Because of our project at the Park Row / Ivins / Syndicate Building, I’ve written about it many times. It did not represent a huge increase in height over its predecessors, but in some ways it did point to what was coming. It was a purely speculative venture: 27 main floors (and another three in the cupolas), almost 400 feet high, and identical floor after identical floor for rent. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world when complete in 1899, and held the title for eight years until the Singer Building was built three blocks away.
This photo nicely shows the built-up plate girders and built-up columns of the frame. Note that the plain side and rear facades were already done but the heavily-ornamented front facade is going up a lot slower. While not as dramatic as starting wall construction in mid-air, having one wall 14 stories taller than the one adjacent is surely a sign of skeleton-frame construction. The framing for the cupolas, which looks rather heavy close up, seems like lace here.
And yes, if I’d been planning this series better, this post should have come before the Singer Building. Such is life.
