One Hanover (formerly known as India House, Hanover Bank Building, and New York Cotton Exchange Building) is a commercial building at 1 Hanover Square, on the southwestern edge of the square, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was the site of the United States' first cotton futures exchange, the New York Cotton Exchange. , One Hanover is owned by SomeraRoad Inc., which uses the building as its headquarters.

One Hanover is composed of four originally separate structures. The main structure is a three-story brownstone building designed in the Italian Renaissance style and completed in 1854. The brownstone contains the building's main entrance facing Hanover Square. Adjoining the brownstone are three brick structures at 60–64 Stone Street, which date to 1836 and were built as commercial stores. The brick buildings are four stories tall but are the same height as the brownstone. Inside are maritime-themed spaces that are used by Harry's Bar, Ulysses Folk House, and the India House club.

The brownstone initially served as the headquarters of the Hanover Bank, while other commercial tenants occupied the brick buildings. The New York Cotton Exchange, founded in 1870, occupied the building from 1872 to 1885. The building subsequently served as the headquarters of W.R. Grace and Company until the early 1910s. In 1914, the structures were purchased by the India House, a private club for gentlemen involved in foreign commerce, which continues to occupy the building. Over the years, various architects have made renovations to One Hanover Square, with the three Stone Street stores being gradually combined with the brownstone structure between the 1870s and 1910s. Restaurants have also been housed in various portions of One Hanover Square throughout its history. SomeraRoad bought the building in 2022 and renovated it into an office building the next year.

One Hanover's design, especially in regard to its later use as the India House clubhouse, has received critical acclaim. The building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 1965, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1972, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It is a contributing property to the Stone Street Historic District, which was designated by the LPC in 1996 and by the NRHP in 1999. 1 Hanover Square has been depicted in works of popular culture, including the 2001 film Kate & Leopold.

Site One Hanover is in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It occupies the northeastern side of a block bounded by Stone Street to the northwest, Hanover Square and William Street to the northeast, Pearl Street to the southeast, and Coenties Slip to the southwest. The building carries the alternate addresses 2 Hanover Square, 60–66 Stone Street, and 95–105 Pearl Street. 1 Hanover Square contains frontage of on Hanover Square, on Stone Street, and on Pearl Street. The building is near 1 William Street to the northwest and the British Garden at Hanover Square to the northeast.

The site was historically part of New Amsterdam, a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement in modern-day Lower Manhattan; the building's site was acquired by Richard Smith in the 1640s. By the next decade, the southern portion of the lot was sold to Evert Duyckingh (also "Duyckinck"), who developed a house on the site. The northern portion was given to Abraham Martens Clock, who also developed a house on his site; after 1673, town official Nicholas Bayard bought the western end of Clock's land and built a house there. There were numerous buildings on the site by 1812, occupied by various dwellings and businesses. These structures were all destroyed in the Great Fire of 1835, which leveled a large portion of the neighborhood.

Architecture One Hanover is composed of four formerly separate buildings. The main structure, completed in 1851, is a three-story masonry structure atop a raised basement, built out of brownstone in the Italian Renaissance style. Although Lower Manhattan formerly contained many Italianate commercial structures, 1 Hanover Square is the only remaining such structure. The building extends southwest to 60–64 Stone Street (also known as 95–101 Pearl Street), a set of Greek Revival commercial structures completed in 1836. These three structures are made of brick and are four stories tall. The additional commercial structures are the same height as the main brownstone structure. The architects for all of these structures are not known, although Richard F. Carman may have been involved in the design of the brownstone.

The lot comprising One Hanover was formerly six separate parts. Each of the four-story brick structures at 60, 62, and 64 Stone Street comprise one part extending the depth of the block to 95–97, 99, and 101 Pearl Street respectively. The main structure is composed of a three-story brownstone section on Hanover Square, a three-story brick section on 66 Stone Street, and a three-story brownstone section on 103 Pearl Street. All of the constituent structures occupy the same land lot. The building as a whole is roughly rectangular but has longer frontage on Pearl and Stone Streets.

One Hanover serves as the headquarters of the SomeraRoad Inc. and contains restaurant and bar space. While the building has had numerous occupants in its history, it was particularly known for being the first headquarters of the New York Cotton Exchange, founded in 1870. The exchange was the second cotton futures exchange in the world behind the International Cotton Association, as well as the first such exchange in the United States.

