American Surety Building

American Surety Building

Industry	Office building / Real estate
Predecessor	Continental Insurance Company Building (former)
Founded	1894
Founder	Bruce Price (architect)
Successor	Bank of Tokyo Building (alternate name)
Headquarters	Manhattan, New York City , United States
Area served	Financial District, Manhattan
Key people	Bruce Price (original architect), Herman Lee Meader (expansion architect), J. Massey Rhind (sculptor)
Products	Office space rental

The American Surety Building, also referred to as the Bank of Tokyo Building or 100 Broadway, is a high-rise office structure located at the intersection of Pine Street and Broadway within Manhattan's Financial District, directly opposite Trinity Church. Conceived in the Neo-Renaissance architectural style by Bruce Price and later expanded by Herman Lee Meader, the building rises to a height of , encompassing 23 floors. It was one of the earliest skyscrapers in Manhattan to incorporate steel frame and curtain wall construction techniques.

The exterior is clad in Maine granite and is divided into three horizontal segments that echo the classical column design elements of base, shaft, and capital—an innovative approach for New York skyscrapers at the time. Decorative details crafted by sculptor J. Massey Rhind adorn the facade. Structurally, the building relies on a steel skeleton framework supported by cantilevered steel foundations.

Erected between 1894 and 1896 as a 21-story edifice, it ranked as the city's second tallest structure upon completion. The building's floor space was increased and two additional stories were added during a 1920–1922 annex project designed by Meader. Subsequently, from 1973 to 1975, the Bank of Tokyo engaged Kajima International to refurbish the lower 13 floors. In 1995, it received landmark status from New York City authorities.

Site

Positioned in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District, the American Surety Building occupies a site bordered by Broadway on its western side and Pine Street to the north, with Wall Street situated just under one block to its south. It stands adjacent to Trinity Church, its surrounding churchyard, and the Trinity and United States Realty Buildings to the west; the Equitable Building lies directly north; 14 Wall Street borders it on the east; while 1 Wall Street is found immediately to the south. Nearby are entrances to the New York City Subway's Wall Street station, served by the .

The parcel encompasses approximately , measuring about along Pine Street and roughly on Broadway, with none of its boundaries running parallel. Prior to its expansion between 1920 and 1922, the original lot measured .

Architecture

The American Surety Building reaches either 23 or 26 stories in height, standing at . Originally designed by Bruce Price in a Neo-Renaissance manner, it was completed as a 21-story tower with a height of . At that time, this made it New York City's second tallest building after the now-demolished Manhattan Life Insurance Building, which stood at .

During its construction in the 1890s, it was groundbreaking for being among New York’s first skyscrapers to utilize an entirely steel skeletal frame—a pioneering approach when steel framing and caisson foundation methods were just emerging. Its facade was divided into three horizontal zones reminiscent of a classical column’s base, shaft, and capital. This tripartite design later influenced numerous early twentieth-century “tower” skyscrapers throughout the United States.

Facade

The building's facade is crafted from Maine granite and is composed of a three-story base, a twelve-story shaft, and a six-story capital, with two transitional levels positioned at the 4th and 15th floors. Above the 21st floor, a two-story penthouse is recessed. Initially, the structure was seven bays wide along Broadway and Pine Street; however, a 1920–1922 enlargement extended both facades to eleven bays. Price intended to evoke a "monumental structure," designing the exterior to mimic a campanile featuring four pilaster faces and seven tiers of windows representing flutes. The upper windows were progressively set back by one inch per floor to improve light access and create architectural entasis; these were subsequently replaced with sash windows. Unlike earlier constructions such as the Park Row Building, every facade was richly ornamented.

The principal entrance on Broadway is marked by a two-story Ionic colonnade that supports a seven-bay-wide portico, expanded from its original five bays. Above this, the third-floor windows are bordered by six classical statues sculpted by J. Massey Rhind, with two more figures added during the expansion phase. A detailed frieze crowns the colonnade. Additionally, there is an upper-level entrance on the southern end of the Broadway facade. Along Pine Street, the first two stories rest on two-story piers set upon a granite water table, which uphold an entablature that continues from Broadway. This side includes a service entrance at its eastern extremity; third-floor windows feature protruding surrounds linked by spandrel panels, with an entablature stretching above the third story on both facades.

Between floors, slightly projecting horizontal bands are present, including a band course above the fourth story on both Broadway and Pine Street. Sculptural elements span across the 14th and 15th floors, connecting intermediate levels to the transitional 15th floor. The top six floors compose a "cap" characterized by Corinthian pilasters forming a colonnade; between the 20th and 21st floors lies a gilded metal parapet; and a substantial stone cornice crowns the 21st floor. During the 1920–1922 expansion, the original gilded parapet and sculptures were removed and replaced with a cornice adorned with anthemia atop the penthouse. The southern elevation of the original 20th and 21st floors remains partially visible from street level.

