Bank of America Building
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Bank of America Building (Providence)
| Bank of America Building | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Location | Kennedy Plaza, Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°49′28″N 71°24′39″W / 41.824553°N 71.410696°WCoordinates: 41°49′28″N 71°24′39″W / 41.824553°N 71.410696°W |
| Height | |
| Roof | 428 ft (130 m) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Walker & Gillette, George Frederick Hall |
| Developer | Industrial Trust Company |
The Bank of America Building ([1]) is the tallest building in the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island, and the 28th tallest in New England.[2] Standing at 428 feet (130 m) and comprising 26 floors, it was the third tallest building in New England when completed, behind the Travelers Tower in Hartford, CT[3] and the Custom House Tower in Boston[4][verification needed].[5].[6]
|
Contents
|
History
The building was built as the Industrial Trust Tower in 1927,[7] and designed in the Art Deco style popular at the time. Though stepped buildings in New York City had been architects' solution for Manhattan's strict zoning regarding adequate light and air, facing no such restrictions in Providence, the New York architects, Walker & Gillette, chose to keep symmetrical stepped massing. The base and the trim at the base's top was built to match the cornice height of existing adjacent (now gone) four-story buildings.[6] The building has remained relatively unchanged over the years with the exception of the lobby, the upper windows and several stone eagles at the top of the tower on the light beacon, which were removed decades ago after an eagle fell to the street below. From nightfall until midnight the building's peak is lit a bright blue (red and green at Christmas, red for Valentine's Day).
In popular culture
- The Bank of America building, built in 1927, is the oldest building to have a state record for tallest in state. The next oldest building to hold a state height record is the Empire State Building, built three years later.
- During the 1950s, it was rumored that the Bank of America building served as the model for the Daily Planet building in Superman comic book.[citation needed] The building is still referred to by Providence locals as the Superman Building for its resemblance to that of the comic and 1950s television series. However, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster claims he drew his inspiration not from this (nor the also rumored AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio, where Shuster was living at the time) but, rather, from his home city of Toronto (such as the Commerce Court North and the Fairmont Royal York). The building shown in the television, program, however, is the Los Angeles City Hall, located at 150 S. Los Angeles Street in Los Angeles.[8]
See also
References
- ^ or "The Superman Building" to locals
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2] Emporis.com, Travelers Tower, Hartford, CT
- ^ [3] Emporis.com, Custom House Tower, Boston, MA
- ^ Superman Building. Pdvbldgs.com. Accessed April 7, 2006.
- ^ a b Woodward, Wm McKenzie. Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed. United States: 2003. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X. p101.
- ^ For a time the building has been the Fleet Bank Tower.
- ^ CTV.ca: "Superman co-creator has humble Canadian roots". Accessed 2007-07-25.
External links
| Preceded by Rhode Island State House |
Tallest Building in Providence 1927—Present 130m |
Succeeded by None |
|
|||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Bank of America Building (Providence).
Read more