Home Life Building

Home Life Building
The Home Life Building includes the original Home Life structure at 256 Broadway (right) and the Postal Telegraph Building at 253 Broadway (left).
Map
Former namesHome Life Insurance Company Building, Postal Telegraph Building
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival (Home Life)
Neoclassical (Postal Telegraph)
Location251–257 Broadway, Manhattan, New York
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°42′48″N 74°00′27″W / 40.71333°N 74.00750°W / 40.71333; -74.00750
Construction started1892
Completed1894
Renovated1937–1938, 1984
OwnerGovernment of New York City
Height
Roof256 feet (78 m)
Top floor16
Technical details
Structural systemSteel
MaterialMarble (Home Life)
Limestone, brick, terracotta (Postal Telegraph)
Floor count16 (Home Life)
13 (Postal Telegraph)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Napoleon LeBrun & Sons (Home Life)
George Edward Harding & Gooch (Postal Telegraph)
DesignatedNovember 12, 1991[1]
Reference no.1751
References
[2][3][4]

The Home Life Building, also known as 253 Broadway, is an office building in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is in Manhattan's Tribeca and Civic Center neighborhoods at the northwest corner of Broadway and Murray Street, adjacent to City Hall Park.

The Home Life Building is made of two adjacent structures at 251–257 Broadway, erected between 1892 and 1894 as separate buildings. The original 16-story Home Life Insurance Company Building at 256 Broadway was designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons in the Renaissance Revival style. The 13-story Postal Telegraph Building, immediately to the south at 253 Broadway, was designed by George Edward Harding & Gooch in the neoclassical style. The original Home Life Building is clad with marble, while the Postal Telegraph Building's facade consists of limestone at its base and brick on its upper stories. Ornamental details are used on both structures.

256 Broadway was erected for the Home Life Insurance Company, while 253 Broadway was erected for the Postal Telegraph Company. Both buildings were constructed simultaneously between 1892 and 1894. Although 256 Broadway was intended as a 12-story building, it was expanded to 16 stories mid-construction, making it one of the tallest buildings in the city when it was completed. After the Home Life Company bought 253 Broadway in 1947, the two buildings were joined internally to form a single structure, and became collectively known as the Home Life Building. The Home Life Company occupied the building until 1985. It was made a New York City designated landmark in 1991.

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