Prudential Headquarters

Prudential Financial, based in Newark, New Jersey, has constructed a number of buildings to house its headquarters downtown in the Four Corners district. In addition to its own offices, the corporation has financed large projects in the city, including Gateway Center and Prudential Center. Prudential has about 5,200 employees in the city.

Prudential Home Office

The four original Prudential headquarters buildings were built from 1892 to 1911 as early examples of steel framing in Newark, clad in gray Indiana limestone with Romanesque Gothic styling, the work of George B. Post. The four buildings were known as the Main, the North, the West, and the Northwest and were the tallest in the city at the turn of the 20th century. All were demolished in 1956 to make way for the current headquarters.
left, Detail of tower of Main Building

Gibraltar Building

The Gibraltar Building, which was owned by Prudential until 1986, is situated at 153 Halsey Street, across from Prudential Plaza to the east, and the Prudential Building across Washington Street to the west. The name was inspired by the Rock of Gibraltar, which features in the Prudential logo. The Gothic Revival structure was designed by the architect Cass Gilbert, renowned for many works including the Woolworth Building and the United States Supreme Court Building. Sold in 1986 and later renovated and restored, it is now owned by Hartz Mountain Industries and is home the Superior Court of New Jersey's Essex County Vicinage Family Court, Chancery, and Tax Court, as well as other government agencies and private enterprises.

Prudential Building

Shortly after the Prudential Building was completed in 1942, it was taken over by the federal government for use by the Office of Dependency Benefits (ODB), which was moved to Newark from Washington during World War II. The ODB was responsible for payments to military dependents and their families. Work went on round the clock at 213 Washington Street until it was returned to Prudential in 1946.

Prudential Plaza

Prudential's current main headquarters, Prudential Plaza, opened in 1960 during the ''New Newark'' era when modernist buildings were built downtown. The International style building is one of the tallest and most prominent on the Newark skyline. The facade of Vermont marble includes 1,600 windows set in aluminum frames. On August 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the discovery of terrorist threats against the Plaza prompting large-scale security measures such as concrete barriers and internal security changes such as X-ray machines.

The lobby of the building was originally adorned with triptych of mosaics designed by Hildreth Meiere entitled “The Pillars of Hercules”. The panels had been removed and put in storage; two were formally installed at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. and another in Newark Museum.

Prudential Tower

In 2011, Prudential announced plans to construct another office tower near the Plaza headquarters. The company had received a $250 million urban transit tax credit, from the state, which required that it create new jobs and build within walking distance of a transit hub. The site of the $444 million tower is on Broad Street just west of Military Park. Construction began in July 2013. The exterior of the tower was completed as of January 2015 and the building opened in July 2015.

File:PrudentialTowerprogress04.29.14.jpg, Construction April 2014
File:Prudential_Tower_Front.jpg, January 2015
File:Prudential_Tower_Complete.JPG, Night view of completed tower

See also

* List of tallest buildings in Newark
* Four Corners Historic District
* Prudential Tower, the second tallest building in Boston

References

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Insurance company headquarters in the United States
Buildings and structures in Newark, New Jersey
Prudential Financial buildings
1940s architecture in the United States
1960s architecture in the United States
Cass Gilbert buildings
Gothic Revival architecture in New Jersey