40 Wall Street

40 Wall Street (also the Trump Building; formerly the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and Manhattan Company Building) is a Template:Convert neo-Gothic skyscraper on Wall Street between Nassau and William streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Erected in 1929–1930 as the headquarters of the Manhattan Company, the building was designed by H. Craig Severance with Yasuo Matsui and Shreve & Lamb. The building is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); it is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, an NRHP district.

The building is on an L-shaped site. While the lower section has a facade of limestone, the upper stories incorporate a buff-colored brick facade and contain numerous setbacks. The facade also includes spandrels between the windows on each story, which are recessed behind the vertical piers on the facade. At the top of the building is a pyramid with a spire at its pinnacle. Inside, the lower floors contained the Manhattan Company's double-height banking room, a board room, a trading floor, and two basements with vaults. The remaining stories were rented to tenants; there were private clubs on several floors, as well as an observation deck on the 69th and 70th floors.

Plans for 40 Wall Street were revealed in April 1929, with the Manhattan Company as the primary tenant, and the structure was opened on May 26, 1930. 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building competed for the distinction of world's tallest building at the time of both buildings' construction; the Chrysler Building ultimately won that title. 40 Wall Street initially had low tenancy rates due to the Great Depression and was not fully occupied until 1944. Ownership of the building and the land underneath it, as well as the leasehold on the building, has changed several times throughout its history. Since 1982, the building has been owned by two German companies. The leasehold was held by interests on behalf of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the mid-1980s. A company controlled by developer and later U.S. president Donald Trump bought the lease in 1995.

Site

40 Wall Street is in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. It occupies the middle of the block bounded by Pine Street to the north, William Street to the east, Wall Street to the south, and Nassau Street to the west. The site is L-shaped, with a longer facade on Pine Street than on Wall Street.<ref name="NYCityMap">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NPS p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="ZoLa">Template:Cite web</ref> The lot measures Template:Convert on Pine Street and Template:Cvt on Wall Street.<ref name="NPS p. 8">Template:Harvnb</ref> Originally, the site measured Template:Cvt on Pine Street and 150 feet on Wall Street.<ref name="BM (1929) p. 2">Template:Harvnb</ref> The lot has a total area of Template:Convert.<ref name="ZoLa"/>

40 Wall Street is surrounded by several buildings, including Federal Hall and 30 Wall Street to the west; 44 Wall Street and 48 Wall Street to the east; 55 Wall Street to the southeast; 28 Liberty Street to the north; and 23 Wall Street and 15 Broad Street to the south.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The site slopes down southward so that the Pine Street entrance is on the second floor while the Wall Street entrance is on the first floor.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Abramson p. 100">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Prior to the current building's completion, the site was occupied by numerous smaller office buildings. The southern part of the site was occupied by the eight-story Gallatin Bank Building at 34–36 Wall Street, designed by Cady, Berg & See and completed in 1887; the nine-story Marshall Field Building at 38 Wall Street; the Manhattan Company's original headquarters at 40 Wall Street; and a 13-story building to the east. The northern portion contained a 13-story building at 25 Pine Street, a 12-story building at 27–29 Pine Street, and the 13-story Redmond Building at 31–33 Pine Street.<ref name="BM (1929) p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Architecture

A black-and-white photo of the Manhattan Company Building, taken around 1930 by photographer Irving Underhill

Photo of the Manhattan Company Building Template:Circa

The building was designed by lead architect H. Craig Severance, associate architect Yasuo Matsui, and consulting architects Shreve & Lamb.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="AIA">Template:Cite aia5</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref> Moran & Proctor were consulting engineers for the foundation,<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref> the Starrett Corporation was the builder,<ref name="NPS p. 9">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Abramson p. 79">Template:Harvnb</ref> and Purdy and Henderson were the structural engineers.<ref name="AIA" /> The interior was designed by Morrell Smith with Walker & Gillette.<ref name="NPS p. 10">Template:Harvnb</ref> Many engineers and contractors were involved in various other aspects of the building's construction.<ref name="Abramson p. 79" />

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has described 40 Wall Street's facade as having "modernized French Gothic" features.<ref name="NYCL p. 6"/> The building's massing largely conforms to the Art Deco style, though there are also abstract shapes and elements of classical architecture.<ref name="NPS p. 10" /><ref name="NYCL p. 6">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Robins2017">Template:Cite New York Art Deco</ref> According to art history professor Daniel M. Abramson, the classically-styled details at the base were intended to provide "context and support", while the Gothic-style roof was intended to emphasize the building's height.<ref name="Abramson p. 102">Template:Harvnb</ref> 40 Wall Street is 70 stories tall, with two additional basement stories.<ref name="skyscraperCenter">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Emporis" />Template:Efn The building's pinnacle reaches Template:Convert, which made it the world's tallest building for one month upon its completion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Stichweh2009">Template:Cite book</ref>

Form

40 Wall Street, like many other early-20th-century skyscrapers in New York City, is designed as a freestanding tower, rising separately from all adjacent buildings. 40 Wall Street is one of several skyscrapers in the city that have pyramidal roofs, along with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, 14 Wall Street, Woolworth Building, Consolidated Edison Building, and Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The building is articulated into three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Abramson p. 100" /> The floors at the six-story base cover the entire L-shaped lot, while the 7th through 35th stories (making up the middle section) are shaped in a "U", with two wings of different lengths facing west.<ref name="NPS p. 4">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The 7th through 35th stories occupy nearly the entire lot.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> Above the 35th story, the building rises as a smaller, square tower through the 62nd story.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

40 Wall Street has several setbacks to conform with New York City's 1916 Zoning Resolution.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> On the Wall Street side, the central portion of the facade is recessed through the 26th floor, while symmetrical pavilions project slightly on either side, with setbacks above the 17th, 19th, and 21st floors. The entire Wall Street facade has setbacks above the 26th, 33rd, and 35th floors. The Pine Street facade is asymmetrical, with the western pavilion being much longer; this facade has a setback above the 12th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 28th, and 29th floors. The projecting pavilions on both sides are connected at the eighth floor by a dormer.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" />

The building's west-facing wings are of different lengths; the northern wing is significantly longer and has cooling systems atop it, but both wings have minor setbacks above the 26th and 33rd floors, and rise only to the 35th floor. The eastern facade does not have any setbacks below the 35th story.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" />

Facade

40 Wall Street's exterior curtain wall is composed of two layers of brick; the inner layer provides fireproofing, while the outer layer is the exterior cladding.<ref name="Abramson p. 77">Template:Harvnb</ref> In general, the facade is composed of buff-colored brick, as well as decorative elements made of terracotta and buff brick. The vertical bays, which contain the building's windows, are separated by piers.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The piers are flat, a characteristic of the Art Deco style.<ref name="Robins2017" /> Spandrel panels, which separate the rows of windows on each floor, are generally recessed behind the piers; the spandrels are generally darker on upper stories.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The building's window openings, initially composed of one-over-one sash windows, were later replaced by numerous types of window-pane arrangements or by louvers.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" />

Base

The facade of the building as seen from Wall Street. The first story is clad with granite and has several openings; the words "Trump Building" are visible above the granite columns. Above the first story are several floors of windows, which are separated by vertical stone piers.

