Engineering Societies' Building
The Engineering Societies' Building, also known as 25 West 39th Street, is a commercial building at 25–33 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located one block south of Bryant Park, it was constructed in 1907 along with the adjoining Engineers' Club. The building was designed by Herbert D. Hale, of the firm Hale & Rogers, along with Henry G. Morse, in the neo-Renaissance style. It served as the clubhouse of the United Engineering Societies, composed of its three founding societies: the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. The American Society of Civil Engineers joined the partnership in 1917.
The Engineering Societies Building's facade is divided horizontally into three sections. The building was originally thirteen stories tall, excluding the second story, which was not visible from the facade. The lowest three stories comprise a rusticated base of limestone, including a colonnade with Doric columns. Above that is a seven-story stone midsection, followed by another loggia similar to that on the base. Inside, the building's first story contains the lobby. The second story is hidden beneath what was originally a double-tiered auditorium with 1,000 seats. The fifth and sixth stories contained several lecture rooms, and the seventh through eleventh stories contained engineering offices; the twelfth and thirteenth stories were devoted to an engineering library. Two stories were added later.
The Engineering Societies' Building was funded by Andrew Carnegie, who in 1904 offered money for a new clubhouse for New York City's various engineering societies. The Engineers' Club did not want to share a building with the other societies, so an architectural design competition was held for two clubhouse buildings. By the 1950s, the Engineering Societies' Building was becoming too small for the engineering societies' needs, and the societies sold the clubhouse in 1960. In the late 20th century, the building was used by fashion firms such as women's clothing retailer Lane Bryant and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. The building has been owned by Thor Equities since 2005, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Site
The Engineering Societies' Building is at 25–33 West 39th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building occupies a rectangular land lot with a frontage of along 39th Street, a depth of, and an area of. The building was once connected to the Engineers' Club Building to the north.The Engineering Societies' Building is on 39th Street, one block south of Bryant Park, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. On the same block are The Bryant and 452 Fifth Avenue to the east; the Haskins & Sells Building to the west; and the American Radiator Building and Bryant Park Studios to the northwest. Other nearby places include the New York Public Library Main Branch one block to the north, as well as the Lord & Taylor Building to the southeast. The Engineering Societies and Engineers' Club buildings collectively served as a center for the engineering industry in the United States during the early and mid-20th century. The adjoining area included the offices of three engineering publications on 39th Street, as well as Engineers' Club member Nikola Tesla's laboratory on 8 West 40th Street.
Architecture
The Engineering Societies' Building was designed by Herbert D. Hale, of the firm Hale & Rogers, along with Henry G. Morse in the neo-Renaissance style. It was constructed as a shared clubhouse for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, and American Institute of Electrical Engineers. The main requirement was that the interior had to include space for the three founding societies. The building was originally thirteen and a half stories tall with a height of. Two additional stories are set back from the street; they were added in 1916.The building measures, since New York City building codes of the time required that only 85 percent of a land lot's area be occupied. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who financed the building's construction, owned a private residence at 23 West 39th Street, thus preserving views from the east. A driveway surrounded the building, connecting to the passenger and freight elevators, as well as the shipping and receiving offices. Vehicles could enter the driveway through a covered arch on the eastern side of the building, drop off passengers, and exit through the western side. Wrought-iron gates were placed in front of the driveway. The eastern driveway entrance was replaced in 1913 by a six-story building on 23 West 39th Street, while the western entrance still exists and contains a service gate. Under a deed restriction, the adjoining building to the east was restricted to a height of.
Facade
The facade had decorations on all four sides because it was designed to be set back from adjoining structures. The facade is built of limestone up to the third story auditorium, above which it is gray mottled brick and terracotta. The facade was meant to indicate the interior uses: the lower section contained auditoriums, the middle section contained offices, and the upper part contained the library. The facade's principal elevation faces south on 39th Street. It is five bays wide and is organized into three horizontal sections: a base, shaft, and capital. The eastern elevation is designed in a similar arrangement, while the western elevation is made of plain brick. The adjacent structure at 23 West 39th Street, designed for the Engineers' Club, has a storefront and a five-story, two-bay-wide brick facade.Base
The base is three stories high. The ground story is made of rusticated blocks of limestone above a water table made of stone. The middle three bays are slightly recessed from the outer bays, and a frieze runs above the ground story. There are five openings, each topped by voussoirs and a tall keystone. The westernmost opening serves as the current entrance to the building, and the center opening is a garage door; the other three openings are square-headed windows. A bronze plaque with the words "Engineering Societies" was hung above the original main entrance. Because the auditorium inside had a sloped floor, the second story was designed as a partial story and is not visible from the facade.On the third and fourth stories, the three center bays contain double-height arches. Each arch has a balcony and an aedicular stone doorway, topped by a triangular pediment with a frieze and console brackets. The rest of each arch contains a glass-and-iron frame, as well as a console bracket above the center and carved fronds at the corner spandrels. The three arches are separated from each other by pairs of Doric-style columns, while the outer arches are flanked by a Doric column and a pilaster. Above the columns and pilasters are an entablature, which includes brackets with carved wreaths and dentils directly above each of the columns. A cornice with dentils projects above the fourth story. The outer bays each contain a tall aedicular window with a paneled sill. Above each aedicular window is a cornice and a wide tripartite window.
Shaft
The fifth through eleventh stories constitute the building's shaft, or midsection. As with the base, the three middle bays are slightly recessed and the outer bays are designed as projecting pavilions. The fifth story is designed as a transitional story. Within each of the middle bays is a balustrade, an aedicular window, and a cornice with console brackets. There are stone roundels flanking each of the fifth-story windows, above which is carving of a lion's head with a swag in its mouth. The outer bays of the fifth story are plain rectangular windows with shallow stone cornices.On the sixth through eleventh stories, the center three bays each contain a six-story-high opening. Each of the openings contains iron bars, which divide the windows into section. Additionally, spandrel panels separate the different stories. At the eleventh floor, there is a bracket above each of the middle bays, and the windows are flanked by carvings, which depict a roundel, a lion's head, and a wreath dangling from the lion's mouth. Within the outer bays, each of the sixth through eleventh stories contains a rectangular window with a sill at the bottom and a stone panel at the top. Each of the outer bays' windows contains a brick surround, as well as iron bars that divide the window openings into nine panes.
Capital
The top of the building contains a loggia similar to that at the base. The loggia consists of double-height arches, which are each flanked by columns. The outer bays each contain wide tripartite windows. Above the loggia is an architrave. There is a cornice above the thirteenth story, containing a cornice with dentils and lions' heads. The two top stories, added to the roof in 1916, are set back from the street wall. They contain square-headed window openings and a brick cladding.Structural features
The steel used in the building construction weighs a total of. The foundation consists of 46 piers descending to the underlying layer of rock, which ranges between below the curb. Two of these piers each carry a live load of and contain steel columns weighing.The double-height auditorium at the third story was spanned by girders measuring wide. The ceiling was supported by three plate girders and a lattice girder. The steel plate-girders in the ceilings of the main auditorium weigh tons each, while the steel lattice truss on the sixth floor weighs. All the steel work in the building is covered with of semi-porous terracotta, and the columns are grouted with concrete. The floors are built with segmental arches of terracotta, above which is a layer of cinder-concrete. All exterior walls are furred with a terra-cotta block to prevent moisture from being driven through the walls. The fourteenth to sixteenth stories are supported by four columns resting directly on the underlying layer of bedrock.