American International Building

American International Building
General information
Type	Office
Location	70 Pine Street, New York, New York
Coordinates	40°42′23″N 74°00′28″W / 40.70643°N 74.00766°W / 40.70643; -74.00766Coordinates: 40°42′23″N 74°00′28″W / 40.70643°N 74.00766°W / 40.70643; -74.00766
Construction started	1930
Completed	1932
Height
Antenna spire	952 ft (290 m)[1]
Roof	850 ft (260 m)[1]
Technical details
Floor count	66
Floor area	865,400 sq ft (80,400 m2)[2]
Elevator count	36[1]
Design and construction
Owner	American International Group (AIG)
Architect	Clinton and Russell, Holton & George

A miniature impression of the building is incorporated above its own entrance. The miniature impression contains its own miniature impression.

The American International Building is a 66-story, 952 foot (290 m) tall building^[3] in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The official address is 70 Pine Street, New York, NY 10270 and is also bordered by Cedar Street and Pearl Street. It was completed in 1932 by the Cities Service Company^[4] for the oil and gas baron Henry Latham Doherty.^[5] This was during the New York skyscraper race, which accounts for its gothic-like spire-topped appearance,^[6] a popular architectural style at that time. When completed it was the third tallest building in the world, after only the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.^[6] It was the last skyscraper to be built in Lower Manhattan prior to World War II. It was the tallest building in Downtown Manhattan until the 1970s when the World Trade Center was completed. Upon the 9/11 Attacks, it regained the status of the tallest downtown building. It is currently the fifth tallest in New York City, after the Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower, the Chrysler Building, and the New York Times Building, and the 16th tallest in the United States. As of 2006, it was the 39th tallest building in the world.^[3] The building is usually referred to simply as American International. It was previously owned by Cities Service Company and called the Cities Service Building; Cities Service sold it to the American International Group (AIG) when moving company headquarters to Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is currently owned by AIG and used for that company's world headquarters, but a sale may be pending and AIG might vacate by the end of 2010.^[7]

AIB from 14 Wall Street.

One of the most famous themes of the limestone-clad tower is a mountain with a snow cap. The building features an open air platform with an enclosed glass observatory above it on the 66th Floor,^[5] offering a view of downtown from any building. This observatory, which was once public, is now accessible only to executives and employees of AIG. The tower was originally and famously built with double-decker elevators ^[4] that served two floors at a time to provide sufficient vertical service for the narrow tower and its limited elevator shafts. Soon afterwards, these elevators were removed because of their low popularity;^[4] however, the Citigroup Center adopted this same idea in the 1970s.

The building appears at the end of the movie Spider-Man. However, it is depicted as being located in Midtown Manhattan instead of Lower Manhattan.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in the United States
• Tallest buildings in New York City
• List of skyscrapers
• World's tallest structures

After AIG's collapse in 2008, 70 Pine St was eventually sold to developer Youngwoo & Associates in 2009. Plans include leasing the lower floors as office space and converting the upper floor to luxury condiminiums. The former Cities Service Building was designated a New York City Landmark and Interior Landmark in June 2011.^[8]

Further reading

• Abramson, Daniel M. (1009), The AIG Building and the Architecture of Wall Street . (Excerpt).

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} American International Building at SkyscraperPage.com
2. ^ The American International Building, Art Deco Era, part 3, New York Scrapers, greatgridlock.net.
3. ^ ^{a b} Jennifer Evans Yankopolus; Cramer, James A. (2005). Almanac of Architecture & Design 2006 (Almanac of Architecture and Design). Greenway Communication. pp. 368. ISBN 0-9755654-2-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=Jh7ecV24_uAC&pg=PT420&dq=%22American+International+Building%22#PPT420,M1. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Gambee, Robert (1999). Wall Street: financial capital. New York: W.W. Norton. pp. 172. ISBN 0-393-04767-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=SmkuiHw8im4C&pg=PA172&dq=%22American+International+Building%22. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Trager, James (2003). The New York chronology: the ultimate compendium of events, people, and anecdotes from the Dutch to the present. New York: HarperResource. pp. 471. ISBN 0-06-052341-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=xvGhQoNT27IC&pg=PA471&dq=%22American+International+Building%22. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Wolfe, Gerard R. (2003). New York, 15 walking tours: an architectural guide to the metropolis. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 56. ISBN 0-07-141185-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=KS6lWxkeEF8C&pg=PA56&dq=%22American+International+Building%22. 
7. ^ Alan Rappeport and Francesco Guerrera (June 9, 2009). "AIG to leave New York headquarters". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/88920fd6-554c-11de-b5d4-00144feabdc0.html. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
8. ^ For designation reports, see Matthew A. Postal, http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2441.pdf; http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/2442.pdf

External links

• Gallery of photographs
• American International Building at Emporis.com
• American International Building at in-Arch.net