Wall Street facade

The first through sixth stories contain a limestone-and-granite facade. On the first story, the podium on the facade's Wall Street elevation is made of granite. The second- to fifth-floor facades on both sides consist of a colonnade with pilasters made of limestone.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The colonnades were intended to resemble those found in Greek temples. During the design of the building, Matsui adjusted the colonnades to match the dimensions of the nearby Subtreasury building (now Federal Hall).<ref name="Abramson p. 100" />

On the Wall Street side, the first floor originally had a central entryway with three bronze-and-glass doors, flanked by numerous entrances to the elevator lobby and the lower banking room.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> Double-height bronze and glass windows spanned the second and third floors, while cast-iron windows were on the fourth through sixth floors.<ref name="NYCL p. 8">Template:Harvnb</ref> Above the central entrance was Elie Nadelman's Oceanus sculpture (also called Aquarius);<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> the sculpture was a Template:Convert bronze depiction of Oceanus, a Greek Titan pictured on a 19th-century stock certificate issued by the Manhattan Company.<ref name="Abramson p. 101">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Oceanus sculpture was removed prior to 1973.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Between 1961 and 1963, Carson, Lundin & Shaw added granite cladding and reconfigured the doorways on the first floor, and replaced the second- through sixth-floor windows.<ref name="NYCL pp. 7-8">Template:Harvnb</ref> By 1995, the entrance had been reconfigured with seven bronze rectangular doors and three revolving doors, recessed behind the main facade.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> Letters reading "The Trump Building" are placed above the first floor,<ref name="Bloomberg 2016" /> while the fourth floor has a pair of flagpoles.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" />

The Pine Street elevation is arranged similarly to the Wall Street elevation and was likewise redesigned from 1961 to 1963.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> The Pine Street elevation rises above a low stylobate, in contrast to the Wall Street elevation, which rises above a podium.<ref name="Abramson p. 100" /> A Template:Convert clock was on the Pine Street facade from 1967 to 1993. This portion of the facade consists of either 10<ref name="Abramson p. 100" /> or 11 bays.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> At ground level, there is an entrance to the main elevator lobby, a service entrance, and storefronts slightly above grade. As with the Wall Street side, the fourth floor features a pair of flagpoles.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" />

Upper stories

The 8th through 35th stories comprise the midsection of the building. There are eight flagpoles on the ninth floor of the Wall Street side, four on each pavilion. On the 19th floor of the Pine Street side, there are louvers in place of window openings.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> On the 36th through 62nd stories, there are brick spandrels between the windows on each story.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> The spandrels on the 52nd through 57th floors are made of terracotta; on the 58th through 60th floors, terracotta with buttresses; and on the 61st and 62nd floors, darker bricks with pediments and rhombus patterns.<ref name="NPS p. 4" />

The building's pyramidal roof is made of lead-coated copper, which over time has oxidized and turned green.<ref name="Nash 2005">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Abramson p. 78">Template:Harvnb</ref> The roof has French Renaissance-style detail, a design element intended to make the building appear much older than it actually was at the time of its construction.<ref name="Nash 2005" /> The decorations on the roof include diaperwork patterns, where the brickwork is laid in a repeating diagonal grid pattern; terraces, which are supported by buttresses; and small dormer windows.<ref name="Abramson pp. 101–102">Template:Harvnb</ref> There is a cornice surrounding the roof.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> On top is a spire with a flagpole and a glass lantern.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /><ref name="Abramson pp. 101–102" />

Features

The building's frame is made of steel.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The superstructure contains eight main columns, each of which weighs Template:Convert and can carry loads of up to Template:Convert.<ref name="nyt19290711">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> As originally arranged, 40 Wall Street hosted the Manhattan Company's banking facilities on the first through sixth floors; offices on its middle floors; and machinery, an observation deck, and recreation areas on the top floors. There were also 43 elevators inside the building when it opened;<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> Template:As of, there are 36 elevators.<ref name="skyscraperCenter" /> When 40 Wall Street was completed, it could accommodate 10,000 employees.<ref name="Abramson p. 156">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Lower stories

Like other early-20th-century skyscrapers in the Financial District, the lobby of 40 Wall Street originally was designed with classical elements such as moldings, pilasters, columns, and heavy doorframes.<ref name="Abramson p. 142">Template:Harvnb</ref> The ground story was highly decentralized with seven entrances from Wall Street, leading to various vestibules. The westernmost entrance led to a private foyer with its own elevator, while the easternmost entrance connected with the elevator banks on the eastern side of the building. Two ground-level banking rooms extended northward to Pine Street: one at the center and one on the west.<ref name="Abramson p. 138">Template:Harvnb</ref> There was also space for brokerage-house messengers.<ref name="Abramson p. 132">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="p1113725425">Template:Cite news</ref> A wide, marble staircase from the ground level led up to the main banking room on the second floor.<ref name="Abramson p. 132" /> The modern design of the lobby dates to a 1990s renovation by Der Scutt.<ref name="Emporis" /><ref name="Nash 2005" /> Following Scutt's renovation, the lobby was redecorated with bronze and marble surfaces.<ref name="Nash 2005" /><ref name="p398717719">Template:Cite news</ref> The lobby also has escalators to the second floor.<ref name="NPS p. 4" />

The main banking room, a double-height space measuring Template:Convert, was on the second floor.<ref name="SU-Opens-1930">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1113725425" /> The room could be accessed from ground level<ref name="Abramson p. 131">Template:Harvnb</ref> or directly from Pine Street.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Abramson p. 131" /> The Pine Street entrance had a foyer with two pairs of octagonal, black marble Ionic columns,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> while the Wall Street side of the room was supported by veined octagonal columns.<ref name="Abramson p. 132" /> The room itself consists of a main hall below five groin vaults, flanked by arcades that lead into smaller vaulted spaces.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> In the main hall were desks for tellers.<ref name="Abramson p. 132" /><ref name="p1113725425" /> To the north and south were two platforms for the officers of the Manhattan Company's subsidiaries, where officers and customers could meet privately in wood-paneled spaces.<ref name="Abramson pp. 132–133">Template:Harvnb</ref> The walls were once decorated with three murals by Ezra Winter, depicting various scenes from the history of the Financial District;<ref name="p226290176">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p2133386901">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Winter's murals have since been removed.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The second floor was occupied by a Duane Reade convenience store from 2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to 2023.<ref name="Bratton 2023 i254">Template:Cite web</ref>

A pair of stairs on the banking room's south wall flanks the escalators and leads up to what was originally the officers' quarters, a rectangular room with five white marble columns.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> This space had three doorways that led to private offices of Manhattan Company executives; the doorways to those offices were framed by round carvings symbolizing various sectors of the economy.<ref name="NPS p. 5">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Stairs from the ground level led to the two basement stories, where the Manhattan Company's vaults were located.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Under the lobby was a main vault that stored the company's own securities and funds. A safe-deposit vault for members of the public, with an Template:Convert door, was below the Manhattan Company's vault.<ref name="p1113725425" />

