70 Pine Street â€" formerly known as the American International Building, 60 Wall Tower and originally as the Cities Service Building â€" is a 67-story, 952-foot (290 m) office building located at the corner of Pearl Street and running to Cedar Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1931-32 by the Cities Service Company for the oil and gas baron Henry Latham Doherty, and was designed by the firms of Clinton & Russell and Holton & George in the Art Deco style.
The building and its first floor interior were designated New York City Landmarks in June 2011. As of 2016, the building is a luxury rental residential property.
History
The Cities Service Building was constructed during the New York skyscraper race, which accounts for its gothic-like spire-topped appearance, a popular architectural style at that time. When completed it was the third tallest building in the world, after the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. It was the last skyscraper to be built in Lower Manhattan prior to World War II, and was the tallest building in Lower Manhattan until the 1970s when the World Trade Center was completed. Upon the 9/11 Attacks, it regained for some years the status of the tallest downtown building until the completion of the new 4 World Trade Center. It is now the fourth tallest building in Lower Manhattan. As of 2017, it is the tenth tallest in New York City, and the 24th tallest in the United States.
One of the most noted themes of the limestone-clad tower is a mountain with a snow cap. The building features an open air platform with an enclosed glass observatory above it on the 66th Floor, offering a higher view of downtown than from any building except from the new World Trade Center. This observatory is no longer accessible to the public. The tower was originally and famously built with double-decker elevators that served two floors at a time to provide sufficient vertical service for the narrow tower and its limited elevator shafts. Soon afterwards, these elevators were removed because of their low popularity; however, the Citigroup Center adopted this same idea in the 1970s.
Cities Service sold the building to the American International Group (AIG) in 1976 when it moved its company headquarters to Tulsa, Oklahoma. It served as AIG's world headquarters until its financial struggles in 2008, and the building was sold to developer Youngwoo & Associates in 2009. The building was later purchased by MetroLoft, which sold it to Rose Associates.
Today, 70 Pine Street is held by Luxembourg-based Eastbridge Group (through DTH Capital) and Rose Associates, a New York-based developer, owner and operator of premium residential properties. Rose and DTH Capital are in the process of transforming 70 Pine into luxury rental apartments. Residential leasing started in the winter of 2015. Upon completion, 70 Pine will consist of 612 residential units and 132 extended-stay apartments, the later exclusive to Q&A Residential Hotel by Furnished Quarters. In 2016 La Palestra opened at 70 Pine a 23,000 square feet high-end fitness centers focused on health and wellness, La Palestra currently offers memberships to building residents and will open to neighborhood residents in 2017. Rose is currently marketing an additional 35,000 square feet of retail space that is accessible from Pine, Pearl and Cedar streets as well as the building’s lobby.
In February 2016, In November 2016 Justin Casquejo a thrill-seeking teenage free solo climber and stunt performer hung from the tower was charged with misdemeanor base jumping and trespassing for climbing on the tower.
See also
