The Met-Life Tower - Manhattan, New York, USA

Architect	Napoleon LeBrun & Sons
Date Built	Completed 1909
Location	East 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South
Description
The wonderfully named Napoleon LeBrun is best known for the large number of prominent churches that he designed in Philadelphia before he moved to New York.  Apparently, it was at this point that the practice became the official architects of the New York Fire Department.  LeBrun and Sons were involved in the design of a number of early "Skyscrapers" including the Met-Life Tower. Bearing a strong resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco, in Venice's Piazza San Marc, the Met-Life Tower was a later addition to an 11-storey office block that had been built in 1893.  The tower has four clock faces located from the 25th to 27th floors. Originally the tower was clad in Tuckahoe marble but this was later replaced by limestone. Upon completion it was the World's tallest building, a title it held for a decade until the Woolworth Building surpassed it.  The Met-Life Tower remained the company's headquarters until 2005.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, and a New York City landmark in 1989.

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