Upper stories

On the fourth floor was the boardroom of the Manhattan Company, designed in the Georgian style as an imitation of Independence Hall's Signers' Room.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="p1113725425" /><ref name="Abramson p. 125">Template:Harvnb</ref> It contained several elements of the Doric order, such as columns, pilasters, and a frieze.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="Abramson p. 125" /> Wooden doors and fireplaces with segmental arches were on the eastern wall, while false windows were on the western wall.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The space also included a fireplace, Chippendale furniture, and a blue rug.<ref name="Abramson p. 125" /> According to the Manhattan Company's magazine, the boardroom's design "recaptured the artistic spirit of the days of ... [the company's] founding".<ref name="Abramson pp. 125–127">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The offices of the Manhattan Company's officers overlooked the Wall Street entrance.<ref name="Abramson p. 123">Template:Harvnb</ref> The offices were furnished with patterned carpets, soft chairs, and single desks, which were meant to evoke a feeling of luxury. According to Architecture and Building magazine, the executive offices' furnishings were intended as a "pleasingly striking contrast to the modern severity of the usual treatment of financial district structures".<ref name="Abramson p. 124">Template:Harvnb</ref> The sixth floor housed a trading floor for the International Manhattan Company, Inc.<ref name="p1113725425" /> All of the offices on the upper stories were served by a pneumatic tube mail system; according to Matsui, the system was built to accommodate financial tenants "whose functions require rapid transfer of stocks and papers".<ref name="Abramson p. 91">Template:Harvnb</ref> The pneumatic-tube system delivered mail to and from terminals on the building's mezzanine, precluding the need for messengers to use the elevators or overcrowd the lobby.<ref name="Abramson p. 91" />

The 26th and 27th stories housed the Luncheon Club of Wall Street, a members-only private club,<ref name="Abramson p. 157">Template:Harvnb</ref> built upon the suggestion of William A. Starrett, the building's general contractor.<ref name="Abramson p. 194">Template:Harvnb</ref> The Luncheon Club occupied a Colonial-style space designed by Matsui and Robert L. Powell, and included an entrance hall and a main dining room covered in wood, as well as private dining rooms with wallpaper.<ref name="Abramson p. 157" /> The 55th floor was entirely occupied by the Manhattan Company's officers' club, which included a dining room.<ref name="p1113725425" /><ref name="SU-Opens-1930" /> The officers' club was designed in a Colonial style with Windsor chairs, a fireplace, and a ceiling with fake wood beams.<ref name="Abramson p. 128">Template:Harvnb</ref> Another members-only dining club, the Rookery Club, was located on the 58th story.<ref name="Abramson p. 157" /><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The Bank of Manhattan Building had an observation deck on the 69th and 70th floors, Template:Convert above the street; it could fit up to 100 people.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The observation deck was closed to the public sometime after World War II.<ref name="AIA" />

History

The Manhattan Company was established by Aaron Burr in 1799, ostensibly to provide clean water to Lower Manhattan. The company's true focus was banking, and it served as a competitor to Alexander Hamilton's Bank of New York, which previously held a monopoly over banking in New York City.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NPS p. 7">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Manhattan Company was headquartered at a row house at 40 Wall Street,<ref name="p1113725425" /><ref name="SU-Opens-1930" /> which was the company's "office of discount and deposit".<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> The bank remained on the site until the present skyscraper was constructed.<ref name="p1256738766">Template:Cite news</ref> By the early 20th century, the company was growing quickly, having acquired numerous other banks.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NPS p. 7" /><ref name="NNS1920">Template:Cite book</ref>

Development

Planning

The idea for the current skyscraper was devised by banker George L. Ohrstrom,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="nyht19290410">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> who began acquiring land for the building in 1928<ref name="NYCL p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref> under the auspices of 36 Wall Street Corporation.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Stakeholders in the corporation included Ohrstrom and the builders, Starrett Brothers (later Starrett Corporation).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 2" /> In September 1928, 36 Wall Street Corporation acquired 34–36 Wall Street under a 93-year lease from the Iselin family. At the time, the syndicate hoped to build a 20-story building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By that December, Ohrstrom had purchased four buildings, with frontage along 27–33 Pine Street and 34–38 Wall Street, and controlled a total area of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="nydn19281216">Template:Cite news</ref> The plans had been updated, and the syndicate at that point envisioned a 45-story building.<ref name="nydn19281216" /> In January 1929, the corporation planned a bond issue to fund the building's construction.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> That March, Ohrstrom announced that H. Craig Severance would design a 47-story structure at 36 Wall Street.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The corporation bought 25 Pine Street the same month.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Shortly after Severance's original plans were announced, the skyscraper was modified to have 60 floors, which was shorter than the Template:Convert Woolworth Building and the then under construction Template:Convert Chrysler Building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Plans for a 64-story skyscraper were announced after the Manhattan Company agreed to relocate to the new building in early April 1929.<ref name="p11119900672">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1929-04-07">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> By April 8, Ohrstrom and Severance had planned to make the new skyscraper the world's tallest building.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Two days later, it was announced that Severance had increased the tower's height to Template:Convert with 62 floors, exceeding the heights of the Woolworth and Chrysler buildings.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="bde19290410">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p130677365">Template:Cite news</ref> It was also announced that the Manhattan Company would be 36 Wall Street's main tenant and that the new building would be known as the Bank of Manhattan Building or the Manhattan Company Building.<ref name="bde19290410" /> The height of the building was made possible by the Template:Convert lot, which was one of the largest in the densely-developed Financial District.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="BM (1929) p. 3">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The builders intended to spend large sums to reduce the construction period to one year, which would allow rental tenants to move into the building sooner.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> By mid-April 1929, tenants of the existing buildings on the lot had moved elsewhere.<ref name="The New York Times 1930">Template:Cite news</ref> The Manhattan Company and Chrysler buildings started competing for the distinction of "world's tallest building".<ref name="Emporis">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The "Race into the Sky", as popular media called it at the time, was representative of the country's optimism in the 1920s, fueled by the building boom in major cities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Manhattan Company Building was revised to Template:Convert in April 1929, which would make it the world's tallest.<ref name="Tauranac">Template:Harvnb</ref> Severance then publicly claimed the title of the world's tallest building,<ref name=nyt-1929-10-20/>Template:Efn but the Starrett Corporation denied any allegations that the plans had been changed to beat the Chrysler Building.<ref name=nyt-1929-10-20>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Start of construction

View of some of the lower stories from ground level. In the lowest part of the facade, the windows are recessed between stone piers, some of which have flagpoles. Above that, the windows are arranged in pairs, and there is a small setback at the center.

