Metropolitan Life Tower

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metropolitan Life Tower
Metropolitan Life Tower
Basic data
Place: New York City , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Construction time : 1907-1909
Status : Built
Architects : Napoleon LeBrun
Use / legal
Usage : offices
Client : Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Technical specifications
Height : 213 m
Height to the top: 213 m
Rank (height) : 47th place - New York
Floors : 50
Building material : Structure: steel ;
Facade: granite , glass

The Metropolitan Life Tower ( MetLife Tower for short ) is a skyscraper in New York City . It was built between 1908 and 1909 according to plans by the architects Pierre LeBrun and Napoleon LeBrun and was to become the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company . With its height of 213 meters and 50 floors, it replaced the Singer Building as the tallest building in the world until it was overtaken by the 241 meter high Woolworth Building in 1913 . It is now the 51st tallest building in New York (as of 2016).

The architects had to accept a lot of criticism when the plans for the Metropolitan Life Tower were published, as they were accused of the fact that the Metropolitan Life Tower was very similar to the Campanile on St. Mark's Square in Venice . They dismissed any allegation because the architecture was exactly what the directors of the commissioning Metropolitan Life Insurance Company wanted . The building should symbolize stability and remind of the constancy of times past.

The skyscraper received the status of a National Historic Landmark in June 1978 and was entered as a monument on the National Register of Historic Places . Since January 1996, the MetLife Tower has been the Contributing Property of the Metropolitan Life Home Office Complex ; this is a historic district .

See also

gallery

  • The skyscraper in white light and shrouded in fog.

  • The top of the skyscraper under colorful lighting.

  • Historical view of the building

  • View from the west; on the left the Metropolitan Life North Building

Web links

Commons : Metropolitan Life Tower  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed November 13, 2019.
    Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: New York. National Park Service , accessed November 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Metropolitan Life Home Office Complex in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed November 13, 2019.

Coordinates: 40 ° 44 ′ 29 ″  N , 73 ° 59 ′ 15 ″  W.

before Tallest skyscraper in the world after that
Singer Building 213 m
1909-1913		 Woolworth Building