How This Skyscraper Changed NYC's Skyline Forever

Why do so many of New York's older skyscrapers have a similar design?
The answer can be traced back to a monumental 1916 zoning law, which established “setback” requirements for buildings above a certain height. In the heart of the Financial District, the Equitable Building, a historic skyscraper that predates the law, remains a symbol of the excesses of the pre-zoning era.
Video by Raymond Schillinger
Camera: Brian Schildhorn
Additional Production: Ren Potts, Jordan Oplinger, Maya Greene
Graphics: Christian Capestany
Special thanks to:
Silverstein Properties
Carol Willis - Founder, Director, and Curator of The Skyscraper Museum
New York City Department of City Planning
Archival Photographs from Getty Images, POND5
#NYC #history #architecture
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[@can_you_guess_my_new_username]

Wow... even in 1915, new York's skyline was impressive

[@diegoochoa111]

Jbog07 socialism?

[@SquidCena]

@Jbog07 you're stupid... NYC looks way better than it did back in the old days.. so you're wrong

[@urmom340]

These 12 yr olds are like “back then”, YOU WEREN’T ALIVE

[@carmenvasquez9421]

New York has always had the biggest skyline in the world.

[@griffin8062]

@Jbog07 Oh you're one of those people who blames everything on "socialism"..

[@Shaun-tz6qe]

Honestly just always assumed buildings were built that way for stability.

[@sheem.2450]

ShadowWhelp same!! Lol

[@vicpoweryt8381]

Sure

[@WaitingForStorm]

yeah like a pyramid

[@trevvorphilip2515]

i thought it was for wind resistance

[@harm9249]

such building shapes actually are more stable, so you aren’t entirely wrong

[@AcidOllie]

I must be getting old because I found this absolutely fascinating.

[@user-xb5bz4fu9o]

I'm fifteen and this is my cup of tea

[@seangarcia1806]

@@user-xb5bz4fu9o Same, if you're gonna waste your time on the internet you might as well learn something

[@user-ge8yn4ql4i]

Same. Videos like these are fascinating

[@TheLifeisgood72]

I’m 15 and been obsessed with architecture since I was 13

[@KingOfFreeRiders]

21yo construction engineer student. Found this super fascinating.

[@thislampwillruleyt5105]

How did they manage to build that in 1915 and it’s 2019 and I can’t even complete a lego set

[@sarahschmidt4217]

Bush did 9/11

[@sarahschmidt4217]

How did the Egyptians build the pyramids? 🇰🇵 *just so you know, Ik how they built them. I’m asking this bc of the context of the question. I’m referring to the fact that ancient history is way earlier than 1915 and they still built advanced structures.

[@canadabramlea449]

@@sarahschmidt4217 Nuked for days

[@SpankThatUdder]

Your an idiot

[@After4th]

@@SpankThatUdder you're

[@xxnarutoshippudenxx1112]

Old days: *complains of how big it is* Nowadays: *laughs of how little it is*

[@Pierrot9315]

@C caymer and high speed rail would be a viable option with that density

[@NormEatsRice]

Just like my dick

[@papanurgle8393]

@C caymer Except we'd risk having smog from industries and slaughterhouses glued to residential areas, and streets would be pitch black thanks to shadows from buildings. Traffic at rush hour wouldn't get worse, it would become impassable. Not to mention that half the claims you're making are either random or beyond stretched. You can invest money into a comprehensive public transit system an achieve the same effect, especially in the current economic climate. There's 0 guarantee that you'd see a decrease in obesity given American consumerism is at the root of the problem, and the cost of building wouldn't magically go away. Megalopolises like the one in Japan follows their own building guidelines to accomodate and work their population, and people are in shape because the culture, eatinghabits and socialized healthcare promotes healthy living (your oublic healthcare costs more if your BMO is above a certain threshold). If anything you'd risk skewing the cost of prime real-estate by a mile because you'd have more markets for "luxury" properties in an effort to escape the sardine-can layout of the city. You seem to overlook some of the other problems Asian cityscapes have; the sheer density of population in such a small area. It leads to plenty of other issues and hurdles (you wanna see what constitutes "appartments" in some parts of China? It's a large cage with hole covers). We'd have to completely overhaul road convetions and draft a new set of regulations on roads if we wanted to keep this theoretical city safe and effective, all to offset the change, and we'd just come back to square one. City planning ain't perfect but this wouldn't be a real workable solution. Also how is it unconstitutional?

