bronze and glass in an Art Deco manner, and the lobby keeps features from that work. It was listed for its architecture and engineering, as a major work by a pioneer of skyscraper design, and for the structural and elevator technology that made its height possible.","period_of_significance":"1899-1908","architect_builder":"Robertson, Robert Henry","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Retains its integrity to a very high degree and is a designated New York City landmark; the ground floors were altered in 1930 and still have commercial uses.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:54.049619-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05001287.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001287/ab735b5f94-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001287/ab735b5f94-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyjockboy2 (talk)Nyjockboy2","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Park_Row_3.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyjockboy2 (talk)Nyjockboy2</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Park_Row_3.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319821","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Row_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1066662"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/park-row-building-05001287/"}