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TOM FLETCHER'S new york architecture |
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New York Architecture
Images-Seaport and Civic Center Morse Building |
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architect |
Silliman & Farnsworth |
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location |
12 Beekman St. |
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date |
1880 |
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style |
Rundbogenstil (German round-arched neo-Romanesque) |
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construction |
brick |
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type |
Office Building |
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images |
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notes |
The 10-story Morse Building is one of New York's earliest surviving high-rise office buildings and was one of the first ‘modern’ tall buildings. It was built as a speculative venture by the nephews of Samuel F.B. Morse, whose early experiments with the telegraph were conducted on this site. The flat roofline gives the building a simple box-like appearance that subsequent designers of high-rises worked hard to avoid. The building was a pioneer in its use of a nearly all brick façade, which also served the purpose, along with the wrought iron floor beams, of fireproofing the building. This red and black brick façade is articulated with fluted piers defining the central bay and corners. The almost industrial logic of its original architecture was lost when the basement and ground floors were refaced in 1902 and an additional 2-stories increased its height to 12-stories. |
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