Anatomy Of A Building: Tisch And Gallatin
By Caleb Savage
The Tisch building and its conjoined twin Gallatin take up nearly the entire block bounded by Broadway, Waverly Place, Mercer Street, and Washington Place. Chances are you’ve stepped inside the massive structure at least a handful of times — but are you familiar with its interesting history?
The 12-story Neoclassical building, which was completed in 1896, turns 118 this year. It was designed and constructed by American architect and Cooper Union graduate Robert Maynicke, who was instrumental in creating many of the loft-style proto-skyscrapers that dot Manhattan today. Maynicke also built the (in)famous Equitable Life Assurance building — famous for being a candidate for the title of World’s First Skyscraper, and infamous for burning down in January, 1912 (it was so cold that water from firetrucks turned it into an ice sculpture).
Although today it appears as one building, the Tisch-Gallatin conglomerate is actually four separate structures built at the same time. The New York Times reported in 1894 that the buildings are held up by thick brick walls and cast iron columns, rather than the steel skeleton construction that was becoming popular at the time.
The “Broadway block” was commissioned by Mr. Randolph Guggenheimer, a prominent Jewish lawyer, businessman, and politician with a degree from NYU (class of 1869, whoo!). Like Maynicke, Guggenheimer also played an important role in shaping the Manhattan landscape, financing many of the large Neoclassical office buildings that still line Broadway. The Guggenheimer building replaced the New York Hotel, a large brick structure that was apparently a favorite gathering place for Southerners in the second half of the 19th century. It’s rumored to be where many blockade running plans were hatched during the Civil War. Guggenheimer planned for the building to be used as a retail and office space, but by 1910 it was mostly converted to factory usage — quite probably with the same types of working conditions that led to the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster in the Brown Building around the corner.
The New York Hotel, which was on the site of the Guggenheimer building from 1847–1894.
The total cost for the land and construction were estimated to be about $3 million — a huge fortune at the time. The NYC Department of Finance estimates that today it has a market value of about $51 million. That’s also a huge fortune. It’s unclear how much NYU paid for the building when it was acquired in 1965, but it has certainly proved a worthwhile asset to the university.
Historical image from the New York Public Library showing the West side of Broadway.
Detail of ionic columns in the lobby of 715 Broadway.
The basement has video games and faux beer pong.
Film and TV wins the award for best interior decorations.
The terracotta and cast iron facade showing ornamental details.
They don’t make ’em like they used to, folks.
[Images 2 and 3 via New York Public Library Digital Collections; remaining images via author]
