287 Broadway ARCHITECT: John B. Snook DATE: 1871-72 STYLE: Second Empire The 287 Broadway Building is notable for its combination of the Italianate and French Second Empire styles as executed in cast iron, and one of the few surviving examples in New York city. It is executed in richly detailed cast iron and is crowned by a prominent slate mansard roof with iron cresting. The prestige of the building was indicated both by the mansard roof and the installation of an early Otis passenger elevator. The building graphically illustrates the transformation of lower Broadway in the 19th century from a residential boulevard into the city’s commercial center.