The 1913 skyscraper built before mandatory setback laws

The Candler Building is a structural relic of a time before New York City decided skyscrapers needed to stop being so tall and start looking like wedding cakes. Completed in 1913 for Coca-Cola owner Asa Griggs Candler, it is one of the last high-rises built before the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Because it beat the deadline, it retains a rectangular tower shape instead of the mandatory setbacks that define the modern skyline.

Architects Willauer, Shape and Bready designed the place in the Spanish Renaissance style. It consists of a 24-story tower to the north and a 17-story wing to the south. The tower originally featured a marble and terracotta facade, though the terracotta has since been replaced with cast stone. The rear wing once housed the Candler Theatre, while the rest of the building served as showrooms and offices.

Safety-wise, the building was ahead of its time. It features an emergency-exit staircase to the south that is structurally independent from the rest of the structure. It might have been the first high-rise in the city with a fireproof exit like this.

The Candler family held the deed until 1947. Charles F. Noyes acquired and renovated the building in 1965. After a foreclosure proceeding in 1980, the building was leased to city agencies, which prompted a corruption investigation. The building was renovated again in the late 1990s following a second foreclosure. It served as a McDonald's until 2020, then briefly became a shelter for asylum seekers in the 2020s. Now, the owner has proposed converting the upper stories into a hotel and then apartments.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons