The Law & Finance Building was a rather old-fashioned skyscraper when it went up in 1927–1928.(1) It was designed by Philip Jullien of Washington (D. C., where he wasn’t allowed to design skyscrapers, owing to city height limits that are still uniquely in place) in the base-shaft-cap formula typical of the early age of skyscrapers. It even has the regulation bosses’ floor above the base.
What is unique is the row of ornamental heads above the bosses’ floor, perhaps representing the severed heads of the developer’s political opponents.
Footnotes
- We take our information from the Skyscraper Center page on the building. (↩)