View of the lower stories

Construction of the Manhattan Company Building began in May 1929.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="p1113280949">Template:Cite news</ref> By that time, the syndicate developing the building was known as the 40 Wall Street Corporation, and the building was also known as 40 Wall Street. That same month, the Manhattan Company leased its lots at 40–42 Wall Street and 35–39 Pine Street to the 40 Wall Street Corporation for 93 years. Ownership would be divided among the Manhattan Company, the Iselin family, and the 40 Wall Street Corporation, with the Manhattan Company holding a plurality stake.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Simultaneously, the U.S. government invited bids on the adjoining building at 28–30 Wall Street, then occupied by a federal assay office.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> In June 1929, the government announced that the 40 Wall Street Corporation had placed the highest bid for the lot, bringing the syndicate's total land holding to Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="btu19290626">Template:Cite news</ref> The assay office plot was reserved for future expansion, instead of being incorporated into the plans for the new skyscraper.<ref name="btu19290626" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Manhattan Company moved to a temporary headquarters during construction.<ref name="BM (1929) p. 2" /><ref name="SU-Opens-1930" />

Excavations for 40 Wall Street were complicated by numerous factors. There was little available space to store materials; the surrounding lots were all densely built up; the bedrock was Template:Convert below street level, beneath boulders and quicksand; and the previous buildings on the lot had foundations up to Template:Convert thick.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="Fortune 1930">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="AB p. 193" /> Furthermore, the builders had a 12-month deadline, requiring them to plan the entire project backward from the planned completion date.<ref name="p1331261208">Template:Cite news</ref> Starrett Brothers had drawn up a detailed construction schedule for 40 Wall Street, outlining the timeline for each major construction contract. The schedule indicated that structural-steel installation would commence in June 1929 and that all work was to be completed by May 1, 1930.<ref name="Abramson p. 79" /> The project employed 24 timekeepers and auditors, who checked employees' attendance, as well as seven job runners, who delivered architectural drawings and ensured that materials were delivered.<ref name="Abramson p. 80">Template:Harvnb</ref>

To save money and time, the foundation of 40 Wall Street was constructed at the same time that buildings on the site were being cleared.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="p1331261208" /><ref name="Abramson p. 75">Template:Harvnb</ref> The old Manhattan Company building was the last to be cleared.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="Fortune 1930" /><ref name="AB p. 193" /> Caisson construction could not be used to excavate the site since the existing foundation consisted of heavy masonry blocks. To ensure that the foundation could adequately support the structure, temporary lighter footings were installed during the demolition of the old buildings and construction of the first 20 stories, and permanent heavy footings were installed afterward.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="AB p. 193">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Workers excavated the site to the underlying layer of bedrock, which extended as much as Template:Convert deep. They then installed several dozen hollow cylinders, each measuring Template:Convert wide. In addition, workers installed several hundred steel pilings, which were clustered into piers, infilled with concrete, and topped by steel caps that could accommodate structural loads of up to Template:Convert.<ref name="Abramson p. 75" /> The weight of the existing 12-story building on the site was used to drill the new building's foundations into the ground.<ref name="p1113280949" /> Afterward, a concrete floor was poured into the excavation, which was then enclosed with a concrete cofferdam.<ref name="Abramson p. 75" />

Superstructure and completion

In July 1929, the builders held a ceremony where William A. Starrett, head of the Starrett Corporation, drove the first rivet into the building's frame.<ref name="nyt19290711" /> Starrett received a $5 million loan that same month to finance the building.<ref name="p1111653165">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Work on 40 Wall Street progressed quickly, and the contractors completed four stories each week.<ref name="Abramson p. 74">Template:Harvnb</ref> The site was active 24 hours a day, with 2,300 workers working in three shifts; interior furnishing progressed as the steel frame rose.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> Workers used passenger elevators to transport materials, obviating the need for temporary construction cranes.<ref name="p1331261208" /> Matsui described the steel frame as a "web system of rigidity", with joints and diagonal beams providing both lateral bracing and wind bracing.<ref name="Abramson p. 76">Template:Harvnb</ref> The steel frame for 40 Wall Street was manufactured in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; transported to Jersey City, New Jersey, using 800 railcars; shipped across the Hudson River via barge; and transported from the dock to the construction site via truck. Derricks then lifted the steel beams into place, where groups of four workers riveted them onto the frame. As the tower rose, the derricks were themselves lifted two stories at a time.<ref name="Abramson p. 77" />

Workers then installed the tower's facade by hanging pieces of curtain wall from the completed steel frame.<ref name="Abramson p. 77" /> Interior work proceeded simultaneously with the facade installation.<ref name="Abramson p. 78" /> The steel superstructure reached the 40th story by September 1929, when interior plasterwork began.<ref name="p1112009724">Template:Cite news</ref> The building topped out on November 13, 1929.<ref name="Brooklyn Citizen 1929" /><ref name="p1110671547">Template:Cite news</ref> By that time, the steel frame had reached Template:Convert above street level, the facade had been completed to the 54th story, and much of the internal furnishing had been completed.<ref name="Brooklyn Citizen 1929">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> By December, rental agents Brown, Wheelock, Harris, Vought & Company were leasing out the space at the Chrysler and Manhattan Company buildings, which aggregated Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

The 40 Wall Street Corporation gave a $12.5 million mortgage for the building's completion in December 1929,<ref name="p1112010545">Template:Cite news</ref> and the corporation planned a bond issue of an equivalent value by January 1930.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1113619567">Template:Cite news</ref> The building's roof was covered with scaffolding by March 1930, although Manhattan Company officials denied that they were trying to increase the building's height.<ref name="p1113157544">Template:Cite news</ref> The work was completed one week ahead of schedule, on May 1, 1930.<ref name="Hoster">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several workers received craftsmanship awards in a ceremony at the end of April 1930.<ref name="nyt-1930-04-27">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1113166116">Template:Cite news</ref> The building officially opened on May 26.<ref name="p1113725425" /><ref name="SU-Opens-1930" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In total, $24 million had been spent on construction.<ref name="NYCL p. 2">Template:Harvnb</ref> Four workers died while constructing 40 Wall Street; a similar mortality rate to other contemporary projects of similar scale.<ref name="Abramson p. 80" /> Paul Starrett, of the Starrett Corporation, said: "Of all the construction work which I have handled, the Bank of Manhattan was the most complicated and the most difficult, and I regard it as the most successful."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Early years

Competition for "world's tallest building" title

A diagram of the tallest buildings in the world from 1908 to 1974, all of which have been in New York City. 40 Wall Street, which was the tallest from April to May 1930, is listed at center as having a height of 283 meters.

40 Wall Street was the world's tallest completed building for one month.<ref name="Tauranac" />

Prior to 40 Wall Street's completion, architect William Van Alen obtained permission to install a Template:Convert long spire on the Chrysler Building<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Binders">Template:Cite book</ref> and had it constructed secretly.<ref name="Tauranac" /> The Chrysler Building's spire was completed on October 23, 1929, bringing that building to Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> thereby greatly exceeding 40 Wall Street's height.<ref name=Willis1998>Template:Cite book</ref> Disturbed by Chrysler's victory, Shreve & Lamb wrote a newspaper article claiming that their building was the tallest, since it contained the world's highest usable floor. They stated that the observation deck at 40 Wall Street was nearly Template:Convert above the top floor in the Chrysler Building.<ref name="Binders" /> 40 Wall Street's observation deck was Template:Convert high, while the Chrysler Building's observatory was Template:Convert high.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As a result of the Chrysler Building's spire, 40 Wall Street was the tallest building in Lower Manhattan but not the tallest in New York City.<ref name="Stichweh2009" />

John J. Raskob, developer of the Empire State Building (which was also designed by Shreve & Lamb), also wanted to construct the world's tallest building.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The "Race into the Sky" was defined by at least five other proposals, although only the Empire State Building would survive the Wall Street Crash of 1929.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Efn Plans for the Empire State Building were changed multiple times; the final plan, published in December 1929, called for the building to be Template:Convert tall.<ref name="Tauranac p. 185" /> The Empire State Building was completed in May 1931,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> becoming the world's tallest building both by roof height and spire height.<ref name="Tauranac p. 185">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="nyt-1931-05-02">Template:Cite news</ref>