[@Regicide42]

C caymer I don’t know what Asia you’re talking about, but every major Asian country has zoning similar to the US. The difference is Asian cities tend to be denser and more expensive to live in. I really hope that this is bait

[@IcelanderUSer]

C caymer You’re assuming so much here. Let’s add that lions and tigers will cohabitate with people and no longer kill other animals for food. There’s nothing about zoning that is unconstitutional. Cities and states have the right to organize how their cities grow. Telling us that zoning is the obstacle to every problem in the world is just nuts.

[@wackyboy1015]

why is a building called a building if it is already built?

[@ns7353]

Bloomberg, answer now please

[@BattleCarrot]

Go to bed Jayden Smith.

[@faust7756]

i propose to call it a build't

[@anonb4632]

matt O Because it isn't a gerund.

[@zargentin]

And a They call paintings paintings when they are already painted. Something funny is going on here...

[@Pv488]

I had my first internship in this building, it was definitely beautiful.

[@saxopio6280]

JRLOC488 “is”

[@hebneh]

In the 1970s, some art historians mistakenly thought that NYC's characteristic building outlines were due to just to aesthetics and a trend to copy Mayan pyramids, just because they looked good. Nope.

[@nicklemen]

hebneh what! Where did you read this?

[@InsaneNuYawka]

Where did this theory come from???

[@InsaneNuYawka]

Also , cities such as Buenos Aires with a similar grid and density have this same exact building code

[@AbdulSidikov]

art history is a meme

[@alecmrg0114]

@@InsaneNuYawka Palacio Barolo and Kavanagh building are really beautiful!

[@awesomeme5336]

wait this is not vox?

[@AlexK-wp9ie]

Awesome Me vox is garbage

[@greekmythdude9053]

Ur mom

[@juanmanuelc6644]

This is psoe

[@rusitoexplorador]

@@juanmanuelc6644 ahhh... I see un hombre of culture aquí

[@squiddi1393]

It’s a beautiful building inside and out. I appreciate the architectural designs and subtleties it has.

[@chrisemens4022]

I worked in the Equitable Building. Loved it!

[@kairon156]

I have noticed NewYork's buildings went inword as it went up but I never knew it was because of zoning laws. Also, Some places have laws for having so much ground area wrather it's parks or what ever around a tower.

[@RamkumarYadav-gy8zr]

Dutpur

[@user-hc9qv9yb9m]

"Inward" and "rather"

[@nahnope8581]

@@user-hc9qv9yb9m "peepee" and "poopoo"

[@user-hc9qv9yb9m]

@@nahnope8581 lol

[@kourii]

@@user-hc9qv9yb9m actually 'inward' and 'whether'

[@Arthur-mk2vq]

Great video bloomberg!

[@business]

Thanks for watching!

[@pamplonaHD]

this is valuable, insightful and interesting. good job Bloomberg.

[@Skybar23]

wow , I visited Manhattan from Australia a few months ago and I looked back at the photos I took from the empire state building roof top and I had always notice how the older sky scrappers were shaped distinctively from the newer sky scrapers and now I found the answer. NYC is such a fascinating place and I look forward to returning there some time soon and I want to see a college marching band too.

[@MrMentalSoul]

Very fascinating -- thanks for doing a video on this!

[@PradeepKalaimaran]

The amount of work that has gone into this four minute long video is substantial. So pleasing to watch. You made it look so simple and perhaps, that's the sign of excellent content. Thanks! Keep going!

[@ClifDickens]

Such a well-crafted video that finds the sweet spot between informative and engaging.

[@falp006]

Great video about the impact of 1916 Zoning Law, still visible nowadays.

[@DubaiGuy08]

So instead of setting fixed height limits, NYC zoning law offered a simple but workable algorithm that helped developers decide where and how tall to build. I love it!

[@kurt2rsenjazz]

Very interesting and informative. Thank you @Bloomberg

[@Vlad-wi1rj]

Very interesting! Great video!

[@danmcclaren5436]

Awesome freaking video!

