Liberty Tower, 55 Liberty Street - Financial District
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Liberty Tower, located at 55 Liberty Street in Manhattan's Financial District, is one of New York City's earliest and most distinctive skyscrapers. Completed in 1909 and designed by Henry Ives Cobb in the Romantic Gothic Revival style, the 33-story building is renowned for its striking white terra cotta façade adorned with elaborate decorative elements including gargoyles, lions, falcons, and alligators. The building's Gothic design later inspired Cass Gilbert's famous Woolworth Building.
Originally constructed as a speculative office building by the Liberty-Nassau Building Company, the tower housed several notable tenants including President Franklin D. Roosevelt's law office in 1921 and the Sinclair Oil Company. The building site previously housed The New York Evening Post from 1853 to 1875.
In 1979, architect Joseph Pell Lombardi pioneered one of Lower Manhattan's first residential conversions, transforming the building into an 86-unit cooperative. The conversion maintained high preservation standards, creating unique layouts including simplexes, duplexes, and triplexes. Lombardi converted the former Sinclair Oil Company boardroom and dining room into his own apartment.
The building received landmark status in 1982 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Following damage from the 2001 World Trade Center collapse, the building underwent a significant $5 million façade restoration, later receiving the prestigious Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Today, Liberty Tower operates as a full-service cooperative offering 24-hour door staff, porters, a live-in superintendent, and private storage lockers for residents. Each apartment features washer and dryer units, and the building allows pieds-à-terre and subletting with board approval.
The building's Gothic-vaulted lobby features marble finishes complementary to the exterior terra cotta, with bronze trim and marble wainscoting extending through the upstairs corridors. The building's distinctive slender form, which was eventually banned by new city zoning laws, contributes to its architectural significance.
Situated in the heart of the Financial District, the building stands adjacent to the landmark Chamber of Commerce building and enjoys proximity to major transportation hubs, world-class shopping at Brookfield Place and the Oculus, Whole Foods, diverse dining options, and cultural attractions including the South Street Seaport.
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For some co-ops, instead of price per square foot, we use an estimate of the number of rooms for each sold apartment to chart price changes over time. This is because many co-op listings do not include square footage information, and this makes it challenging to calculate accurate square-foot averages.
By displaying the price per estimated room count, we are able to provide a more reliable and consistent metric for comparing sales in the building. While we hope that this gives you a clearer sense of price trends in the building, all data should be independently verified. All data provided are only estimates and should not be used to make any purchase or sale decision.
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