W New York Union Square
201 Park Avenue South | Gramercy | built 1911
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1909
Germania Life buys the Park Avenue South corner and demands a tower of at least 16 stories
Germania Life's president, Cornelius Doremus, saw that its Nassau Street building could no longer compete, and the leftover space could not be rented profitably. A new headquarters seemed a fitting way to mark the company's fiftieth anniversary. In 1909 the directors bought the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South) and East 17th Street, insisting on at least sixteen stories so the tower would not be overshadowed.
“The new building was to be at least sixteen stories tall so that it would not be dwarfed by the other commercial buildings…”
Source: catalog.archives.gov
- 1909
Germania Life hires its own director, Albert D'Oench, to design the Union Square tower
In 1909 the commission went to D'Oench & Yost with little searching, since architect Albert Frederick D'Oench sat on Germania Life's board of directors. Born in St. Louis to German immigrant parents, he had studied in Brooklyn and Stuttgart and formed the firm with Joseph Warren Yost in 1900. The National Register nomination says the Germania building is generally cited as the firm's most significant work.
“…one of the directors was architect Albert Frederick D'Oench (1852-1918) of the firm of D'Oench & Yost…”
Source: catalog.archives.gov
- 1911
Germania Life moves into its new 20-story tower on Fourth Avenue
Architects D'Oench & Yost designed the 20-story headquarters at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and 17th Street, topped by a four-story mansard roof. The Germania Life Insurance Company moved in on April 24, 1911, and the building was finished the following month at a cost of about $1.45 million. The company leased the space it did not need to other tenants.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1917
Anti-German sentiment pushes Germania Life toward a new name, Guardian
On February 27, 1917, Germania Life district manager Henry Abeles, who spoke with a German accent, was jeered and pushed into a chair at an industry dinner after he pleaded for peace as the United States neared war. By the end of that year the company's directors voted to seek approval to become the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. A Wisconsin insurer called Guardian Life sued over the name, but the courts ruled that adding "of America" was enough to tell the two apart. The company then had a new rooftop sign made.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1959
Guardian Life gives up on Westchester and announces a four-story annex beside its Union Square tower
By the mid-twentieth century Guardian Life had filled its tower and weighed leaving for Midtown or for White Plains or New Rochelle in Westchester. Residents and employees objected to the suburban sites, so the company chose to stay. In 1959 it announced a four-story annex at 105 East 17th Street designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, finished in 1961.
“…both proposals faced opposition from residents and Guardian Life employees, leading the company to decide to expand its Union Square location…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1988
The Landmarks Commission designates the Germania Life tower after hearings with 32 supporters
The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Germania Life Insurance Company Building, by then the Guardian Life Building, on September 6, 1988. At a May 1985 hearing, thirty-two witnesses spoke for designation and two spoke against on the owner's behalf; a continued hearing that September added seven in favor and one against. The report called the roof sign an early and impressive example of modern signage.
“Thirty-two witnesses spoke in favor of designation; two witnesses spoke in opposition on behalf of the owner.”
- 1998
Guardian Life decides to sell its Union Square home and move to Lower Manhattan
Guardian had been the twentieth-largest US life insurer in 1985, and in 1998 it decided to sell the tower it had occupied since 1911 and take offices in Lower Manhattan. The company had been founded in 1860 to sell life insurance to the German-American community.
“In 1998, the Guardian decided to sell the building and move to offices in Lower Manhattan.”
Source: catalog.archives.gov
- 2000
The Guardian Life tower reopens as the W New York Union Square
Guardian Life moved its headquarters downtown in 1998, and the Related Companies converted the tower into a hotel run by W Hotels. The W New York Union Square opened in December 2000 with 270 rooms. A $100 million renovation of the hotel was completed in 2025.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2006
Istithmar World pays $285 million for the W Union Square hotel, over $1 million a room
Istithmar World, an investment group owned by the Dubai government, bought the W New York Union Square in 2006 for $285 million. The price, together with that of a Hawaii resort, topped $1 million per room, the highest rate then paid for hotels not slated for renovation. The hotel occupies the former Guardian Life tower, converted in 2000.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2019
Marriott buys the W Union Square for $206 million and plans a renovation
In October 2019 Marriott paid $206 million for the W Union Square and planned to renovate it. David Rockwell, who had designed the original hotel conversion, was brought back for the project, which added glass-block walls and carpeted staircases and rethemed the guest rooms. Work finished in 2025 at a cost of $100 million.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- W New York Union SquareWikipedia
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