Editing Singer Building (section)

==== Base ====
The original Singer Building was faced with stone and brick. When it was built, the plans called for the lowest two stories to be [[cladding (construction)|clad]] with stone. The third story contained a balcony extending along both facades. The four following stories were faced with brick and contained windows with stone surrounds. The seventh story was clad with stone and had a balcony doubling as a [[cornice]], while the facade on the eighth story was made of brick. The original top stories comprised a decorative copper-and-slate roof with [[dormer]]s and stone chimneys. The main entrance was on Liberty Street and had sculptures and ornament.<ref name="nyt18970110">{{Cite news|date=January 10, 1897|title=The New Singer Building|language=en-US|page=7|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231157/|access-date=August 12, 2020|issn=0362-4331|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144000/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57231157/the-new-singer-building/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bourne Building was faced with [[Indiana Limestone]] on its lowest two stories and red brick above.<ref name="rer18981203">{{cite magazine|date=December 3, 1898|title=Office Buildings Underway|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=62|pages=828|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=1603|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128043405/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_022_23.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The base had ironwork ornamentation in their [[mullion]]s and window railings.<ref name="Semsch p. 33">{{harvnb|Semsch|1908|ps=.|p=33}}</ref>

After the 1906–1907 modifications, the main entrance faced Broadway on the eastern facade. This main entrance had a three-story-tall semicircular arch. A two-story [[architrave]] was beneath the arch, with an engraved [[cartouche]] reading "Singer" at the center. The upper part of the arch had a fanlight with five vertical mullions, below which was a bronze grille measuring {{Convert|13|ft|abbr=}} wide and {{Convert|24|ft||abbr=}} tall.<ref name="HABS p. 93">{{harvnb|Historic American Buildings Survey|1969|ps=.|p=93}}</ref>

As a result of the modifications, the first three stories were faced with [[Rustication (architecture)|rusticated]] North River bluestone.<ref name="HABS p. 92" /> Four stories were added between the seventh floor and the three-story roof during that time, and the Broadway facade was expanded from two bays to five.<ref name="HABS p. 89" /><ref name="rer19070629">{{cite magazine|date=June 29, 1907|title=Slicing a Skyscraper|url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_27.pdf|journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide|volume=79|pages=824|via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]]|number=2050|access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128041423/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_27.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> With the modifications, the vertical bays were separated with vertical strips from the fourth to the 10th&nbsp;floors, with [[pediment]]s above the sixth-floor windows. The 11th and 12th&nbsp;floors of the modified base consisted of two rows of small windows, with the 11th-floor windows spaced between [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]] supporting a 12th-floor iron balcony. The top two stories contained dormer windows projecting from the [[mansard roof]].<ref name="HABS p. 93" /> The sloped portions of the roof were clad with slate shingles, while [[Porcelain tile|glazed roof tiles]] covered the flat portion.<ref name="HABS p. 94" />