Everything about The American International Building totally explained
The
American International Building is a 66-
story, 952 foot (290 m) tall
building in
Lower Manhattan in
New York City. It was completed in
1932 during the New York
skyscraper race, which accounts for its
gothic-like
spire-topped appearance, a popular architectural style at that time. It was the tallest building in
Downtown Manhattan until the
1970s when the
World Trade Center was completed. Upon
September 11, 2001 it regained the status of the tallest downtown building. It is currently the fifth tallest in New York City, after the
Empire State Building, the
Bank of America Tower (New York), the
Chrysler Building, and the
New York Times Building, and the fourteenth tallest in the
United States.
The building is usually referred to simply as
American International. It was previously owned by
Cities Service Company and called the
Cities Service Building; Cities Service sold it to the
American International Group (AIG) when moving company headquarters to
Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is now owned by AIG and used for that company's world headquarters, although Cities Service still maintains some offices in the building.
One of the most famous themes of the
limestone-clad tower is a
mountain with a snow cap. The building features an open air platform with an enclosed glass
observatory above it on the 66th Floor, offering the best view of downtown from any building. Unfortunately, this observatory which was once public is now accessible only to
executives and
employees of AIG. The tower was originally and famously built with
double-decker
elevators that served two floors at a time to provide sufficient vertical service for the narrow tower and its limited elevator shafts. Soon afterwards, these elevators were removed because of their low popularity; however, the
Citigroup Center adopted this same idea in the
1970s.
The official address of American International is
70 Pine Street, New York, NY 10270.
Appearances in popular culture
The building is featured in the movie
Spider-Man, although it was depicted as a midtown building for purposes of the plot.
Featured in
Oliver and Company,
Gangs of New York (Only seen in the end during the U2 music),
NY Skyride,
Armageddon,
Superman Returns, and
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It's seen in the cover of
Twin Towers. The building is also seen in the scene where the Twin Towers collapse (via footage) in
Twin Towers. It was also featured in
Independence Day and .
Further Information
Get more info on 'American International Building'.
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