Because of late changes to the plans of both 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building, as well as the fact that the buildings were erected nearly simultaneously, it is uncertain whether 40 Wall Street was ever taller than the Chrysler Building. John Tauranac, who wrote a book about the Empire State Building's history, later stated that if 40 Wall Street had "ever had been the tallest building, they would have had bragging rights, and if they did, I certainly never heard them".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> If only completed structures are counted, 40 Wall Street was the world's tallest building for one month,<ref name="Stichweh2009" /><ref name="Hoster" /> from the first week of May 1930<ref name="Hoster" /> until the opening of the Chrysler Building on May 27, 1930.<ref name="Tauranac" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn

Early tenants and foreclosure

The new building housed four Manhattan Company subsidiaries: the Bank of Manhattan Trust Company, the International Acceptance Bank, the International Manhattan Company, and the Bank of Manhattan Safe Deposit Company.<ref name="p1113725425" /> The Manhattan Company used the two basement levels for storage vaults; the 1st through 6th stories for bank operations; and the 55th floor for its officers' club.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="SU-Opens-1930" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Among the first tenants were Merrill Lynch & Co.<ref name="p1113135280">Template:Cite news</ref> and a private lunch club called the Wall Street Club.<ref name="nyt-1931-02-13">Template:Cite news</ref> 40 Wall Street opened following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and so suffered from a lack of tenants.<ref name="NPS p. 10" /> Many of the original tenants had withdrawn their commitments to rent space in the building and, in some cases, had gone bankrupt.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="nyt19560923">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> As a result, only half of the space in 40 Wall Street was leased during the 1930s.<ref name="Stichweh2009" /><ref name="nyt19560923" /> Office space rented for Template:Convert, less than half of the Template:Convert that the building's owners had sought.<ref name="nyt19560923" /><ref name="NYCL p. 11">Template:Harvnb</ref> For the first five years of the building's existence, 40 Wall Street Corporation was able to pay the $323,200 interest on the second mortgage-bond issue.<ref name="nyt19560923" />

By early 1939, 40 Wall Street Corporation had fallen behind on rent payments, ground leases, and property taxes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That May, the Marine Midland Trust Company started foreclosure proceedings against the corporation after it defaulted on "payments of interest, taxes and other charges".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In response, several bondholders formed a committee to protect their stakes;<ref name="nyt-1939-05-15">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1255844769">Template:Cite news</ref> the committee expressed opposition to the proposed reorganization.<ref name="nyt-1939-05-23">Template:Cite news</ref> In July 1939, the corporation filed a plan to reorganize all assets that were not covered by the mortgage loans.<ref name="p131244071">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1939-07-01">Template:Cite news</ref> Marine Midland became the trustee of 40 Wall Street's first-mortgage fee and its bonds on the lease in February 1940, supplanting the corporation.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="nyt-1940-02-02">Template:Cite news</ref> Marine Midland, acting on behalf of the bondholders, acquired the building that September in a transaction worth almost $11.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1261198221">Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times later described the building as being "a monument to lost hope" during that era: at the time, the building's $1,000 debentures were being sold at $108.75 apiece.<ref name="nyt19560923" /> The structure as a whole was worth $1.25 million, which was less than the cost of the 43 elevators inside the building.<ref name="nyt19560923" /><ref name="Abramson p. 29">Template:Harvnb</ref>

C. F. Noyes was hired as the building's leasing agent at the end of 1940.<ref name="nyt-1940-12-30">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1335193562">Template:Cite news</ref> One of the larger tenants during the 1940s was the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, which in 1941 leased four floors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1266870094">Template:Cite news</ref> Other tenants included real-estate agents, lawyers, brokers, and bankers,<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as a short-film theater in 1941.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1265921716">Template:Cite news</ref> More tenants came during World War II, starting with the United States Department of the Navy.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="nyt19560923" /> By 1943, the building was 80 percent leased, and that rate increased to 90 percent a year later.<ref name="nyt19560923" /> After the United States Department of War leased four floors in July 1944, the building reached full occupancy for the first time in its history.<ref name="p1260922593">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p107000121">Template:Cite news</ref> Many large tenants such as Prudential Financial, Westinghouse, and Western Union signed long-term leases.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> After several tenants left during the late 1940s, the building was completely rented again in 1951.<ref name="p1291370271">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1951">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, 40 Wall Street's office space was renting for Template:Convert, a relatively high price for a building constructed before air conditioning became popular.<ref name="The New York Times 1951" />

1946 plane crash

On the evening of May 20, 1946, a Beechcraft C-45F Expediter airplane belonging to the United States Army Air Forces crashed into 40 Wall Street's northern facade. The twin-engine plane was heading for Newark Airport on a flight originating at Lake Charles Army Air Field in Louisiana. It struck the 58th floor of the building at about 8:10 pm, creating a Template:Convert hole in the masonry. The crash killed all five aboard the plane, including a Women's Army Corps officer, though no one in the building or on the ground was hurt. The fuselage and the wing of the splintered plane fell onto the 12th-story setback, while parts of the aircraft and pieces of brick and mortar from the building fell into the street below. Fog and low visibility were identified as the main causes of the crash, since LaGuardia Field had reported a heavy fog that reduced the ceiling to Template:Convert, obscuring the view of the ground for the pilot at the building's 58th story.<ref name="nyt19460521">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1284524778">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The month after the crash, the owners of 40 Wall Street filed a building application with the Department of Buildings to fix the hole in the facade.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> This crash was the second in New York City in less than a year; an Army B-25 bomber struck the 78th floor of the Empire State Building in July 1945, also caused by fog and poor visibility.<ref name="nyt19460521" /><ref name="p1291142960">Template:Cite news</ref> The incident prompted the Army, in June 1946, to ban planes from landing in New York City during heavy fog.<ref name="p1291255352">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1946-06-29">Template:Cite news</ref> It was the last time a plane crashed into a building in New York City in the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1950s to 1970s

Chase relocation and Webb & Knapp acquisition

The building as seen from street level. 23 Wall Street is to the right, Federal Hall National Memorial is to the left, and 30 Wall Street is in the foreground.

The building as seen from street level. 23 Wall Street is to the right, Federal Hall National Memorial is to the left, and 30 Wall Street is in the foreground.