Foundation

The foundation was engineered by contractor Charles Sooysmith utilizing a hybrid approach combining grillage and pneumatic caissons—a technique he had applied to projects such as the Manhattan Life Insurance Building. The caissons were sunk to depths between , reaching solid bedrock. Each caisson stood tall, constructed from steel plates, topped by a steel shaft with a cross-sectional shape measuring , capped by a cylindrical section measuring in diameter and tall. Excavation occurred beneath each caisson before being filled with concrete; subsequently, thirteen brick piers were built surrounding these shafts.

Due to neighboring buildings during construction, the internal steel framework was cantilevered over these piers since party walls could not be employed. Steel plates were positioned atop each pier’s masonry head to support a grillage of I-beams laid transversely. Deep plate girders spanned these grillages, extending cantilevered supports out to the building’s footprint edges to carry superstructure columns. The foundation was also designed to endure potential disturbances from a future subway tunnel beneath Broadway in anticipation of the Lexington Avenue Line’s construction.

Structural Characteristics

The structure incorporated thirty-two main columns, each supporting loads ranging from . It featured portal wind bracing designed to resist gusts of at least , a capability proven during the January 1896 storm with only slight movement. Steel beams visible throughout were shielded by fire-resistant tile, while the floor arches utilized firebrick. The flooring system combined brick arches, concrete, ash aggregate, and steel joints, all finished with marble surfaces.

The building’s northern and western facades consisted of curtain walls, a design also applied to the eastern and southern sides above the eighth floor. Between the first and eighth stories, the eastern and southern walls were constructed as load-bearing brick; notably, the southern wall was thickened to prevent fire from spreading to the neighboring Schermerhorn Building. Curtain walls maintained a thickness of , imposing a foundation load of ; in contrast, load-bearing walls required greater thickness and exerted more pressure on foundations. Employing curtain walls increased rentable area by per bay, translating into an annual rental income of $2,000. Although steel framing raised initial expenses compared to traditional masonry construction, it reduced foundation costs. This hybrid use of curtain and bearing walls was considered pioneering at the time.

Interior Layout

When completed, the American Surety Building contained over 400 rooms accessible through six elevators and a spiral staircase. The elevators operated at speeds regarded as fast for that era. Two water tanks located on the 10th and 21st floors held a combined capacity of , providing water for fire hoses on every level; the 21st floor also functioned as a mechanical utility floor.

A 1920 expansion introduced a two-story penthouse featuring restaurant space on each level. This addition increased rentable space on floors one through seven from to , while floors above the seventh expanded to . The enlarged structure housed ten elevators grouped along the north side and included staircases situated in the northwest and southeast corners.

The lobby is distinguished by a black-and-gold coffered ceiling adorned with a frieze depicting baby centaurs. The ground floor contains a spacious arcade with ceilings reaching in height. Initially, street level accommodated a banking hall with a gold-leaf ceiling supported by four marble columns; this area was transformed into an arcade during renovations in the 1970s.

History

During the late 1800s, life insurance companies were among the earliest to erect prominent high-rise buildings. At that time, these firms commonly owned their office and branch properties to strengthen their brand identity and operational presence. This practice started around 1870, as seen with the nearby former Equitable Life Building.

By the end of the 19th century, many Financial District businesses began expanding northward from Wall Street. By 1865, Broadway between Liberty and Wall Streets featured seven buildings housing banks or insurance companies, including the Continental Insurance Company Building at 100-102 Broadway—located on what would later become the American Surety site. Fire insurance companies also established offices along Pine Street. The American Surety Company itself was established in 1881 at 160 Broadway.

Construction and Initial Usage

In 1893, American Surety acquired two adjacent parcels at the intersection of Broadway and Pine Street: an L-shaped lot facing both streets and a corner plot purchased for $400,000, marking the highest price paid for property on Broadway at that time. The company revealed intentions to erect a headquarters building ranging from 15 to 20 stories on this site.

An architectural contest drew nine participants, including notable firms and architects such as Bruce Price, Napoleon LeBrun, George B. Post, Carrère and Hastings, and McKim, Mead & White. The challenge was to optimize leasable area while achieving architectural harmony. Separately, Rhind was selected through another competition to create ornamental sculptures.

By February 1894, Bruce Price was appointed as the architect for the planned 20-story headquarters. His design featured a relatively straightforward tower capped with a flat roof, influenced by his earlier work at 280 Broadway. The company invested roughly $1.435 million in land acquisition and allocated an additional $1.25 million for construction. Despite the financial outlay, Price persuaded American Surety to embellish all four facades due to the building’s prominent visibility. His tower design was regarded as "the only artistic solution to the problem of high design," resulting in decorative treatments on every elevation regardless of adjacent structures.