[@gregorysampson8759]

Really interesting stuff Bloomberg thanks!

[@tamato]

Very weird how the thing you learn your first week in architecture school can become a super interesting video to so many. Great video by Bloomberg, editing and graphics were top notch.

[@Madfattdeeb]

That was awesome!😄 I truly will see New York skyline differently from now on.

[@dodoshade9363]

thx . this was informative and interesting.

[@NewsMoto]

Well produced film! Keep it up!

[@Lumencraft-]

Nice job on this video. Very well laid out, good information.

[@Alejoblocks]

Stunning!

[@patsgarage8593]

That's great info!!

[@OliverHeady1234]

Wow, awesome video!

[@silverlve70]

Love learning new things!

[@sarcasmo57]

Kind of makes me feel like building a building.

[@williamhenley8593]

First you would need to build on your knowledge of building buildings in order to build a building

[@RickyRisha410]

Very good Bloomberg

[@TheNormanmurk]

I'm a builder and that's one of the coolest things I've learned yet, thanks for that!

[@darthutah6649]

Now New York city is super expensive to live in. I'm sure New Yorkers wouldn't mind more supertalls if it meant lower rent.

[@SquidCena]

We don't mind more supertalls because it makes the city nicer. It's not the super talls its the landlords though... they're greedy and not just that... they turned manhattan into a rich city which isn't bad and but isn't good too... good things? More money goes to MTA... we really need to lower congestion in the subways and we should build more subways under subways... right? I mean we need more trains and space... and now the bad thing? You can't be middle class just to even live in a suoertall...

[@user-ne2bb5nh7t]

The only problem is that the apts in 432 Park Avenue and other supertall buildings are multi-million dollar ones. When you build a supertall the immense view is a huge selling point. No way a developer isn't going to tap into that value to hike up their prices. What we need are zoning regulations for income as well as type of building. A lot of apts near where I live are income controlled meaning you can't live there if you make over x amount. This ensures that there are affordable options for people who live on fixed or low incomes. I know people freak out whenever someone mentions public housing, but my friends live in one of these apts and they're actually very nice, clean, and safe. When done right, this can be a useful solution. There are numerous other solutions that have worked for other countries, such as Singapore.

[@MK-ex4pb]

Zoning laws, taxes, and regulations are the causes of high prices

[@MK-ex4pb]

@@SquidCena the landlords aren't greedy. That's what the price is because you idiots vote for Communists again and again. Higher taxes, more regulations. Zoning laws restrict stock, so prices go up

[@SquidCena]

@@MK-ex4pb you're the real idiot... the landlords are greedy stupid taxes might raise but no reason to make a apartment room 100s of millions of dollars dude.

[@canesvenatici2400]

Damn Bloomberg. More videos like this, please. Maybe about things that aren't obvious in economics.

[@enricopersia4290]

So many curious things on this channel

[@Mastro_]

Mind. Blown.

[@pkgamma]

Can someone please explain how 432 Park Avenue happen then?

[@georgiostsirtsidis1125]

Illuminati

[@business]

That's a great question. There are provisions in the 1961 zoning code that allow developers to purchase and transfer "air rights" from adjoining lots, allowing supertall skyscrapers like 432 Park to exist without an apparent setback. There's a good explanation of this provision here: www.skyscraper.org/EXHIBITIONS/SKY_HIGH/shearwall_invmonopoly.php

[@dash1dash2]

432 Park Ave doesn't use the entire terrain it's on. That's also a big part of how it was possible.

[@T1Earn]

this woulda been nice to fit in the video...

[@u1zha]

2:37 "Furthermore, in any district, 25% of the lot had no height limit at all"

[@chrisperry7963]

Very interesting!

[@wumingkkk]

Thanks for the infor Bloomberg. I just came back from NYC and thought it was trying to be unique but you have enlightened me. The setback has accidentally made the city so unique and I find it pleasant looking.

[@AV-bt9dv]

I really like this video, and I’ve shared with my fellow math geeks. Thanks :)

[@TSemasFl]

That was a interesting video, I didn't know that. Now next time I'm in Manhattan I'll be looking for all the buildings built like this. lol

[@NachoTV]

0:42 too big? Wonder what they think of Manhattan now 😁

[@Dear_Mr._Isaiah_Deringer]

Nacho TV Actually if you ever get to walk around the area the equitable building and Wall Street area has a distinct feeling to it, like walking in a canyon. If you than compare that to other areas like empire state, grand Central or WTC etc. it feels much less massive.

