Highrise #137: Cities Service Building, 2023 by Chris Hytha

11" x 17" Digital print on Hahnemuhle Photorag 305 gsm archival paper. Edition of 10
 
Cities Service Building
 
Highrise #137
Address: 70 Pine St.
Opened: 1932
Height: 952'
Stories: 66
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Holton & George
 
New York, NY
 
Like a snowcapped mountain peak, this Financial District tower built for the company now known as Citgo has a shining white summit. Terraces where oil executives once conferred now furnish dizzying vistas to penthouse dwellers and patrons of an upscale cocktail lounge and restaurant.
 
Henry Doherty quit school at ten and worked at various Midwest utilities before launching Cities Service, a holding company that eventually controlled almost 200 oil, gas, power, light, and streetcar subsidiaries. A self-taught engineer with 150 patents, Doherty also devised a motorized bed for his penthouse that rolled out onto the balcony for fresh air.
 
Severe arthritis nearly forced him to retire in 1927, and the top two floors of his skyscraper, originally intended as a new apartment for him, instead became a boardroom and a public observatory. Rather than quit, the longtime bachelor got married and became a crusader for government regulation of oil drilling — which led to laws forcing his company to sell its public utility holdings and focus on petroleum.
 
Citgo left decades ago, though its triangle logo can be seen carved into the stone entrances of what is now a luxury apartment highrise. It can also be seen above sculpted aluminum elevator doors in a stunning earth-toned marble lobby