Metropolitan Savings Bank | |
 2010 | |
| Location | 9 E. 7th St.,New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°43′44″N73°59′24″W / 40.72889°N 73.99000°W /40.72889; -73.99000 |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1867 |
| Architect | Pfeiffer, Carl |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001243[1] |
| NYCL No. | 0183 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 12, 1976 |
| Designated NYCL | November 19, 1969 |
TheMetropolitan Savings Bank Building opened on May 30, 1867,[2] at the northeast corner ofThird Avenue andEast 7th Street, inManhattan,New York City. Its original address was 10Cooper Institute (now 61Cooper Square).[3] The building, which was designed by architectCarl Pfeiffer inSecond Empire style,[4] is four stories high, 45 feet (14 m) wide and 75 feet (23 m) deep, and was considered at the time it opened to be one of the most finely constructed edifices, "fromgarret to basement." Its facades were composed ofwhite marble, with the upper floor being enclosed by amansard roof. The building wasfireproof, as no combustible materials were used during construction, either internally or externally. The entire cost of the structure was $150,000.
The Metropolitan Savings Bank was chartered in New York in 1852. In 1935 the bank moved its headquarters from Cooper Square to 754 Broadway.[5] In 1942, it merged with the Manhattan Savings Institution (founded 1852) and the Citizens Savings Bank to form the Manhattan Savings Bank.[6] In 1990,Edmund Safra'sRepublic National Bank bought the Manhattan Savings Bank, and was in turn purchased byHSBC in 1999.[7][8]
The building was designated aNew York City Landmark in 1969,[4] and was added to theNational Register of Historic Place in 1979.[9]
The main hall was 53.5 feet (16.3 m) in length, and 36.83 feet (11.23 m) wide. Its height was 17.33 feet (5.28 m). Its acoustic properties were excellent.
Black walnut was used inside for building desks, chairs, and stairways. The office furniture evoked a simple design and reflected excellent taste The President's room, located behind the banking house proper, was less spacious, as offices were given the maximum space. Another feature of the interior was its immensesafe.
The fireproof construction of the Metropolitan Savings Bank enabled the rapid renting of any free space not used by the bank. The basement and cellar beneath it was leased for ten years to the Stuyvesant Safe Deposit Company. The floor just above the bank was leased by theUnited States Assessor of Internal Revenue.[2] The third floor, unlet when the building first opened, was rented for a decade by the Eastern Star Lodge ofFreemasons.[citation needed]
In 1937, the building was sold to the First Ukrainian Assembly of God, and it has been used since that time as a church, most recently by the First Ukrainian Evangelical Pentecostal Church.[4][10]
Notes
Republic was the third-largest retail banking network in the New York region
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