Metropolitan Savings Bank Building
The Metropolitan Savings Bank Building opened on May 30, 1867, at the northeast corner of Third Avenue and East 7th Street, in Manhattan, New York City. Its original address was 10 Cooper Institute. The building, which was designed by architect Carl Pfeiffer in Second Empire style, is four stories high, wide and deep, and was considered at the time it opened to be one of the most finely constructed edifices, "from garret to basement." Its facades were composed of white marble, with the upper floor being enclosed by a mansard roof. The building was fireproof, as no combustible materials were used during construction, either internally or externally. The entire cost of the structure was $150,000.
The Metropolitan Savings Bank was chartered in New York in 1852. In 1935 the bank moved its headquarters from Cooper Square to 754 Broadway. In 1942, it merged with the Manhattan Savings Institution and the Citizens Savings Bank to form the Manhattan Savings Bank. In 1990, Edmund Safra's Republic National Bank bought the Manhattan Savings Bank, and was in turn purchased by HSBC in 1999.
The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969, and was added to the National Register of Historic Place in 1979.
Interior design
The main hall was in length, and wide. Its height was. Its acoustic properties were excellent.Black walnut was used inside for building desks, chairs, and stairways. The office furniture evoked a simple design and reflected excellent taste The President's room, located behind the banking house proper, was less spacious, as offices were given the maximum space. Another feature of the interior was its immense safe.