[@kennethstuart9828]

Nacho TV .i@

[@AzeriN01]

Would say*

[@Hoople57]

I'm down there often. I think your observation is based on how narrow the streets are in that part of New York City.

[@twenty0ztsunami157]

that its filled with bums defecating in the streets, probably.

[@frstvisuals1356]

Awesome vid

[@BlueBird-wb6kb]

It's like a Triumph Arch and Greek pillars but functional

[@octavianschaefer7294]

Oh wow, this is actually really fascinating

[@jake21I1]

Would love to see a short film on the Equitable Building in New York. I’m sure the process of renovation is fascinating with there’s usually lots of drama around historic statuses and what can be done and how.

[@remtromol]

i love these essay videos! bloomberg doing awesome shit, now.. 👍👍👍

[@AtheistMorax]

New York 80s skyline, that was a great skyline 👍👍

[@alexj.pereira528]

Crazy how I never ever thought I'd be working here, but I love working in this building

[@iamjobu6101]

So the empire state building was just an architect's idea of trolling the zoning law

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

How so?

[@Glorious_Kim_Jong_Un]

No, not remotely close to that but I'm sure you're going to go with that narrative for the rest of your life and tell everyone that it was actually designed to troll zoning laws. Why are people so stupid? I really would love to know that, not trying to be mean, but why in the world would you actually think that?

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

The zoning laws were put in place specifically so buildings would look like the Empire State Building. The very point of these zoning laws was so that buildings would taper into the famous NY wedding cake shape that they are. The Empire State Building is textbook 1920s NY Art Deco.

[@champ1114]

@@Glorious_Kim_Jong_Un Wow bet you're fun at parties

[@portal2kid]

Not exactly. It states that cutting off part of the building is fine and not a loophole. It was in the video, after all.

[@bernadetteghazi-tehrani1420]

And now I work in this building. Very cool

[@ymi_yugy3133]

It looks really cool

[@Andrew19991000]

I pass that building all the time never noticed hot beautiful it is until now

[@johnsonsgreen928]

In PD 1096 or NBCP of the Philippines, it is called Incremental Setbacks, usually applied on C3 zones.

[@thdremily]

And then we got the Twin Towers, jutting upwards and not inwards, long and slender and majestic. Man those were great buildings.

[@godofthisshit]

Ted Morris People originally thought they were ugly. I guess they were as individual buildings but together they were amazing. Freedom tower dropped the ball.

[@thdremily]

Indeed, in fact I know several native New Yorkers who hated the original WTC complex, but now you have the freedom tower, which just doesn't have anything close to as powerful an imprint on the skyline. Unfortunately we can never have the twin towers back.

[@pavanpatel7826]

Interesting!

[@robertdivinagracia416]

I love videos on NYC buildings!

[@KyleLi]

I cant look at them in any different way now... oh boy

[@saidasma]

I think the drawing "Evolution of a City Building Under the Zoning Law" by Hugh Ferris would've been a great addition to this video.Overall, it was a great explanation on the birth of zoning.

[@XX-gy7ue]

very interesting

[@PJBearstein]

I liked that manual lift at the beginning.

[@RazzUK]

That subtle simcity-esque music makes this video

[@user-if4df7lk1z]

It is georgous, especially on the inside. I have actually been in it .

[@ludwigvanbeethoven5176]

To be honest i dont care about efficiency.Just make the damn building look good!

[@datitingammez]

Nobody: Professional videos made by companies: It’s Bloomberg: *its*

[@j.jarvis7460]

I love old buildings that are made with stone. Amazing work.

[@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN]

@@AlvinGuoSubscribe Yes he knows that, Stop trying to be like you think you're smarter than everyone else

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

@@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN Wouldn't be so sure chief. You can't build buildings out of cement, especially not a facade. It is a binding agent.

[@charliebowen5323]

I didn't watch the whole video but I worked on this building years ago the lobby is unbelievable

[@sheem.2450]

So interesting!!!!!$

[@gduteaud]

Hey! Could you link to the article quoted in the video regarding evil effects? Can’t find it on my own. Thanks!

