The Building
The visual impact of the neo-Renaissance structure derives from its monumental size, fortress-like appearance, fine proportions and the overall quality of construction. It set the precedent for many later banks which were greatly influenced by its design.
Built from 1919 through 1924, this massive building occupies an entire city block, reaching fourteen stories tall with five additional floors underground. The stone exterior is reminiscent of an early Italian Renaissance palace with the horizontal and vertical joints of the stones deeply grooved or rusticated. The building was purposely designed to resemble a Florentine palazzo so as to inspire trust and confidence.
Read more about this topic: 33 Liberty Street
Famous quotes containing the word building:
“And when discipline is concerned, the parent who has to make it to the end of an eighteen-hour day—who works at a job and then takes on a second shift with the kids every night—is much more likely to adopt the survivor’s motto: “If it works, I’ll use it.” From this perspective, dads who are even slightly less involved and emphasize firm limits or character- building might as well be talking a foreign language. They just don’t get it.”
—Ron Taffel (20th century)
“Nowadays almost all man’s improvements, so called, as the building of houses and the cutting down of the forest and of all large trees, simply deform the landscape, and make it more and more tame and cheap.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)