American Express Company Building

History and architecture

The 21-story (plus basement), neo-classical American Express Co. Building was constructed in 1916-17 to the design of James L. Aspinwall, of the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, the successor to the architectural practice of the eminent James Renwick. Part of the "Express Row" section of lower Broadway, this site had been the location of American Express' headquarters since 1874; by the time the company purchased the property in 1903, it was one of the largest financial institutions in New York City.

This skyscraper, in which all of the firm's operations were to be consolidated, was initiated in 1914 under the firm's aggressive new president, George C. Taylor. The concrete-and-steel-framed building has an H-shaped plan with tall slender wings arranged around central light courts, a type of plan employed from the 1880s through the 1910s to provide offices with maximum light and air. Faced in white brick and terra cotta above a granite base, both facades employ the tripartite composition of base-shaft-capital then popular for the articulation of skyscrapers,with a colonnaded base and upper portion.

The Broadway entrance features a double-story Corinthian colonnade with large arched windows. The building completed the continuous masonry wall of its block front and assisted in transforming Broadway into the"canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day. One of the giants of American finance, the American ExpressCo. was formed in 1850 as an express business in the eastern United States. The transfer of funds became a large component of its operations, and American Express initiated its innovative Money Order in 1882 and the "Traveler's Cheque" in 1891.

During its years in this building, American Express emerged dominant in foreign express and financial services, grew into one of the world's leading travel-related organizations, and launched its credit card in1958. American Express moved its headquarters elsewhere in 1975, but retained travel services here. The building was also the headquarters over the years of other prominent firms, including investment bankers J.& W. Seligman & Co.(1940-74) and the American Bureau of Shipping, a maritime concern (1977-86).