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New York

9-story rental building dubs itself “Empire State Building”

The name refers to the 19th-century structure’s original use

640 Braodway
640 Braodway

Manhattan is about to get a second, much smaller Empire State Building, thanks to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The LPC has given a prewar rental building at 640 Broadway permission to etch the moniker above its entryway after updates to the structure are completed, according to Curbed. As part of the renovation, the building will also have new penthouses tacked onto the top floor.

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The logic behind the seemingly bizarre move is that 640 Broadway, designed by DeLomos and Cordes and completed in 1897, was originally home to the Empire State Bank. Back then, the building had the words “Empire State Building” carved above its Broadway entrance.

Architects Joe Levine and Bill Higgins of the firm Higgins Quasebarth & Partners hope to restore not only the lost lettering, but also cornice, molding and brackets. [Curbed] – Christopher Cameron