In August 1950, the building's owners submitted plans for an alteration of the building at a cost of $300,000.<ref name="nyt-1950-08-10">Template:Cite news</ref> Over the following years, the building was retrofitted with air conditioning.<ref name="nyt-1966-01-17">Template:Cite news</ref> The directors of the Manhattan Company and Chase National Bank voted in January 1955 to merge their respective companies,<ref name="p132219374">Template:Cite news</ref> and Chase Manhattan Bank was created as a result of the merger.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NPS p. 112">Template:Harvnb</ref> The new company was headquartered at Chase National's previous building at 20 Pine Street,<ref name="NYCL p. 7">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> immediately north of 40 Wall Street;<ref name="NYCityMap" /> soon afterward, Chase constructed a building at the neighboring 28 Liberty Street to serve as its headquarters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Meanwhile, several offices as well as a bank branch remained in 40 Wall Street.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" />

By 1956, the building's financial situation had improved considerably, and 40 Wall Street Corporation's $1,000 debentures were selling for $1,550.<ref name="nyt19560923" /> That year, real estate developer William Zeckendorf had his company Webb and Knapp buy the leaseholds for the land from 40 Wall Street Inc., Chase, and the estate of the Iselin family.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="nyt19560923" /> Webb and Knapp also bought 32 percent of 40 Wall Street Corporation's stock,<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="nyt-1957-01-11">Template:Cite news</ref> eventually increasing their stake to two-thirds of the corporation's shares.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="p1338380383">Template:Cite news</ref> The firm attempted to sell 40 Wall Street in October 1957 for $15 million,<ref name="p132298651">Template:Cite news</ref> but a New York Supreme Court justice enjoined the sale in November 1957 after several minority shareholders claimed the sale was illegal.<ref name="p132322923">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The corporation's stockholders voted in June 1959 to sell the building for no less than $17 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p132507174">Template:Cite news</ref> To reduce disagreements, a State Supreme Court justice ordered that an auction be held for the building.<ref name="psb19591028">Template:Cite news</ref> That October, stockholders held an auction for 40 Wall Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1325267197">Template:Cite news</ref> Zeckendorf submitted the highest bid, at $18.15 million, although there was only one other bidder.<ref name="psb19591028" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bd19591029">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, 40 Wall Street was believed to be the most valuable real-estate property ever to be auctioned in New York City.<ref name="bd19591029" /> Webb & Knapp had spent $32 million to acquire the building;<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> excluding the auction, the remainder of the cost was used to pay Chase and the Iselin estate.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" />

City & Central and Loeb, Rhoades operation

Webb and Knapp sold the property to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in April 1960 for $20 million. Metropolitan Life leased the building back to Webb and Knapp for 99 years, under a leasehold that cost $1.2 million a year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chase Manhattan was relocating to its new headquarters at 28 Liberty Street,<ref name="p132608553">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt19600913" /> and the Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was planning to relocate to the second through fifth floors, which Chase Manhattan was vacating.<ref name="p132608553" /><ref name="nyt-1960-04-26">Template:Cite news</ref> That September, Webb and Knapp sold the leasehold to British investors City & Central Investments (later City Centre Properties) for $15 million.<ref name="nyt19600913">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p132585905">Template:Cite news</ref> The sale was finalized in November 1960,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1337926943">Template:Cite news</ref> and City & Central acquired title that following month.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new operator renovated the interior and exterior.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="NPS p. 112"/> Manufacturers Hanover moved to the building in 1962, relocating $24 billion in deposits to 40 Wall Street from its old headquarters at 70 Broadway.<ref name="p1325943468">Template:Cite news</ref>

City Centre sold the leasehold to Loeb, Rhoades & Co., 40 Wall Street's largest tenant, in June 1966.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p133124281">Template:Cite news</ref> Other major tenants at the time included Bache & Co., which had rented Template:Convert by 1966.<ref name="nyt-1966-01-17" /> Manufacturers Hanover relocated many of its offices to 600 Fifth Avenue and 55 Water Street.<ref name="nyt-1975-04-13">Template:Cite news</ref> After Loeb, Rhoades & Co. merged with Shearson in 1980, the Template:Convert of office space occupied by Loeb, Rhoades & Co. was vacated; the space was quickly leased to Morgan Guaranty and Toronto-Dominion Bank. At the time, 40 Wall Street had Template:Convert that was not yet rented, and office space in the Financial District was typically rented for Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1980s and early 1990s

In 1982, the property was purchased by a German investment group headed by Walter Hinneberg.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="TRD 2017">Template:Cite web</ref> Hinneberg and two of his siblings transferred their 80 percent ownership stake to an entity named 40 Wall Street Holdings Corporation in 1992. The other two owners conveyed their combined 20 percent stake to an entity named New Scandic Wall Ltd.<ref name="TRD 2017" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Marcos family leasehold

At the end of 1982, Loeb, Rhoades & Co. sold the leasehold to a holding company;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda would be revealed as the real buyers in 1985.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="Bloomberg 2016">Template:Cite web</ref> According to a broker who was involved in the sale, the Marcos family's agents, brothers Joseph J. and Ralph E. Bernstein, were initially believed to be buying the building for the wealthy Gaon family of Switzerland, as Joseph Bernstein's wife was a member of that family.<ref name="p398034533">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn The operators planned to gild 40 Wall Street's roof.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In coded cables between the Marcos family and their alleged "front" in Manhattan, Gliceria Tantoco, the 40 Wall Street building was referred to using the secret code-word "Bridgetown".<ref name="Rusakoff19860330AnatomyOfALooting">Template:Cite news</ref> By February 1986, 40 Wall Street's leasehold, and three other buildings reportedly owned by the Marcoses, were placed for sale.<ref name="nyt-1986-02-22">Template:Cite news</ref> Around that time, the Bernsteins were contemplating paying $250 million for 40 Wall Street and two of the other buildings.<ref name="p285254349">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p135113247">Template:Cite news</ref>

After Marcos was forced out of office, the administration of his successor Corazon Aquino froze Marcos's assets within U.S. banking channels in March 1986,<ref name=p285295278>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the building's future became uncertain.<ref name="nyt19930620">Template:Cite news</ref> Citicorp, which had placed a mortgage on the building, indicated in December 1986 that it would foreclose on the property.<ref name="p397969225">Template:Cite news</ref> After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled to block the sale of the Marcos properties that November, the Aquino administration filed a lawsuit against the Marcos estate to obtain title to the buildings.<ref name="nyt-1986-12-30">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p292531084">Template:Cite news</ref> The Bernsteins alleged that they paid $235 million for 40 Wall Street, Herald Center, and the Crown Building,<ref name="p219147299" /><ref name="p278075383">Template:Cite news</ref> but the Philippine government claimed that the sale was never finalized.<ref name="n149547228">Template:Cite news</ref> The Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi also claimed to be involved with the building's purchase;<ref name="nyt-1986-12-11">Template:Cite news</ref> he asserted that he had owned the building for several years before the Bernsteins' alleged purchase.<ref name="p219147299" /><ref name="p278075383" /> Khashoggi was subsequently accused of helping the Marcoses hide their stakes in their buildings,<ref name="p278266847">Template:Cite news</ref> although he was acquitted of all racketeering charges in relation to the properties.<ref name="nyt-1990-07-03">Template:Cite news</ref>

