#trinity building

Trinity Church, Manhattan

Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York located at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and endowment, Trinity is a traditional high church, with an active parish centered around the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion in missionary, outreach, and fellowship. 

The third and current Trinity Church began construction in 1839 and was finished in 1846. When the Episcopal Bishop of New York consecrated Trinity Church on Ascension Day (May 1) 1846, its soaring Gothic Revival spire, surmounted by a gilded cross, dominated the skyline of lower Manhattan. Trinity was a welcoming beacon for ships sailing into New York Harbor.

In 1843, Trinity Church's expanding parish was divided due to the burgeoning cityscape and to better serve the needs of its parishioners. The newly formed parish would build Grace Church, to the north on Broadway at 10th street, while the original parish would re-build Trinity Church, the structure that stands today. Both Grace and Trinity Churches were completed and consecrated in 1846.

Trinity Church held the title of tallest building in the United States until 1869, when it was surpassed by St. Michael's Church, Old Town, Chicago. Trinity continued to be the tallest in New York City, with its 281-foot (86 m) spire and cross, until it was surpassed in 1890 by the New York World Building. 

In 1876–1877 a reredos and altar were erected in memory of William Backhouse Astor, Sr., to the designs of architect Frederick Clarke Withers. 

Broadway (No. 7)

The Empire Building is a 21-story, 293-foot-tall (89 m) steel framed curtain-wall skyscraper located at 71 Broadway, on the corner of Rector Street, in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Kimball & Thompson in the Classical Revival style and built by Marc Eidlitz & Son from 1895 to 1898.  It is one of the earliest skyscrapers built on pneumatic caissons and one of the oldest still standing today.  The building was the home of United States Steel Corporation from its founding in 1901 to 1976.  Since 1997, it has served as an apartment building. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1996 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

The plot measures 78 feet (24 m) along Broadway, 223 feet (68 m) along Rector Street, and 50 feet (15 m) on Trinity Place with a footprint of approximately 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) and a total floorspace of 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2).  Some portions of the Broadway entrance cross over the lot line. Along Rector Street, it is adjacent to the churchyard of Trinity Church, providing a dramatic backdrop for the church and ensuring open views for the building. There are entrances to New York City Subway stations right outside both of the Empire Building's principal facades: two stairs to the Wall Street station (4 and ​5 trains) are located to either side of the building's main entrance, while an entrance to the Rector Street station (N, ​R, and ​W trains) is located on Trinity Place just outside the building entrance there. 

Charles Sooysmith designed the foundation which was a mix of grillage and 23 pneumatic concrete caissons that went 23 feet (7.0 m) down to bedrock. 

The building has a tripartite design with a base, shaft, and capital sections, as in the column of a classical order.  The original design called for architectural terracotta sheathing, but the owners switched to granite.  The base is four stories of polished gray granite.  The shaft is twelve stories of a white rusticated granite.  The capital is four stories tall with colonnaded loggias and a metal cornice.  There is a full basement, which is exposed along Rector Street, and a full-height storefront on Trinity Place due to the difference in elevation between the front and the back of the building. The main entrance on Broadway is based on a triumphal arch with a main archway and two smaller flanking ones which leads to first floor stores. 

The twenty-first floor designed by John C. Westervelt was added in 1930. The main entrance on Broadway, the Trinity Place entrance, and the connection to the Sixth Avenue elevated's Rector Street station on Trinity Place were all refashioned in an Art Deco style by Walker & Gillette in 1938.

Three Centuries, Lower Manhattan