When the Singer Sewing Machine factory decided to build their own office tower in 1907, they chose to do so with a bang. It was the tallest office building ever constructed and the technology involved in running the place was state-of-the-art early 20th century stuff. Alas, it’s life span was only 60 years. By the time it was torn down in 1967 it was the 16th tallest building in the city. The above video gives us a brisk little six-minute history of a building that frankly I knew nothing whatsoever about–part of the reason is that it was in the Wall Street district, an area of the city in which I have absolutely no interest. There are some strange filmmaking choices here–some talk about New York in the 1960s is accompanied by footage of New York in the 1890s and the shots of workers high up in the air, walking on beams as they build the skyscraper, are clearly stolen from later footage (most likely the famous Empire State Building footage). Unlike Monday’s post on the destruction of the Savoy-Plaza, or yesterday’s post about the life and death of Penn Station, this one isn’t narrated by an A.I. bot which is a plus. Alas, the real-live-person narrator isn’t exactly Alastair Cooke either. But why quibble with a six minute glimpse into a very interesting and very forgotten bit of old New York history? The building may be gone but the Singer name lives on. Or does it? Do they even make sewing machines anymore?