Capital improvements to the building, including upgrades to its unreliable elevators, were suspended while legal proceedings were ongoing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nydn19931113">Template:Cite news</ref> The Aquino administration attempted in early 1989 to sell the four Marcos properties to Morris Bailey for $398 million.<ref name="p219147299">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="p398089675">Template:Cite news</ref> Federal district court judge Pierre N. Leval ordered a foreclosure sale of the Marcos properties in August 1989;<ref name="p398109057" /><ref name="p2781669162">Template:Cite news</ref> the Bailey group hoped that Citigroup would name them as the preferred bidders.<ref name="p219147299" /> At the court-ordered auction, the Bernsteins submitted the winning bid of $108.6 million after another bidder, Jack Resnick & Sons, refused to raise its bid of $108.55 million.<ref name="p398109057">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p2781669162" /> The second mortgage with Citicorp comprised $60 million of this total.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Bernstein brothers paid the $1.5 million down payment,<ref name="nydn19891114">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="n100187633">Template:Cite news</ref> but they could not pay the remainder of the purchase price before the October 10, 1989, deadline.<ref name="n100187633" /><ref name="p278166916">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, the Bernsteins were also involved in a bankruptcy proceeding in Curaçao; a special master there had refused to repeal a bankruptcy action that would have allowed the Bernsteins to pay the remainder of 40 Wall Street's purchase price.<ref name="p278166916" /> This prompted a second auction of the building's leasehold.<ref name="p278166916" /><ref name="p398217978">Template:Cite news</ref>

Resnick operation and further issues

At a second auction in November 1989, Burton Resnick of Jack Resnick & Sons paid $77,000,100 for the leasehold, beating Citicorp's bid by $100.<ref name="nydn19891114" /><ref name="p398217978" /><ref name="p1148158840">Template:Cite news</ref> By then, demand for real estate in Lower Manhattan had declined in the aftermath of Black Monday in 1987.<ref name="p398217978" /> Resnick's lawyer, Howard J. Rubenstein, said his client planned to spend $30 million to $40 million renovating 40 Wall Street, although real-estate experts said the building needed closer to $50 million in renovations.<ref name="p398217978" /> Resnick decided in 1990 to spend $50 million on upgrades.<ref name="nyt19911110" /> The renovation would have included fire, electrical, and mechanical system replacement; renovation of the lobby; restoration of the facade and windows; and replacement of the elevators.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Resnicks were only able to upgrade the windows;<ref name="NPS p. 112"/> they defaulted on their mortgage in 1991, and Citicorp took over the leasehold.<ref name="p219120066">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Citicorp canceled financing for the renovation that year,<ref name="nydn19931113" /><ref name="p219120066" /><ref name="nyt-1991-11-10">Template:Cite news</ref> citing concerns that tenants, including Manufacturers Hanover, which had moved from the lower stories of the building in 1982, might move out.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref name="nyt19911110">Template:Cite news</ref>

By the early 1990s, 40 Wall Street was 80 percent vacant.<ref name="nyt19930620" /><ref name="p135555688">Template:Cite news</ref> The building's maintenance had declined to the point that tenants reported that they frequently waited 20 minutes for an elevator,<ref name="nyt-1992-09-06">Template:Cite news</ref> and many interior spaces had been stripped to the steel frame.<ref name="p135555688" /> Homeless people were squatting in vacant floors because the building had limited security.<ref name="p135555688" /><ref name="nyt-1992-09-06" /> The building was also seen as outdated, since it had no freight elevator, the upper stories were too small, and the office floors had large numbers of structural columns.<ref name="n115336683">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1992, Citicorp prepared to sell 40 Wall Street again;<ref name="nyt-1992-09-06" /><ref name="p292926220">Template:Cite news</ref> the asking price was reportedly as low as $10 million.<ref name="p135555688" /><ref name="n115336683" /> The building's valuation had declined from $123 million in 1990 to $75 million in 1993.<ref name="n115336683" /> If 40 Wall Street's lease were not sold and renovated before the end of 1992, the owners were entitled to exercise a clause to evict the leaseholder.<ref name="p135555688" />

American International Group attempted to acquire Citicorp's stake in the building for $6.5 million, but the negotiations failed in November 1992, in what Crain's New York magazine described as a "collapse of downtown real estate".<ref name="p219116459">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Citicorp auctioned off the building in May 1993;<ref name="nyt19930620" /><ref name="p219120066" /> the bank wrote down the building's value to zero.<ref name="p398357771">Template:Cite news</ref> Hong Kong firm Glorious Sun considered buying the building but ultimately decided against it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another group from Hong Kong, the consortium Kinson Properties, agreed to lease the property,<ref name="nyt19930620" /><ref name="p219120066" /> paying $8 million.<ref name="p265252162">Template:Cite news</ref> Kinson planned to renovate the building for $60 million, including the lobby for $4 million and electrical and mechanical systems for $5–7 million.<ref name="nyt19930620" /> By the time Kinson sold the leasehold in 1995, little had been done to improve the property.<ref name="nydn19931113" />

Trump lease

The lower part of the building as seen from Wall Street. The words "The Trump Building" are placed in capital letters above the columns on the first floor.

Seen from ground level at Wall Street

In July 1995, real estate developer Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to buy Kinson's lease and spend $100 million on renovations.<ref name="p265252162" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The leasehold was transferred that December.<ref name="nyt19951207" /> There have been conflicting accounts about the price of the leasehold. The New York Times reported that Trump purchased the leasehold for $8 million,<ref name="nyt19951207">Template:Cite news</ref> while Barron's cited the leasehold as having cost between $3 million and $5 million.<ref name="p201043920">Template:Cite news</ref> In November 1995, Trump stated that he was buying the leasehold from Kinson for $100,000.<ref name="nydn19931113" /> During a 2005 episode of The Apprentice, Trump claimed he only paid $1 million for the leasehold but that the property was actually worth $400 million. Trump's legal advisor, George H. Ross, restated this claim in a 2005 book.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> On a 2007 episode of CNBC's The Billionaire Inside, Trump again claimed that he paid $1 million for the leasehold but stated the building's value as $600 million. In 2012, it was reported that Trump paid $10 million for the leasehold.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Estimates of the building's worth also varied. City tax assessors had valued the building at $90 million by 2000<ref name="p219153251">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and reported that the building was worth the same amount in 2004.<ref name="O'Brien 2005">Template:Cite news</ref> While Trump estimated the building's worth at $1 billion in 2012,<ref name=":0" /> an external appraisal the same year valued the building at $220 million.<ref name="Chan 2024 w822">Template:Cite web</ref> Trump maintained in 2013 that the building was worth $530 million.<ref name="Chan 2024 w822" /> Trump's lenders estimated that the building was worth $540 million in 2015 (though the Trump Organization gave a higher figure of $735 million),<ref name="Callimachi 2023 m765">Template:Cite web</ref> and Bloomberg News estimated the next year that 40 Wall Street was worth $550 million.<ref name="Bloomberg 2016" />

1990s to 2010s

Trump spent $35 million refurbishing 40 Wall Street.<ref name="O'Brien 2005" /><ref name="p1456474574">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p398607772">Template:Cite news</ref> Der Scutt Architects renovated the lobby,<ref name="Emporis" /> and the Trump Organization replaced several hundred windows, refurbished 30 elevator cabs, and added lights to illuminate the roof.<ref name="p398717719" /> He planned to convert the upper half of 40 Wall Street to residential space, leaving the bottom half as commercial space.<ref name="nyt19951207" /> The plan was contingent on the passage of a state law in late 1995, which granted tax exemptions to developers who renovated office buildings in New York into residential and commercial space.<ref name="nyt-1995-10-15">Template:Cite news</ref> Trump had planned to rent out some space as studio apartments and one- to three-bedroom apartments,<ref name="nyt-1997-07-13">Template:Cite news</ref> but real-estate experts, quoted in the New York Daily News, said the lowest 25 floors were so large that it would not be profitable to convert them to apartments.<ref name="nydn19931113" /> By 1997, Trump was negotiating with hotel chains to occupy the lower stories of 40 Wall Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Among these chains was Marriott International, which proposed operating a Ritz-Carlton hotel on either ten<ref name="nyt-1997-05-22">Template:Cite news</ref> or twelve stories.<ref name="nyt-1997-04-09">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, the building was about 25 percent occupied.<ref name="p1456474574" />

