The Equitable Building in 1944. Photo: Bettmann/Getty/Bettmann Archive The Equitable Building is not as famous as the Chrysler, the Empire State, or even the Flatiron. But it changed the city in countless ways — with as many superlatives, historical firsts, and tabloid headlines as one structure can bear.
A scion of the du Pont robber-baron clan bought the full-block site for $14 million. The new Equitable Building — with 38-stories, a distinctive H-shape footprint, and enough space for 15,000 workers — was the world’s largest office building by area. Protests over its gargantuan proportions led to the nation’s first zoning law. Tenants would include General Electric, Goodyear, Barclays, several railroads, and the state attorney general’s office.
1884 ➼ When a complex fraud collapses, a stenographer named William Scovil is revealed to have dual identities, ostensibly toiling at an Equitable law firm by day while enjoying a reputation on Wall Street as a wealthy trader. 1942 ➼ An artillery shell smashes into a ledge between the 37th and 38th floors, the result of an anti-aircraft misfire on the East River.1958 ➼ A cleaning woman at the Mitsubishi International Corporation throws 12 vials of radioactive isotopes into the trash.
Harry and Leona Helmsley. Photo: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 1987 ➼ Harry Helmsley, a former owner of the Equitable, and his wife, Leona, are charged with fraud; they return to the building to surrender to authorities. In grislier crime news the same year, a stockbroker is murdered by his brother on the 22nd floor.
Equitable is a name that attracts trouble here, right?
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