During the construction phase, plans were revised to include a 21st floor. Price’s original concept included a five-story pyramidal roof inspired by Venice’s St Mark's Campanile and earlier unexecuted designs opposite New York City Hall.

Foundation work commenced in early 1894 and reached completion by November after eight to nine months—approximately 40% of the entire construction duration.

The building’s cornice extended beyond the property boundary, leading to legal action from neighbor John Jacob Astor IV, owner of the neighboring Schermerhorn Building. When Astor threatened in May 1896 to construct a 22-story edifice that would obstruct windows, American Surety secured their cornice design by leasing the Schermerhorn Building for 99 years at an annual rent of $75,000—about 5% of its $1.5 million valuation.

The project concluded in 1896 with total expenses reaching $1.75 million (equivalent to $ million today), with roughly ten percent allocated to subterranean work.

Early Occupancy and Enlargement

By 1898, the North American Trust Company had become one of the initial tenants in the American Surety Building. The Weather Bureau also established offices there, erecting a 100-foot steel mast atop the structure. However, an air shaft situated between the American Surety and Schermerhorn buildings caused a fire in 1901 that damaged the Weather Bureau’s space.

In April 1920, American Surety announced plans to purchase the Schermerhorn Building outright and construct a $2.5 million annex (equivalent to approximately $ million today), targeting completion by 1921. They acquired the Schermerhorn property for $1.5 million and initiated construction by May of that year.

Architect Herman Lee Meader managed the renovation efforts with Ernest R. Graham serving as consulting architect. The annex extended the building by 40 feet along both Pine Street and Broadway, creating an L-shaped addition with a light shaft on the southern side while preserving the original facade intact. Renovations involved removing flooring and partitions to align broader upper floors with existing walls, relocating the Broadway entrance portico centrally on the facade, eliminating two ornamental figures from upper levels, and adding a two-story penthouse.

By July 1921, leasing representation had been appointed for the annex space, which was finalized in 1922.

Subsequent alterations

During the mid-1900s, the Bank of Tokyo emerged as a principal occupant, initially leasing space in 1952 and gradually increasing its footprint throughout the following decade. In 1962, real estate investor Irving Brodsky purchased the property shortly after the American Surety Company merged with Transamerica Corporation.

Ownership transferred to Thomson Realty Company in 1973. That same year, upon renewing its lease, the Bank of Tokyo commissioned an $11 million refurbishment focused on the building’s lower thirteen floors. Kajima International was contracted to modernize elevators, mechanical infrastructure, and bronze window installations. The redesign transformed the ground-level banking and retail areas into an open arcade featuring a sheltered colonnade. A 17-foot aluminum sculpture by Isamu Noguchi was also introduced in the lobby as part of this renovation, which reached completion by 1975.

In 1980, the Bank of Tokyo removed Noguchi’s sculpture without informing the artist. That year, due to limited space near its primary location, the New York Stock Exchange leased approximately 25,000 square feet at 100 Broadway. By the early 1990s, the Bank of Tokyo had vacated around 150,000 square feet, relocating its operations to Midtown Manhattan.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission officially designated the building as a city landmark in 1995. Following the destruction of retail spaces near the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, Borders established a 35,000-square-foot bookstore at 100 Broadway’s base in 2003, aiding Lower Manhattan’s economic revival. Madison Capital acquired the property in late 2010; shortly thereafter, Borders closed due to bankruptcy. Duane Reade subsequently occupied most available retail space in 2012, while TD Ameritrade leased remaining areas in 2013. Northwood Investors purchased the building that same year for $150 million.

Critical reception

Constructed during an era when buildings seldom surpassed ten or eleven stories and skyscrapers often faced skepticism, the American Surety Building attracted notable architectural praise. In 1899, critic Russell Sturgis lauded its ground-floor colonnade as "a masterly adaptation of the loveliest forms of antiquity," supported by pilasters along Pine Street and Broadway. After Bruce Price’s death in 1903, The Brickbuilder described it as "certainly the most interesting tall building in the country." Architectural commentator Montgomery Schuyler observed in 1913 that its design was among the earliest to employ "the column analogy," a motif widely embraced by early twentieth-century skyscrapers. Following its modernization in 1975, Ada Louise Huxtable referred to 100 Broadway as "one of those sleeper landmarks (undesignated) of which New York has so many—an outstandingly fine early skyscraper."

See also

• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street

External links

• Bank of Tokyo Building on The Skyscraper Center