Morgan Guaranty Trust Building

Morgan Guaranty Trust Building

This imposing limestone edifice was constructed at the epicenter of the financial universe directly across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. JP Morgan built the building toward the end of his career, in 1913. He had already cemented himself as the king of the New York financial world and he required a headquarters that could adequately serve as his court. Morgan enlisted the expertise of architects Trowbridge & Livingston to build him a building that would rival the Parthenon in stature. The result was a grand office building that boasted a gigantic central atrium and large private offices with fireplaces. The headquarters of J.P. Morgan & Company became known simply as “The Corner” and it was the place for titans of the finance world to see and be seen. In 1920, the building received a jolt when terrorists detonated a bomb across the street. Holes caused by the blast still remain in the walls of the building. J.P. Morgan Chase, the current incarnation of the company that J.P. Morgan built up a century ago, no longer uses the building for offices.