I actually miss the old Washington Life Building more; I found it more appealing than the Singer Building. Unfortunately, the Singer Building was constructed at the same time as the City Investing Building, which obscured the character of the Singer Tower.
March 1971
Wow.. it looks like the early 70s was a very transformative year looking at the amount of construction there. Quite a change in architecture from the past as well.
The same perspective from February 1969 and later from 1973.
The skyscrapers that were built not only in New York but also in other major cities completely changed the skyline of each city; it was a tremendous construction boom. Similar to the one in the 1980s to 1990s, when I think of Chicago and how many skyscrapers were built there. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle… and sometimes it’s also very nice to be able to follow the construction of old skyscrapers.
Usually a lot of construction toward the end of an economic boom period. Any more NYC is an exception with construction pretty much nonstop.
In which years were the City Investing Building and its neighbor, the Singer Building, renovated? I saw a photo (from the late 1950s) showing that the fence on the roof ridge had been removed and windows had been added to the gable ends.
Today, there are two old pieces of information about the construction of the New York subway in 1904 and the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1877. These are original lithographs from 1877 and 1904, written in German.
Subway
Those are an impressive find. One of the biggest losses is the fact many of the original IRT stations used to have glass blocks embedded in the pavement, permitting sunlight to reach the platform. By the mid-20th century, they were removed and some were converted into ventilation grates.
I’ve had these sheets in my collection for a very long time. But since they’re in German, I didn’t want to post them at first. I still have pictures of the subway construction.
Was it designed in Germany?
No, it was not designed in Germany. The originals were printed in German magazines (1877 and 1904).
Around 1900, German experts believed that there was not much to learn from America. That was until they noticed that skyscrapers were being built in American cities. This topic filled many magazine articles in the press before and around 1900. In 1913, the first book on this subject was published, entitled “Bau der Wolkenkratzer” (Construction of Skyscrapers).
I found this photo in my photo box today and wanted to know what kind of passenger car is pictured in this photo?
The photo is dated May 1913. Could it be a prototype, or is it some kind of cable car?
Even then the Singer building barely makes an impression.
So now here’s the second sheet on the subway and another one with construction photos.
This was a competition (1877) for a planned bridge connecting Midtown Manhattan and Queens.
Prescribed span 233.7 meters and a height above the water of around 40 meters.
View from Nassau Street towards Pine Street, looking east, 1959. On the left is the old 30 Pine Street, which was demolished a few years later to make way for the plaza.
Fall 1928
Right before the whole place turned Disney.
Thank God.
