Mills Building (New York City)

Mills Building

Company type	Building
Industry	Commercial real estate
Founded	1882
Fate	Demolished in 1925
Headquarters	Manhattan, New York City , United States

The Mills Building was a ten-story edifice situated at 15 Broad Street and Exchange Place in Manhattan, featuring an L-shaped extension reaching 35 Wall Street. It encircled the J. P. Morgan & Company Building located at 23 Wall Street, positioned at the intersection of Broad and Wall Streets. Created by architect George B. Post, this structure stood as an early and significant skyscraper within New York's financial hub.

Ownership of the property belonged to D.O. Mills, a distinguished banker from San Francisco, California. Mills maintained homes in both New York City and his estate in Millbrae, California, illustrating his extensive business operations spanning both coasts.

Construction

Completed in 1882, the Mills Building was originally supported by wooden piles; however, the sandy soil beneath was insufficient to bear its weight, leading to foundation settling. To address this without dismantling the structure, additional supports were driven deeper, creating a foundation unlike the conventional bedrock-supported ones. This experience influenced subsequent projects to adopt caisson foundations for enhanced stability.

In 1908, proposals were introduced to demolish the Mills Building in favor of erecting a 1,000-foot skyscraper that would have become the tallest building worldwide.

J.P. Morgan & Company lease

Beginning in 1920, J.P. Morgan & Company secured an 84-year lease on the Mills Building for $27.3 million. The rent was set at $300,000 annually for the initial 42 years and increased to $350,000 starting in 1962. The lease stipulated that by May 1, 1928, a new building of no fewer than 25 stories had to be constructed on the site. J.P. Morgan intended to build a 33-story structure valued at $8 million, designed by Trowbridge & Livingston.

In January 1925, Equitable Trust took over the lease and proceeded to develop the 43-story building at 15 Broad Street between 1926 and 1928 on the location formerly occupied by the Mills Building.