185 Montague Street
| Industry | Insurance, Title insurance |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1924 |
| Founder | Manasseh Miller |
| Defunct | 1935 |
| Fate | Liquidated |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York City , United States |
Key people | Manasseh Miller (president), Michael Furst (vice president) |
185 Montague Street, commonly referred to as the National Title Guaranty Company Building, is a commercial structure situated in the Brooklyn Heights area of Brooklyn, New York City. Erected between 1929 and 1930 for the National Title Guaranty Company, this 16-story edifice was crafted by architects Harvey Wiley Corbett and Wallace Harrison in the Art Deco architectural style. Constructed by the William Kennedy Construction Company, it forms part of "Bank Row," a collection of financial institution buildings along Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights.
The building’s exterior combines brick and limestone materials, with the lower two floors featuring a limestone screen and decorative panels created by Rene Paul Chambellan, alongside irregularly arranged openings. Vertical brick piers segment the upper stories, while ornamental brick spandrel panels separate the windows horizontally. Above the twelfth floor, setbacks comply with the requirements of the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Originally, the ground level and basement accommodated a contemporary bank branch outfitted with terrazzo flooring and a vibrant ceiling design. The National Title Guaranty Company and its affiliates occupied the basement through the fifth floor, while the higher levels were leased to other tenants.
Established at 172–174 Montague Street in 1924, National Title Guaranty experienced rapid expansion throughout Long Island. To facilitate this growth, it purchased properties at 185 and 187 Montague Street in early 1929. By November of that year, operations had relocated to 185 Montague, with a formal inauguration held on April 3, 1930. Although fully leased at opening, National Title Guaranty was liquidated in 1935. Various banking institutions subsequently occupied the building; owners proposed removing upper floors during the 1940s, but these plans never materialized. By the early 2000s, the former banking space was converted into a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant. The building received designation as a New York City designated landmark in 2017.
Site
The National Title Guaranty Company Building stands at 185 Montague Street within Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Heights neighborhood in New York City, New York. It occupies a slender parcel near the western terminus of a block bordered by Court, Montague, Clinton, and Pierrepont Streets. This rectangular plot measures approximately , with a frontage stretching and a depth extending . Adjacent to this structure are the Brooklyn Trust Company Building and the People's Trust Company Building, each exhibiting distinct architectural styles. Nearby points of interest include the Montague–Court Building, the Center for Brooklyn History, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, and the Crescent Athletic Club House affiliated with Saint Ann's School. Directly across Clinton Street is an entrance to the New York City Subway's Borough Hall/Court Street station.
Historically, this land belonged to developer Hezekiah Pierrepont, after whom Pierrepont Street is named; Montague Street commemorates his relative Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In the late 1800s, cultural landmarks such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Brooklyn Mercantile Library were established nearby. By the 1890s, commercial enterprises increasingly concentrated along Montague Street, which earned its moniker "Bank Row" due to several banking institutions setting up offices there—including the Brooklyn Trust Company, People's Trust Company, and National Title Guaranty Company.
Following World War I, Downtown Brooklyn experienced a trend toward high-rise construction. Prior to the erection of the National Guaranty Trust Building, 185 Montague Street was occupied by the National City Bank of New York, which also maintained offices in the adjacent People's Trust Company Building. The neighboring lot at 187 Montague Street housed the Chauncey Real Estate Building until early 1929. Initially intended for a substantial office tower for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce under president Ralph Jonas, this site was ultimately integrated into subsequent development projects.
Architecture
Completed in 1930, the National Title Guaranty Building was crafted in the Art Deco style by architects Harvey Wiley Corbett and Wallace Harrison. These designers were associated with firms including Helmle, Corbett & Harrison and Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray. The building's lower levels are adorned with stone panels created by Rene Chambellan. Standing 16 stories tall, the structure incorporates several setbacks in compliance with the 1916 Zoning Resolution, tapering above the twelfth floor into a temple-inspired illuminated "tower".
Facade
The facade facing Montague Street is segmented vertically into seven bays by brick piers. The first two floors feature a limestone screen embellished with seven decorative panels displaying motifs such as rosettes, hammers, warriors, eagles, and octagrams. Positioned above each panel are stepped blocks that once housed floodlights. At street level, a larger storefront opening includes a marquee on the left side, while the main entrance spans the two easternmost bays. This entrance was originally fitted with wrought iron doors and a spandrel panel inscribed with "National Title Guaranty Company". Prior to renovations in the 1970s, the doorway was updated to include a marble surround and a flagpole. Decorative panels also frame the extremities of the facade. Historically, two 14-foot torchères made of bronze and black granite were situated behind the limestone screen.
Above this base section, buff-colored brick clads the facade. The original three-over-three sash windows have mostly been replaced by simpler one-over-one units. Brick spandrel panels between floors feature a checkerboard design with protruding bricks and central vertical strips arranged in a "stack bond" pattern. Stepped buttresses separate the bays on lower levels, while spandrels extend above parapets at setback points, producing a crenellated appearance.
The north, west, and east sides of the building echo Montague Street’s design elements, including piers, window arrangements, spandrel panels, and setback railings. Although many original windows have been substituted and some brickwork patched, the tower portion preserves its initial details. The west facade is asymmetrical and contains a "U"-shaped light court; its southern bays are distinguished by raised brick bands and rooftop bulkhead vents. The north elevation has limited fenestration except near the tower and incorporates rooftop metal chimneys and ventilation structures. Both northeastern and southeastern corners feature setbacks; meanwhile, the east elevation is divided into bays with certain sections lacking windows altogether.
Interior
At its opening, the lowest five floors and basement of 185 Montague Street were occupied by the National Title Guaranty Company along with its affiliated entities. The primary entrance opened into a vestibule adorned with nickel and Belgian black marble, complemented by a black marble ceiling designed to create an impression of greater height.
