Built as a speculative office building, this 17-story steel skeleton structure was the largest in Manhattan before the turn of the century. It housed the offices of many shipping companies, being near the start of lower Broadway's "Steamship Row" and convenient to the Custom House. It was here that the friends and family of those aboard the Titanic came in April 1912 to get what news they could from the White Star Line Offices. The Audsley brothers were a surprising choice for such a large and prominent commission. They had no prior experience in New York, having recently immigrated to America from Glasgow. They had, however, completed many projects in England and were known on both sides of the Atlantic for their pattern books on Greek ornament. They designed the building in a style they dubbed "Hellenic Renaissance" a mannerist mode of the Greek Revival. They created a rich layering of Greek ornament and forms that are enlarged to suit the massive scale of the building. The base of the tower is clad in a light granite and the upper portion in terra cotta.

Bowling Green Building (at right), 1898. Architectural partners and brothers William and George Ardsley constructed the (now) 17-story Bowling Green Building in 1898 in a "Hellenic Renaissance" style, which they described as "a free but pure treatment of ancient Greek architecture.” Built in a U-shape, the central court provided ventilation and light to the offices. The facade was gleaming white, rendered in brick and terra cotta. Early tenants of the building included the Erie Railroad Company and the White Star Line. It was here that relatives and friends of Titanic passengers flocked for information in the days after the ship's sinking. The elevators, which were a major selling point for the building when it opened, caused a number of issues for the building. In 1915 seven elevators simultaneously fell, and only a few months later, a similar incident with four elevators occurred. The passengers were mostly only shaken up with one broken leg. The building had an additional story and four-story tower added between 1919 and 1920, which was seamlessly designed to reflect the building's style. Today the building is largely occupied by technology companies including a number of internet start ups.

New York City is home to coffee lovers. For centuries, coffee has been sold, traded, and enjoyed in the city. One aspect of coffee culture that has aided its popularity is the coffee house. Coffee houses' locations throughout Lower Manhattan were essential to the foundations of the City's political and financial institutions. Providing both public and private rooms to men of all classes for discussions of business, politics, new ideas, and the latest gossip, coffee houses quickly rose in popularity. Although these institutions no longer stand their influences are still felt today. Join us as we travel to the locations of several old New York City coffee houses to see what has replaced them in their stead.

A walking tours through Lower Manhattan's skyscraper canyons and more than a century of high-rise construction. This walk focuses on the buildings around Broadway. This story is adapted from an exhibition at the Skycraper Museum. The original version can be seen here.

Bowling Green Building ARCHITECT: W. & G. Audsley DATE: 1895-98 The Bowling Green Offices Building, an enormous and beautifully crafted presence at the base of Broadway, facing Bowling Green and extending through the block to Greenwich Street, was designed and built in 1895-98 to be at the forefront of New York commercial towers in terms of its size, architectural style, and amenities.