1916 Zoning Resolution

Last updated
Midtown Manhattan in 1932, showing the results of the Zoning Resolution: skyscrapers with setbacks Chrysler Building Midtown Manhattan New York City 1932.jpg
Midtown Manhattan in 1932, showing the results of the Zoning Resolution: skyscrapers with setbacks
Graph of the 1916 New York City zoning ordinance with an example elevation for an 80-foot street in a 2 1/2 -times height district NYC 1916 setback principle.svg
Graph of the 1916 New York City zoning ordinance with an example elevation for an 80-foot street in a 2½-times height district

The 1916 Zoning Resolution in New York City was the first citywide zoning code in the United States. The zoning resolution reflected both borough and local interests, and was adopted primarily to stop massive buildings from preventing light and air from reaching the streets below. It also established limits in building massing at certain heights, usually interpreted as a series of setbacks and, while not imposing height limits, restricted towers to 25% of the lot size. [1] The chief authors of this resolution were George McAneny and Edward M. Bassett. [2] [3]

Contents

Impact

Study by Hugh Ferriss from The Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929) indicating the maximum mass permitted by the 1916 rules Drawing, Study for Maximum Mass Permitted by the 1916 New York Zoning Law, Stage 4, 1922 (CH 18468717).jpg
Study by Hugh Ferriss from The Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929) indicating the maximum mass permitted by the 1916 rules

The 1916 Zoning Resolution had a major impact on urban development in both the United States and internationally. [4] Architectural delineator Hugh Ferriss popularized these new regulations in 1922 through a series of massing studies, clearly depicting the possible forms and how to maximize building volumes. "By the end of the 1920s the setback skyscraper, originally built in response to a New York zoning code, became a style that caught on from Chicago to Shanghai," observe Eric Peter Nash and Norman McGrath, [5] discussing the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, which rose in isolation in Brooklyn, where no such zoning dictated form. The tiered Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s and 1930s are a direct result of this resolution.

Legacy

By the mid-century most new International Style buildings had met the setback requirements by adopting the use of plazas or low-rise buildings surrounding a monolithic tower centered on the site. This approach was often criticized. [6]

The New York City Department of City Planning passed the 1961 Zoning Resolution in October 1960, [7] and the new zoning rules became effective in December 1961, superseding the 1916 Zoning Resolution. [8] The new zoning solution used the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) regulation instead of setback rules. A building's maximum floor area is regulated according to the ratio that was imposed to the site where the building is located. Another feature of new zoning solution was adjacent public open space. If developers put adjacent public open space to their buildings, they could get additional area for their building as a bonus. This incentive bonus rule was created because of the strong influence from two representative skyscrapers. The Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, and Lever House by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, introduced the new ideas about office building with open space. These buildings changed the skyline of New York City with both the advent of simple glass box design and their treatment of adjacent open spaces. The new zoning encouraged privately owned public space to ease the density of the city. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 ft (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework. It was both the world's first supertall skyscraper and the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930. As of 2019, the Chrysler is the 12th-tallest building in the city, tied with The New York Times Building.

CitySpire is a mixed-use skyscraper at 150 West 56th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1990 and designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the building measures 814 feet (248 m) tall with 75 stories. CitySpire was developed by Ian Bruce Eichner on a site adjacent to the New York City Center theater. When completed, CitySpire was the second-tallest concrete tower in the United States after the Sears Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28 Liberty Street</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

28 Liberty Street, formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza, is a 60-story International Style skyscraper between Nassau, Liberty, William, and Pine Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), opened in 1961. It is 813 feet (248 m) tall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equitable Building (Manhattan)</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Equitable Building is an office skyscraper located at 120 Broadway between Pine and Cedar streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The skyscraper was designed by Ernest R. Graham in the neoclassical style, with Peirce Anderson as the architect-in-charge. It is 555 feet (169 m) tall, with 38 stories and 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m2) of floor space. The building's articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lever House</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

Lever House is a 307-foot-tall (94 m) office building at 390 Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed from 1950 to 1952, the building was designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in the International Style, a 20th-century modern architectural style. It was originally the headquarters of soap company Lever Brothers, a subsidiary of Unilever. Lever House was the second skyscraper in New York City with a glass curtain wall, after the United Nations Secretariat Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1 Wall Street</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

1 Wall Street is a primarily residential skyscraper at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed in the Art Deco style, the building is 654 feet (199 m) tall and consists of two sections. The original 50-story building was designed by Ralph Thomas Walker of the firm Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker and constructed between 1929 and 1931 for Irving Trust, an early-20th-century American bank. A 36-story annex to the south was designed by successor firm Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith & Haines and built between 1963 and 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chanin Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Chanin Building, also known as 122 East 42nd Street, is a 56-story office skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is on the southwest corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, near Grand Central Terminal to the north and adjacent to 110 East 42nd Street to the west. The building is named for Irwin S. Chanin, its developer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floor area ratio</span> Building density measurement