[@jessicaanderson4431]

right on

[@noreworks]

I've seen so many fact videos in youtube, it's really rare to see something that's actually never been discussed before 👍🏻

[@BradThePitts]

Born & raised - I did NOT know this.

[@bruno8126]

This building looks just like the Magnolia hotel skyscraper in downtown Dallas! I stay there for fun cause I live in Dallas and it's a great admiration:)

[@AiSard]

Should have covered Air Rights as well. The tug and pull between developers and regulations.

[@takyikobbie3679]

Wow New York in 1960 looks better than my country

[@lonelittlejerry917]

*1916

[@lonelittlejerry917]

I think

[@evanmcdonald5075]

Come to Detroit and get yo ass smoked

[@Axel-ll2jp]

Wow they finished this in 1915 impressive

[@jz4163]

The Equitable Building made the citizens under its shadow drink from a separate fountain

[@tobyuwu]

Im a province boi and i think its gonna fall down and crush me.

[@weedtaco1443]

Speed Levich explained this to me once while on a walk

[@SuperAllenZ]

Do one on Chicago!

[@jenniferwebb5954]

Thank you Iron Walkers for your brave work. Kinda surprised they weren't mentioned in this, since they're responsible for the NYC skyline smh??

[@_fordaaxx_4458]

je suis là pour les cours

[@marielaband4208]

Could this please be 20 minutes longer?

[@ifrahariff2018]

At 3:57, how come the wide building on the left doesn't have any setbacks?

[@guccigirlluelzia8097]

I wish I could go NYC

[@ALXMARTIN]

So its this laws fault I can't work, shop, live, in one mega skyscraper.

[@pyroparagon8945]

Yep

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

And physics, but ok

[@juanmanuelc6644]

Yup

[@danimart3374]

I worked for a few months in that building as an intern in college. I hated being in and around that structure. Even though it was so classic and "iconic", it always felt out-of-place and obtrusive. There were no decent views in the office where I worked, just walls forever.

[@Izmael1310]

Is the law still active? Because it seems that old WTC (was not) and Freedom tower (is not) narrower going up.

[@brayanhabidcol]

Because the top floors of the structure don't take more than 25% of the lot where there were built. And both are in huge lots that are not fully used by the structure.

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

Because the WTC wasn't built on a block, rather it was built on a huge plaza and thus, even with the setback rule, they were still far enough from the streets to be allowed.

[@TheGamerTo]

No one talks about Chicago’s skyline tho

[@LadyAmanita]

You can see this even in skyscrapers built during the Mad Men era- the 50's into the early 60's. Here's some notable examples- 270 Park Avenue and 1285 6th avenue (1960), 1290 6th Avenue (1963) and 277 Park Avenue (1964). However, architectural fashion had changed- clients wanted sleek, modern towers instead of the "frozen fountain" look popular during the Art Deco era. So architects moved most of the setbacks to the sides and backs of the buildings, giving them the appearance of having tails, after a fashion. People notice the tall and sleek tower fronting the avenue, but often don't see that there's a whole tail section happening too, which often contains a sizeable chunk of floor space. 1290 6th Avenue's got the most complicated arrangement of setbacks of any of these towers.

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

Also, air rights are a thing now.

[@cmhughes8057]

I wish we had zoning laws for large cities that required 60% of all housing to be high-rise apartments or at the least townhomes. This would reduce the carbon footprint immensely in most cities, oh and make sure there are vast parks like what New York City has.

[@gpgbdaf]

I hope the Equitable Building kept the manually controlled elevator!

[@brettcannon74]

Only the doors are. It's electric

[@procopischristofi9158]

This building is actually really big for my country standarss oh man 7 floors and thets huge

[@BITVOLT7]

Genius

[@monobgantonina5577]

What about all the all glass and steel more modern skyscrapers that just start and continue in a straight line to the top? Like the WTC for example?

[@AlvinGuoSubscribe]

WTC is on a huge multi-block plaza, so it's kinda a special case, but the super skinny skyscrapers can be straight all the way to the top by purchasing the air rights from neighboring buildings and plots and stacking them on top of their own plot.

[@philiq18]

So basically this was a feature on effective land use and urban planning.