Equitable Building

History and architecture

The Equitable Building, designed by the firm of E.R. Graham, successor to D.H. Burnham & Co., has long been considered a key element in the development and passage of New York’s zoning law, the first in the country. Though never the tallest, it was on its completion in 1915 the largest office building in the world, replacing the original headquarters of Equitable Life Assurance Company, itself a pioneering early skyscraper of 1868-70. The H-shaped superstructure above a six-story base rises approximately 38 stories straight up from the lot-line with no setbacks.

Peirce Anderson, of Ernest R. Graham’s firm, gave the enormous structure a Beaux-Arts ornamental treatment that emphasizes Roman classical detail at the base and top. Intended as one of the finest office buildings of its era, the Equitable Building was notable for its advanced elevator system and its fireproof construction. Its bulk and massing became extremely controversial, even before the building’s completion, when neighboring institutions and building owners tried to block its construction.

Although not the only building responsible for the establishment of zoning, the Equitable became the prime example cited of the evils of unregulated skyscraper construction, as hearings progressed on what ultimately became the city’s new Zoning Resolution.