Bank of the Metropolis, Bank building in Union Square, Manhattan, US
Bank of the Metropolis is a Beaux-Arts building on the corner of 16th Street and Union Square West in Manhattan, rising 16 floors above street level. Its limestone facade is lined with Ionic columns, while the lower floors hold retail spaces and the upper floors are used for residential purposes.
Architect Bruce Price designed the building in 1902 for a banking institution that had been operating around Union Square since 1871. It is now listed both as a New York City Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
The ground floor now holds a restaurant where a banking hall once stood, giving the space a new daily purpose. The upper floors belong to Parsons School of Design, housing artist studios and student rooms.
The building sits at a busy corner on the edge of Union Square, making it easy to look at the facade from the sidewalk. The ground-floor spaces are open to the public, but the upper floors are not accessible to visitors.
William Steinway, one of the founders of the Steinway and Sons piano company, was among the founding members of the bank. This kind of overlap between business figures from different industries was common in New York financial circles at the time.
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