Lee, Higginson & Company Bank Building
Why it's listed
Completed in 1929 at 41 Broad Street, this ten-story limestone building was the headquarters of Lee, Higginson & Company, an investment bank founded in Boston in 1848. The Cross & Cross design follows the austere Classical Revival manner of the late 1920s, with a smooth, gently curved facade, a three-story Ionic loggia, bronze casement windows and a Doric entrance. Eight carved panels by sculptor Leo Friedlander run along the seventh-floor frieze. Inside, the two-story banking hall has columns clad in marble mosaic and a 1929 ship-history mural by Griffith Baily Coale. The bank was weakened by a European financial scandal, and the New York Stock Exchange bought the building in 1933 for use as a clearing house. In 1941 it was sold to Public National Bank and Trust Company, which restored banking use. The building was converted to a private school in 2003-5. It was listed for its commercial history and architectural design.
Significance in brief: The building is locally significant for its link to the growth of the Lower Manhattan financial district and the U.S. financial services industry, and as an example of the austere late-1920s Classical Revival office building. It was designed by Cross & Cross, and it contains a sculpted frieze by Leo Friedlander and a banking hall mural by Griffith Baily Coale.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000476, listed June 7, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 41 Broad St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | June 7, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000476 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1928-1955 |
| Architect / builder | Cross & Cross (architects); Friedlander, Leo (sculptor); Coale, Griffith Baily (muralist) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals / Classical Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated in 2003-5 for use as a private school; the former banking hall is now an auditorium and the upper floors hold classrooms, a library and a gymnasium. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Wall Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.70564, -74.01107 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000476.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q3735077
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.