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17 State Street Looks Like A Battery

11K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  ThatOneGuy 
#1 ·
Anyone else see some similarities and/or resemblance to a Battery? It's in Battery Park, I wonder if the architect had any inspiration. I've done some fast research into this but found nothing.





 
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#7 ·
So what if it 17 State St looks like a battery. The Chyrsler Bldg looks like a giant pencil and the ESB looks a like a needle used by doctors. Architects have been known to design buildings to look like things, so this is nothing new.
 
#11 ·
Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to model it after an artillery shell?

It is (artillery) Battery Park after all. ;)

I've always liked this building for the curved glass curtain, it's so simple yet stunning.
 
#19 ·
Hi, I'm new here and noticed this thread and I'm sorry for the bump since this was written like 5 years ago, but the architect of 17th state street is my dad.

The architect's name is Roy Gee. He worked for Emery Roth & Sons for years, originally in Houston Texas till they moved and we as a family relocated to NYC in the early 80s.

As for his inspiration... lol it was not a battery. I asked him this today after I saw this thread through google search and showed him this forum. He told me it was to be sorta like a lighthouse looking out over a harbor.

Thank you all for the positive words about the building and it's design, it's my favorite building my dad has ever decided. I was in awe of it when I was a little boy and still am today.
 
#25 ·
I always struggled to like this one because of the stark contrast with the neighboring buildings as well as the defiantly modern look of 17 State St. But as you say, it bears a kind of lighthouse function (if not look) by virtue of its contrast and the way it really stands out from a distance. The battery thing is funny though and would be even more so if a battery company leased the building or used it in a promotion. :)
 
#21 ·
Who's they? My father is the sole designer/architect of this building and it was never meant to look like a battery... simple as that. Emery Roth & Sons and the old owner of the building Melvin Kaufman didn't ask my father to design something that looked like a battery. You can think what you want though, that's your right.

I'll take my dad's word over a nice coincidence.
 
#23 ·
Like I said you can believe that it's a nice coincidence, that's your right. I'm just trying to say factually that it was never intended to look like a battery or thought to be designed that way... that's all.

Also I was confused when you wrote "they"

No harm done. I'm just trying to get some true facts out about this building, including who designed it (which the OP asked years ago.) No problem if you think it looks like a battery.
 
#30 ·
Just so everyone is clear, Battery Park is not named for the kind of batteries you put in electronics. It refers to when that part of Manhattan held a Gun Battery, which is a storage for guns and other military supplies, during the 17th and 18th century.

I know this thread hasn't been commented on in over two years but I had to clear that up, haha.
 
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