Facade

The main brownstone structure has its primary frontage on Hanover Square.; There are eight vertical bays facing Hanover Square, of which the center two contain the main entrance. The Pearl and Stone Street facades incorporate the additional structures at 60–64 Stone Street. The Pearl Street facade contains four brownstone bays, similar to those on Hanover Square, as well as eleven brick-clad bays. The Stone Street facade has two brownstone bays and twelve brick bays. There is a flat roof atop the brownstone structure and slightly sloped roofs atop the brick structures.

The brownstone structure sits atop a slightly raised basement with rectangular sash windows and a facade of rusticated brownstone blocks. The Hanover Square facade is set behind a recessed area with an iron railing. One stair on each side of the main entrance leads down to the recessed area and the basement. The main entrance is through a brownstone stoop leading up from the street to double doors. The covered entrance portico is flanked by two Corinthian-style columns on either side and is topped by a balustrade.; ; The tall windows on the first floor are each flanked by paneled pilasters, which are topped by console brackets that support segmentally arched pediments. Second-floor windows are smaller, set beneath gabled pediments. The third floor windows are smaller still, with simpler rectangular surrounds. The facade is crowned by a cornice supported by modillions; it was once topped by a parapet with a balustrade.; ;

The brick sections are largely four stories tall. The three easternmost bays at 66 Stone Street are three stories tall, similar to the main brownstone section. Along the brick sections of the building, the first story on both sides contains stone piers supporting a stone lintel. The upper stories contain rectangular windows with granite piers and lintels. Numerous alterations have been made to the first-story facades on either side, and there are various types of windows on the upper stories. There are ornate iron fire escapes on both sides of the building's brick sections. In addition, an iron basement hatch is at 95–97 Pearl Street, and there is a stoop leading to the basement at 99 Pearl Street.

Interior

Basement and first floor

Inside the main entrance is a vestibule measuring . A set of doors leads to a hallway, which connected to the former India House library on the right and the India House's lobby, waiting area, reception area, and coat room on the left. At the end of the hall is a central stairway that splits into two perpendicular flights. The first floor contained the onetime trading floor of the Cotton Exchange, which extended across nearly the whole footprint of the brownstone. The brick structures to the west contain offices, bars, and dining areas. Ulysses' Folk House is within the ground floor space at 95 Pearl Street and the adjacent 53 Pearl Street. In Harry's Steakhouse and Restaurant, which occupies the building's basement, were murals with images of drunken monks making wine.

In 2022, the first floor was converted into an amenity area and office lobby. There is a reception counter made of marble and wood, as well as a lounge with mid-20th-century seating, a wood-burning fireplace, a bar, and suspended gold fixtures. Also on the first floor are meeting rooms with glass panels and wooden pocket doors, as well as a larger conference space. The central staircase retains its original dark-wood design.

Upper stories The upper floors of the main structure contain plaster walls, as well as several fireplaces with wood or marble mantelpieces. The second floor includes three dining rooms arranged around an opening that overlooks the hallway on the first floor. The third floor includes four dining rooms. The westernmost structure at 60 Stone Street contains a ballroom, the Marine Room, on its upper floor. The Marine Room was built in 1924 to designs by W. A. Delano and is connected to the second-floor landing of the building's central stairway. The room is decorated with shells, fish, and seahorses atop its columns and frieze; it is also lit by lamps shaped like shells and spheres. On the third floor, there is a wooden model of the merchant vessel Gladiator under an oval skylight.

By the early 21st century, the interior included nautical decoration and Oriental art. The maritime decorations included paintings, engravings, and models of ships. Among the maritime artifacts were a pair of cannons flanking the first-floor staircase banisters and a bell from the luxury ship SS Leviathan. During a 2022 renovation, the second-floor Marine Room's architectural detailing was restored.

History

Early history

Development and initial occupants In 1836, the year after the Great Fire, the 60–66 Stone Street and 95–105 Pearl Street lots were redeveloped with four-story brick commercial structures. Some of the occupants of the buildings by 1839 included merchant Edward Gould, hardware vendor F. T. Luqueer, and three or more dry-goods companies. The lots on 105 Pearl Street and 66 Stone Street, facing Hanover Square, were combined by 1851. Richard F. Carman sold the Hanover Square lots for $25,000 to Hanover Bank (later Manufacturers Hanover Corporation), a bank that had been incorporated that year.