Floor area ratio (FAR) is the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building-to-land ratio. The terms can also refer to limits imposed on such a ratio through zoning. FAR includes all floor areas but is indifferent to their spatial distribution on the lot whereas the building coverage ratio measures building footprint on the lot but is indifferent to building height.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">140 Broadway</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

140 Broadway is a 51-story International Style office building on the east side of Broadway between Cedar and Liberty streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Gordon Bunshaft, of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and consists of a mostly smooth black facade on a trapezoidal plot. It is approximately 688 feet (210 m) tall, with approximately 1.17 million rentable square feet (109,000 m2). It is known for the distinctive sculpture at its entrance, Isamu Noguchi's Cube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Setback (architecture)</span> Step-like recession in a wall

A setback, in the specific sense of a step-back, is a step-like form of a wall or other building frontage, also termed a recession or recessed story. Importantly, one or more step-backs lowers the building's center of mass, making it more stable. A setback as a minimum one-bay indent across all stories is called a recessed bay or recess and is the more common exterior form of an alcove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">383 Madison Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

383 Madison Avenue, formerly known as the Bear Stearns Building, is a 755 ft (230 m), 47-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Built in 2002 for financial services firm Bear Stearns, it was designed by architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). It housed Bear Stearns's world headquarters until 2008, when Bear collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase. Since then, JPMorgan's investment banking division has occupied the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipstick Building</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

The Lipstick Building, also known as 885 Third Avenue and 53rd at Third, is a 453-foot-tall (138 m) office building at Third Avenue between 53rd Street and 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was completed in 1986 and has 34 floors. The building was designed by John Burgee and Philip Johnson for Hines Interests and was developer Gerald D. Hines's first project in New York City. The building's nickname is derived from its shape and color, which resembles a tube of lipstick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of New York City</span>

The building form most closely associated with New York City is the skyscraper, which has shifted many commercial and residential districts from low-rise to high-rise. Surrounded mostly by water, the city has amassed one of the largest and most varied collection of skyscrapers in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">500 Fifth Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

500 Fifth Avenue is a 60-story, 697-foot-tall (212 m) office building on the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in the Art Deco style and constructed from 1929 to 1931.

590 Madison Avenue, also known as the IBM Building, is a skyscraper at 57th Street and Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates the 41-story, 603-foot (184 m)-tall tower was developed for the technology company IBM and built from 1978 to 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pershing Square Building</span> Office building in Manhattan, New York

The Pershing Square Building, also known as 125 Park Avenue or 100 East 42nd Street, is a 25-story office building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, across from Grand Central Terminal to the north and adjacent to 110 East 42nd Street to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adams Express Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Adams Express Building is an office building at 61 Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building's primary frontage is on 57–61 Broadway, with additional frontage along 33–41 Trinity Place. Architect Francis Kimball designed the 32-story building for the Adams Express Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Broadway</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

2 Broadway is an office building at the south end of Broadway, near Bowling Green Park, in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The 32-story building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons and constructed from 1958 to 1959, contains offices for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). 2 Broadway serves as the headquarters for some of the MTA's subsidiary agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springs Mills Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Springs Mills Building is a 21-story office building at 104 West 40th Street in Manhattan, New York City, just west of Sixth Avenue and Bryant Park. The Modernist building sits on an L-shaped lot that extends back to 39th Street and rises to a thin glass hexagonal tower. An early example of the International Style in New York, the building was designed by the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz and built in 1961–1963. Its northern facade on 40th Street is designed to comply with the 1961 Zoning Resolution, enacted soon after the building's construction started, while its southern facade on 39th Street conforms to the older 1916 Zoning Resolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graybar Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Graybar Building, also known as 420 Lexington Avenue, is a 30-story office building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Sloan & Robertson in the Art Deco style, the Graybar Building is at 420–430 Lexington Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.

References

  1. ↑ Barr, Jason M. (27 March 2019). "Revisiting 1916 (Part I): The History of New York City's First Zoning Resolution". Skynomics Blog. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (July 26, 2016). "Zoning Arrived 100 Years Ago. It Changed New York City Forever". The New York Times .
  3. ↑ "Celebrating 100 Years of Zoning". Regional Plan Association. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Background". www1.nyc.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  5. ↑ Nash and McGrath, Manhattan Skyscrapers 2005:55.
  6. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (December 7, 2006). "At New Trade Center, Seeking Lively (but Secure) Streets". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  7. ↑ Bennett, Charles G. (1960-10-19). "Planners Adopt New City Zoning; Resolution Goes to Board of Estimate for Final Vote". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  8. ↑ "New Zoning Code Goes into Effect". The New York Times. 1961-12-15. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  9. ↑ Bressi, Todd W., ed. (1993). Planning and Zoning New York City. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. pp. 9–12.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.