Honestly, most people walking past the Charging Bull in Lower Manhattan have no idea they are seconds away from one of the most jaw-dropping interiors in the Western Hemisphere. They’re too busy taking selfies with a bronze cow to look up at the limestone giant standing at 25 Broadway. But the Cunard Building isn't just another office tower. It’s a maritime cathedral. It’s the ghost of a time when "crossing the pond" didn't mean a cramped six-hour flight with a tiny bag of pretzels, but a week-long odyssey of velvet, champagne, and ocean spray.
If you’ve ever seen a photo of the grand ticketing hall—now occupied by the luxury event space Cipriani 25 Broadway—you've probably wondered how a shipping company ended up with a lobby that looks like it belongs in the Vatican.
The story is kinda wild.
A Temple for the Titan of the Seas
Back in the late 1910s, the Cunard Line was the undisputed king of the Atlantic. They had the fastest ships, the most famous names—the Lusitania, the Mauretania—and they wanted a New York headquarters that screamed "we own the ocean." They hired architect Benjamin Wistar Morris, who teamed up with the legendary firm Carrère & Hastings. You know, the folks who did the New York Public Library.
They didn't just build an office. They built a 22-story Italian Renaissance masterpiece.
Completed in 1921, the building sits on a weirdly shaped plot where the streets don't meet at right angles. This forced the designers to get creative with the layout. The result? A façade that feels massive yet refined, with huge arches that pull you in from the street. But the real magic happened inside the Great Hall.
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The Great Hall: The Heart of 25 Broadway
Imagine you’re a traveler in 1925. You walk through the doors of the Cunard Building Nueva York headquarters. You aren't greeted by a plexiglass barrier or a self-service kiosk. Instead, you step into a 185-foot-long hall with a 65-foot-tall dome.
The air is thick with the smell of expensive tobacco and paper.
High above you, the ceiling is a riot of color. Muralist Ezra Winter spent months on those scaffolds. He painted the four winds, the sea gods, and the maps of the world as they were understood then. He didn't just paint on flat plaster, though. The textures are built up with "polychrome stucco," making the sea creatures look like they’re actually swimming through the architecture.
It’s basically a map of human ambition.
- The Medallions: Look for the four major explorers—Leif Erikson, Christopher Columbus, Sebastian Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci.
- The Ironwork: Samuel Yellin, the most famous ironworker of the era, did the gates and railings. The detail is insane.
- The Flooring: Even the marble under your feet was chosen to reflect the colors of the sea.
Why It’s Still a Big Deal in 2026
You might think a 100-year-old shipping office would be a dusty relic by now. Nope. While Cunard moved their actual ticketing operations out in 1968 (blame the Boeing 707 for that), the building has stayed relevant.
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For a few decades, it was actually a post office. Can you imagine buying a book of stamps in a room designed for ocean royalty? Today, the upper floors are filled with high-end tech firms and creative agencies. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) was a major tenant for so long that many locals still call it the "Standard & Poor's Building."
But the Great Hall is the star. Since 2014, Cipriani has run it as a premier event venue. It’s where the MET Gala crowd goes when they want something that feels truly "Old New York."
The Subway Secret
Here is something most "expert" guides won't tell you. The Cunard Building is literally floating on top of the New York City subway. The BMT Broadway Line runs diagonally right under the foundation.
When they were building it in 1920, the engineers had a nightmare on their hands. They couldn't just rest the massive weight of a limestone tower on the roof of a subway tunnel. They had to build a complex system of girders to "bridge" the tracks. During construction, rock blasts actually injured people down on the platform.
Next time you’re on the R or W train at Bowling Green, remember there’s a multi-million dollar masterpiece of Renaissance art sitting just a few feet above your head.
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How to Actually See It
Since the lobby is now a private event space, you can’t always just wander in and start snapping photos of the ceiling. It’s not a museum, which is kinda the tragedy of it. However, you've still got options:
- The Cipriani Loophole: They host public events and gala dinners. If you can snag a ticket to a fundraiser or a corporate event there, you’re in.
- Open House New York: Every October, many of the city's private landmarks open their doors. The Cunard Building is a frequent participant.
- The "Act Like You Belong" Method: Sometimes, the security guards are cool. If the Great Hall isn't set up for an event, a polite "Could I just take a quick peek at the Ezra Winter murals?" works more often than you'd think. Just don't be a jerk about it.
Actionable Insights for Your Visit
If you find yourself in the Financial District, don't just stare at the façade and leave.
- Look at the third floor: There are nautical-themed sculptures and roundels that most people miss because they’re looking at the ground-level arches.
- Check the address: It’s 25 Broadway, but it also has entrances on Greenwich and Morris Streets. The building is an "H" shape to allow light to reach the interior offices—a requirement of the 1916 Zoning Resolution.
- Walk across the street: Stand in Bowling Green Park. It gives you the best angle to see the tripartite design (the base, the shaft, and the crown) that defined 1920s skyscrapers.
The Cunard Building is a reminder that even in a city obsessed with the "next big thing," the best stuff is often what we’ve already built. It represents a time when even a ticket office was treated with the reverence of a temple.
Your Next Steps for a Deep Dive into Maritime NYC
- Visit the South Street Seaport Museum: After seeing where the tickets were sold, go see where the ships actually docked.
- Take the Staten Island Ferry: It's the cheapest way to see the Cunard Building from the water, just as the ocean liner passengers would have seen it as they arrived in the harbor.
- Walk to 1 Broadway: Just a block away, you'll find the United States Lines-Panama Pacific Lines Building, another "Steamship Row" survivor with its own maritime carvings.