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"St. Paul Building, New York, 1901." One of the first structures to be called a skyscraper, the 26-story St. Paul was completed in 1898 and demolished 60 years later. Its neighbor to the left, the 28-floor Park Row Building, completed in 1899, still stands. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
I've always wondered this.
Every time I see one of these old magnificent skyscrapers I am bewildered about the purported amount of stories (floors) that are attributed to the building. For instance; The featured St. Paul Building is said to have 26 floors. By close scrutiny I can only find 25 stories on this one, and it seems this might even be a stretch. In these building's descriptions do they include the roofs? Or perhaps the basement? Or is it the total height divided by the "average story's height" that they add to come to the total?
Based on the number of men in the photo wearing hats, the Knox Hat Company was indeed very successful in NY. Their headquarters building at 216 Broadway is partially visible in the middle right of the photo.
The church on the right is St. Paul's Chapel, still standing, since 1766.
When this building was razed, a portion of its exterior -- the part obscured by the tree in the photo -- was saved and installed in Holliday Park in Indianapolis as part of a massive art installation called The Ruins. This installation underwent a thorough restoration recently.
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