Cunard Building (New York City)

Not to be confused with Cunard Building.

The Cunard Building, also known as the Standard & Poors Building, is located at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan's Financial District. It opened as a 22 story office building on May 2, 1921, and its first floor interior was designated a New York City landmark in September 1995. Its ticketing hall is currently operated by Cipriani S.A. as an event space.

History

The building was designed between 1917 and 1919 and built between 1920 and 1921 by Benjamin Wistar Morris, architect, and Carrère & Hastings, in a consulting role. While the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House already dominated Bowling Green, the Cunard Building was held in high regard almost immediately upon its opening in May 1921. It featured more than 600,000 sq. feet of space in a modified Italian Renaissance style. Its great hall, which itself was more than sixty feet tall, was the home of Cunard Line and Anchor Lines with a number of other tenants throughout the building. While 25 Broadway is considered to be its primary address, it's also known as 13-27 Broadway, 13-39 Greenwich Street and 1-9 Morris Street. Within the borough of Manhattan it is designated Block 13, Lot 27.

Its time as a ticketing hall ceased in 1968 and the building was sold in 1971. Its interior was converted to a post office, which remained in service until 2000. On September 19, 1995, the first floor interior, formerly Cunard's ticketing office, was designated a New York City landmark. The designation included the entrance vestibule and lobby, the passage to the Great Hall and the Hall up to the height of its rotunda.

In 2014 the Great Hall became an event venue operated by Cipriani S.A.