16 Facts About Morse Building

Morse Building, known as the Nassau–Beekman Building and 140 Nassau Street, is a residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, at the northeast corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets.

Morse Building uses polychrome brickwork and terracotta cladding to highlight its fenestration.

The Morse Building was developed by G Livingston and Sidney E Morse, nephews of telegraph inventor Samuel F B Morse and sons of the site's previous owners.

The Morse Building is a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2005.

Morse Building is in the Financial District of Manhattan, just east of New York City Hall, City Hall Park, and the Civic Center.

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Morse Building was originally 140 feet tall, making it one of New York City's tallest buildings upon its completion.

The Morse Building was cited as the first structure to use raised vertical terracotta joints, which in turn were credited with preventing rain from washing out the mortar.

The previous building on the Morse Building's site was occupied by the religious newspaper The New-York Observer between 1840 and 1859.

The Morse Building was reportedly constantly occupied by merchants and lawyers during the late 19th century.

Gilbert Livingston Morse died in 1891, and a mortgage in his half-interest was given to Matilda C McVicker.

In 1894, when a crack appeared in the facade during construction of the adjacent 150 Nassau Street, there were fears that the Morse Building was structurally unstable, though engineers said it was not serious.

The Morse Building instead became known as the Nassau–Beekman Building, a move possibly inspired by the naming of 277 Broadway at Chambers Street as the Broadway–Chambers Building.

The Nassau–Beekman Morse Building was already seen as "small and old-fashioned", especially when compared with the adjacent 23-story building at 150 Nassau Street, despite having been completed only twenty years prior.

American Architect and Morse Building said in January 1879 that "the construction seems to have been carefully studied and well carried out".

Carpentry and Morse Building magazine said, "Although there have been many tall buildings erected in New York of late years, this one outstrips them all".

The Building News said that the Morse Building was "a very quiet and pleasing structure", rather than being gaudy.