165 W 31st St
1922-23, Starrett & Van Vleck

The first building of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was located at 120 Broadway. The company was founded in 1859 and provided financial services and insurance. After a fire destroyed this building, it was replaced in 1915 by the Equitable Building (NYC Landmark, 1996), but by the 1920s the company began to plan its relocation, purchasing land near Penn Station.The monumental 26-story structure has a 15-story base and three setbacks that create penthouse floors. It features Renaissance Revival influences, with showroom windows, panels carved with foliate designs, pictographs, and a balustraded cornice framing the first three floors. The main entrance has a stone arch with decorative spandrels and a cornice. It was designed by the firm of Starrett & van Vleck, known for their designs of flagship stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdale's.