Trump canceled his plans to convert the upper floors to residential space, citing high costs.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> By 1998, almost all of the space in the building had been leased.<ref name="p398607772" /><ref name="p351887072">Template:Cite news</ref> Several large tenants, such as American Express, CNA Financial Corporation, Bear Stearns, Nomura Holdings, Country-Wide Insurance Company, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and Union Bank of California, had moved into 40 Wall Street after its renovation.<ref name="p351887072" /> The same year, Trump obtained a $125 million mortgage loan for the building from several European banks.<ref name="p398607772" /><ref name="p313612967">Template:Cite news</ref> Trump tried to sell the building in 2004, expecting offers in excess of $400 million,<ref name="p351887072" /> which did not materialize.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New York Times wrote in 2005 that the building had $145 million of debt.<ref name="O'Brien 2005" /> At the time, the building was earning $32 million in rental income a year, and 40 Wall Street was still about 90 percent occupied; many tenants' leases were not scheduled to expire for several years.<ref name="p351887072" />

In early July 2011, Duane Reade opened its flagship drugstore branch inside the former banking space.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 40 Wall Street Ltd. transferred its ownership stake in the building to 40 Wall Street Holdings in 2014.<ref name="TRD 2017" /> According to Federal Election Commission applications filed during Trump's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump had an outstanding mortgage of over $50 million on the property.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, Trump leased the building for $1.65 million a year,<ref name="Bloomberg 2016" /> and the Trump Organization paid $1 million annually in expenses and fees.<ref name="Callimachi 2023 m765" /> According to Bloomberg News, several of the building's 21st-century tenants had been accused of fraudulent activity or had been associated with people accused of such activities.<ref name="Bloomberg 2016" /> Rental income from 40 Wall Street's commercial spaces increased from $30.5 million in 2014 to $43.2 million in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Forbes estimated in 2020 that Trump owed Ladder Capital $138 million for 40 Wall Street as part of a loan that was scheduled to mature in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2020s to present

New York prosecutors had scrutinized several of the Trump Organization's properties by 2021, at the end of Trump's first presidency. They found that, between 2011 and 2015, far higher values were presented to potential lenders than were reported to tax officials. The most extreme case involved 40 Wall Street, which in 2012 was cited as being worth $527 million to lenders but only $16.7 million to tax officials.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By February 2023, the building had been placed on a lender watchlist because of its rising vacancy rate, which had reached 18 percent in late 2022, and its maintenance costs, which had risen 11 percent since the mortgage was issued in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Dilakian 2023">Template:Cite web</ref> Fitch Ratings downgraded the credit rating for the building's loans in August 2023 because new tenants were slow to move into the building while old tenants relocated elsewhere.<ref name="Crains New York Business 2023 k432">Template:Cite web</ref> The building's Duane Reade location closed later that year due to shoplifting,<ref name="Bratton 2023 i254" /> and the loan on the property was transferred to a special servicer that November due to the state government's ongoing civil investigation of the Trump Organization.<ref name="Gittelsohn 2023 x642">Template:Cite news
Template:Cite web</ref> Following a January 2024 ruling in which the Trump Organization was found liable for civil fraud, New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office was prepared to seize the building if the organization could not repay a $355 million judgment.<ref name="Katersky Charalambous 2024 h142">Template:Cite web</ref>

By that April, the building's vacancy rate had increased to 21 percent,<ref name="Elstein 2024 p778">Template:Cite web</ref> and the building's mortgage loan was scheduled to come due in 2025.<ref name="Grant2024">Template:Cite news</ref> The building had become a tourist attraction, and The Washington Post wrote that Trump's detractors sometimes came to the building to express their animosity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A reporter for Curbed wrote in late 2024 that 40 Wall Street was so controversial, even in the real estate industry, that few people in that industry were willing to publicly discuss the building's finances. At the time, the retail space and several floors were vacant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The building's credit rating was downgraded further in March 2025,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Trump Organization paid off the $114 million balance on its loan from Ladder Capital that June.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the next month, one-fourth of the building had been vacant for a year, and the property's annual income was $2 million less than its mortgage payments.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An Italian food hall, Nerolab, also opened in the building in mid-2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Impact

In February 1930, the Down Town League proclaimed 40 Wall Street the best building completed in Lower Manhattan during the preceding year.<ref name="nyt-1930-02-16">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="p1113127888">Template:Cite news</ref> Fortune magazine praised Ohrstrom in 1930, noting that "[h]is piece de resistance thus far has been the shrewd and able financing of the Manhattan Company Building".<ref name="NYCL p. 2" /><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> Two years later, W. Parker Chase wrote that "no building ever constructed more thoroughly typifies the American spirit of hustle than does this extraordinary structure".<ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> When the neighboring 28 Liberty Street was being built in 1960, Architectural Forum wrote of 40 Wall Street: "Viewed from the street, the detailing of the top of this middle-aged tower becomes insignificant, but it can be said that the draftsmen in the Severance office, who spent many painstaking hours perfecting the ornamental peak more than three decades ago, have been justified at last."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Architecture critic Robert A. M. Stern wrote in his 1987 book New York 1930 that 40 Wall Street's proximity to other skyscrapers, including 70 Pine Street, 1 Wall Street, 20 Exchange Place, and the Downtown Athletic Club, had reduced older skyscrapers "to the status of foothills in a new mountain range".<ref name="Stern (1987) p. 603">Template:Harvnb</ref> Eric Nash wrote in his book Manhattan Skyscrapers that 40 Wall Street's impact was blunted by its location in the middle of the block, "surrealistically situated next to the mighty Greek Revival Federal Hall National Memorial".<ref name="Nash 2005" /> A critic for Newsday wrote in 2003: "It appears on few postcards, and no tourists queue to peer from its celestial ramparts. The AIA Guide to New York City does not even mention the singular ambition, pursued with almost reckless abandon, that forged its construction: to be the world's tallest building."<ref name="p279708533">Template:Cite news</ref>

On December 12, 1995, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 40 Wall Street as a city landmark, noting that the Bank of Manhattan Building was historically significant for being the headquarters of the Manhattan Company and for being part of New York City's 1929–1930 skyscraper race.<ref name="NYCL p. 1"/> Five years later, on June 16, 2000, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places,<ref name="nris">Template:Cite web</ref> largely for the same reason as the city designation.<ref name="NPS p. 7" /> In 2007, the building was designated as a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District,<ref name="Howe" /> a NRHP district.<ref name="nris_2007">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of tallest buildings in New York City
• List of tallest freestanding steel structures
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
• Overseas landholdings of the Marcos family

References

Sources

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External links

• 40 Wall Street on The Trump Organization's website
• The Trump Building on CTBUH Skyscraper Center