The basement and ground level accommodated a branch of the National Exchange Bank and Trust Company, which was designed with a contemporary aesthetic. This banking space featured terrazzo flooring arranged in geometric patterns, ceilings decorated with motifs symbolizing industry and commerce, teller counters made of marble, and a marble staircase providing access to mezzanine-level executive offices. Additionally, a bank vault was situated in the basement area.
History
The National Title Guaranty Company was established in February 1924 by Manasseh Miller, who served as president, with Michael Furst as vice president. It was notable as Brooklyn’s first insurance firm since 1906. The company inaugurated its initial office on April 29, 1924, at 174 Montague Street—a building previously housing the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences—with an initial capital investment of $500,000. Although originally intended as a temporary location, National Title Guaranty purchased the property in May 1925 for $250,000.
Within three years, the company broadened its operations to include Jamaica in Queens and Suffolk County. By mid-1928, it had raised its capitalization to $2.5 million and established a permanent ten-story branch in Jamaica.
Development and opening
As the National Title Guaranty Company grew, its existing headquarters at 172–174 Montague Street became insufficient for its needs. Reluctant to move due to the area's banking hub status—which was advantageous for their business—the company sold the old building in January 1929 to Ralph Jonas for approximately $850,000. Jonas intended to develop a large office building nearby but encountered difficulties securing the site. Subsequently, National Title Guaranty acquired properties at 185 and 187 Montague Street from National City Bank and Jonas with plans to construct a new headquarters building ranging from ten to twelve stories.
In February 1929, architects Helmle, Corbett & Harrison submitted designs initially budgeted at $350,000. The William Kennedy Construction Company was appointed general contractor; Cox, Nostrand & Gunnison handled lighting installations; and William H. Jackson & Co. was responsible for ironwork. By March, plans expanded to a sixteen-story structure featuring a brick and limestone exterior. National Title Guaranty intended to occupy the first two floors plus mezzanine while leasing the remaining space. Construction commenced in April 1929 amid ongoing corporate expansion that included acquiring Guaranteed Mortgage Company in March and founding National Exchange Bank and Trust in July.
By November 1929, National Title Guaranty had relocated its offices into the new building, consolidating some operations previously based in Manhattan. The launch of the National Exchange Bank and Trust branch was postponed pending regulatory clearance but officially opened on April 3, 1930—coinciding with the building’s formal dedication. Despite regional challenges with vacancies during that period, leasing agents Riker & Co. had secured tenants for nearly all available space except roughly 1,500 square feet. The bank occupied both basement and ground floors; National Title Guaranty held floors two through five; other occupants included Mutual Life Insurance (two floors), Commercial Casualty Insurance, American Surety Company, and attorney Meier Steinbrink. By 1931, the building had maintained full occupancy since its opening.
20th century
The structure debuted amid the Great Depression, initially generating profits through National Title Guaranty. Nevertheless, by November 1933, the National Exchange Bank had shut down, prompting the state's insurance commissioner to assume control over National Title Guaranty's operations. The liquidation process commenced in January 1935, with multiple company officials later found guilty of fraudulent activities. Among the last assets to be liquidated was the lease for the bank branch located at 185 Montague Street, which a state judge reassigned to the Lawyers Trust Company in April 1936; this company relocated there by June. In 1942, the County Savings Deposit Company requested authorization to close its branch at this site.
Around April 1944, the Bowery Savings Bank took ownership of the property following foreclosure on a $500,000 mortgage. Later that year, developer Webb and Knapp acquired the building and leased its first three floors to the Bank of the Manhattan Company, intending to demolish the upper stories once leases expired. This plan faced opposition from tenants such as law firm Delatour & Miller and American Surety Company. In March 1946, 45 tenants initiated legal action against owner 39 Corporation, contending that tearing down parts of the building violated emergency laws since no replacement structure was planned. This lawsuit reflected similar tenant resistance seen elsewhere in Manhattan.
In the end, aside from a renovation on the ground level before the 1970s, the building preserved its original architectural form. The Manhattan Company branch opened in April 1947, serving as its Brooklyn headquarters alongside eight other local branches by the late 1940s. Following a merger with Chase Manhattan Bank, operations were centralized here in 1955, resulting in closure of a nearby branch at 189 Montague Street. By the 1970s, occupants included Brooklyn Community Board 2 and the Brooklyn division of the New York City Department of City Planning.
21st century
Entering the early 2000s, a Chipotle Mexican Grill franchise operated on the ground floor of 185 Montague Street. In 2011, both the National Title Guaranty Company Building and its neighbor at 181 Montague Street—the People's Trust Company Building—were nominated for landmark status as part of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District; however, they were excluded by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). Subsequently, the Brooklyn Heights Association advocated for individual landmark designations for each building. The LPC began reviewing these proposals in August 2016 despite opposition from the owner of 185 Montague Street. Public hearings took place in November that year, culminating in both buildings receiving individual landmark status on January 27, 2017.
Critical reception
As completion neared in November 1929, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle praised its "distinctive features" and "strict linearity," which enhanced its prominence. In March 1930, New York Herald Tribune characterized both exterior and interior as "modern without being modernistic," while The New York Times lauded it as "a significant architectural contribution to Brooklyn Heights" with a daring modern aesthetic. Both outlets highlighted the lighting design as a key architectural element. The Brooklyn Citizen focused on the National Exchange bank’s interior for its innovative use of marble and metalwork. Architectural historian Francis Morrone described it as "one of the most spirited little Art Deco skyscrapers locally," likening its design to the vibrant energy of Count Basie’s orchestra.