48 Wall Street, formerly the Bank of New York & Trust Company Building, is a 32-story, skyscraper on the corner of Wall Street and William Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1927–1929 in the Neo-Georgian and Colonial Revival styles, it was designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris.
The current structure is the third to be erected on the same plot, as the Bank of New York had previously erected buildings on the site in 1797 and 1858. The structure was erected during a period when many skyscrapers were being erected in Lower Manhattan. 48 Wall Street is designed with many neo-Georgian details. The lowest three stories, built over a raised basement, were used as the banking floor and feature large arched windows on the second story, as well as pediments over the entrances. The top of the building contains a cupola designed in the Federal style and topped by a statue of an eagle.
The Bank of New York moved out of 48 Wall Street in 1998, after which it was renovated extensively. Museum of American Finance occupied the former banking hall from 2007 to 2018; it was replaced by Will & Wall, a multi-purpose event venue. The building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1998 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a NRHP district created in 2007.
Site 48 Wall Street is located at the northeast corner of Wall and William Streets, facing Wall Street to the south and William Street to the west. The building has a frontage of on Wall Street and on William Street. The lot is largely rectangular with small variations. 55 Wall Street is across Wall Street immediately to the south; 40 Wall Street is across William Street to the west; and 52 William Street and 60 Wall Street share the block directly to the north and east, respectively.
The site slopes downward to the south, with the Wall Street side being slightly lower than the northern portion of the lot. As such, the Wall Street side is at the same elevation as the lobby on the 1st floor (which was designed like a basement), while the banking room on the second floor is slightly higher than William Street. This positioning probably reflected bank architect Alfred Hopkins's advice that a bank on a slope allowed "a better view of the bank's interior" and that a partially-above-ground basement provided better ventilation for the departments housed there. Immediately outside the building's southeastern corner is the entrance for the Wall Street station on the New York City Subway's Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (served by the ).
Architecture 48 Wall Street is a skyscraper designed in the neo-Georgian style, with adaptations from the Colonial Revival style. In the 1920s, at the time of 48 Wall Street's construction, new bank buildings in New York City were typically one of two types: small buildings used solely for banking and large bank-and-office buildings that incorporated banks at their bases. Though there were roughly equal numbers of both types of building, large bank-and-office buildings were typically erected on plots with high land values, such as in the Financial District. Though many contemporary bank buildings still used the Greek Revival and Renaissance Revival styles, which were popular before World War I, other buildings like 48 Wall Street tried out new styles, such as neo-Romanesque and neo-Georgian styles.
Form At the time of 48 Wall Street's construction, the 1916 Zoning Resolution necessitated the inclusion of setbacks on buildings in New York City that were above a certain height. As such, setbacks were added above the 14th, 20th, 25th, 26th, 30th, and 32nd floors. The eastern elevation of the building, which faces 60 Wall Street, is recessed above the 14th story, while the northern elevation facing 52 William Street is recessed above the 20th story. The eastern portion of the southern elevation (facing Wall Street) has setbacks on the 14th, 19th, 26th, 29th, and 32nd floors, and the northern portion of the western elevation (facing William Street) has a setback above the 28th story.
Facade
The facade is arranged so that the lowest stories are clad with granite and the upper stories are faced with limestone. A large-scale program of ornamentation was used on the facade, inspired by formal Georgian models. Due to the narrow street grid of the Financial District, the surrounding skyscrapers obstruct the view of the building from many angles; as a result, most of the ornamentation is at the base, where the banking room is. All ornamentation and windows are on the western and southern elevations. The eastern and northern elevations are completely windowless with stucco walls.
The section of 48 Wall Street below the first setback is 14 stories tall: this is divided into a three-story base, a nine-story midsection, and two upper stories. The base is three stories tall with rusticated granite blocks, though the rustication on the 1st story is deeper than on the 2nd and 3rd stories. The main banking entrance to 48 Wall Street is at the center of the Wall Street facade, while the main entrance to the office stories is located on the eastern section of that same facade. Both Wall Street entrances have a protruding entryway surround, which is topped by a pediment: the banking entrance has a segmental-arch broken pediment capped by a lantern with glass globe, and the office entrance is simpler with two panels reading and . Another elaborate entrance with a neo-Georgian surround is located on the northern end of the William Street facade (with the address 46 William Street), while a simple service entrance is located next to it. Another simple entrance to the 1st-floor retail area is at the southern end of the William Street facade. The base also incorporates two cornerstones from the previous buildings on the site, both dating from 1797: one from the Bank of New York's structure 48 Wall Street, and the other from the United States Branch Bank Building's structure at 52 Wall Street.
The 1st and 2nd stories contain five vertical bays on Wall Street and eight on William Street, each of which contain one window. The windows illuminating the double-height 2nd-floor banking room are large arched windows, except the outermost windows on each side, which are smaller rectangular windows beneath decorative metal grilles. Above the 2nd-floor windows are ornamented keystones. The 3rd story is arranged with 10 bays on Wall Street, arranged in groupings of 2, 6, and 2, as well as with 14 bays on William Street, arranged in groupings of 1, 4, 4, 4 and 1. Above the 3rd floor is an elaborate cornice. The inscribed letters are located below the cornice on Wall Street. There are flagpoles above two of the arched 2nd-story windows on the Wall Street side, and another flagpole above the center of the 3rd story on the same facade.
The mid-section of the building includes eleven stories between the 4th and 14th floors, which are divided into bays separated by piers. The 4th and 14th floors are arranged as "transitional stories" that contain courses atop and below the facades of both stories. The 3rd through 14th stories are each arranged with 10 bays on Wall Street, in a 2-6-2 pattern, and 14 bays on William Street, in a 1-4-4-4-1 pattern. The outermost groupings of bays on each facade are distinguished by a pattern of textured and smooth blocks beside each bay. Above the 14th story is a decorative frieze.
The first setback is at the 14th story, but a four-bay-wide dormer projects from the southern elevation at the 15th story. On the western elevation, the center four bays are recessed and rise uninterrupted until the setback on the 26th story. There is little decoration, except for vertical bands and recessed panels that provide accenting, as well as other symbols such as wreaths and roundels. Some of the balustrades above each setback are also decorated with urns and anthemia. The main section of the Wall Street facade narrows significantly: the section between the 15th and 20th floors is eight bays wide; between the 21st and 25th floors is five bays wide; and between the 26th and 30th stories is three bays wide.
Roof
The section above the 30th story forms a lantern-like cupola with four layers. The lowest layer is composed of the 31st and 32nd stories: the former has rectangular windows and the latter has square windows. Both stories measure three by three bays wide, with round-arched, gabled wings to the south and north. The second layer is a windowless octagonal section with niches cut into each corner. The third layer is cruciform-shaped, with rectangular openings on each of four sides flanked by a pair of columns, forming a colonnade. The top layer is a windowless square mass, topped by a pyramidal roof. The lantern is designed in the Federal style.
The pyramidal roof is capped by a representation of an eagle on a globe, which represented New York state. The eagle is located above the ground, and is gilded. The eagle was restored in 2008.
Interior
The office stories' lobby is from the eastern entrance on Wall Street, and is composed of an inner vestibule and elevator lobby. The walls and floors are composed of gray marble, while the ceiling is made of plaster, with glass-and-bronze lamps attached to the top. A stair with a bronze railing is located on the eastern side of the lobby. There is a letterbox on the south wall of the inner vestibule. The elevator lobby contains no elevators along the west wall, all of which have decorated bronze doors. These are separated into 'local' elevators serving lower floors and 'express' elevators running nonstop to upper floors.
The banking lobby, accessed from the central entrance on Wall Street, also has a small entrance vestibule with marble walls and floors, located between the entrance and main lobby. The entrance vestibule features a stone roundel with the New York Life Insurance & Trust Company's inscription, as well as a bronze plaque with the Bank of New York's seal. Inside, doors lead to the main lobby, which is composed of two circular stairs flanking a marble compass on the floor.
The banking room takes up almost the entire 2nd story, and is divided into three sections. These are the north side of the room, taking up much of the space; a raised area on the south, near the balustrade; and a narrow western section behind an arcade. The space has a black-and-white marble floor; plaster walls with marble wainscoting; and an ornamented ceiling with acoustical tiles and large chandeliers. Inside the banking room are eight arched panels that are decorated with murals: five on the north wall and three on the east wall. The north-wall panels depict scenes from the 18th century and the east-wall panels depict scenes from the 19th century. These murals were painted by James Monroe Hewlett. Also on the east wall of the banking room are screens leading to the elevator lobby. On the southeast corner is a private office, which includes a marble fireplace mantel and wooden decorations.
The 3rd floor has the bank's original executive office. There was also a board room designed in the Colonial Revival style, which contained Doric columns, round-arched doors, wainscoting, and a fireplace, and formerly an Ernest Peixotto painting of the bank's founders. The board room is likely an imitation of that at the bank's first headquarters, the Walton family mansion. The other office spaces were unfurnished and were rented out to commercial tenants.
History
Previous buildings
The Bank of New York was founded in 1784.See: