The Grant USA Tower was a proposed 121-story skyscraper planned for Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

by developer Harry Grant. Harry Grant was an Iraqi-born developer who was based out of New Jersey who financed the gold dome on top of

Newark City Hall Newark City Hall is located at Government Center in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey. The building was built in 1902 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1978. History The building is a five-story Beaux ...

The tower was to be located over the

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

's old Broad Street station, near Broad and Lafayette Street. In 2007, the incomplete Renaissance Mall was torn down to build the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

. The old and unused part of the train station below, which was to serve as the foundation of the tower, remains in place. There are currently plans to connect the old portion of the train station with the Prudential Center, with the idea of turning it into a museum.Star Ledger Archives October 24, 2007
/ref> Had it been completed as planned by 1986, it would have contained the tallest hotel, and would have been the

tallest building This is a list of the tallest buildings. Tall buildings, such as skyscrapers, are intended here as enclosed structures with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Such definition excludes non-building structures, such as tow ...

and the

tallest structure The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper at . Listed are guyed masts (such as telecommunication masts), self-supporting towers (such as the CN Tower), skyscrapers (such as the Willis Tower), oil platforms, electricity t ...

at the time.

Description

The proposed 1,750 foot, 121-story tower was to be clad in "dollar green" glass, topped by a golden

American bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

statue atop a flagpole, and large gold letters spelling out "USA" at the peak. The tower was to contain over of office space, a hotel, convention facilities, and a promenade with an ice skating rink. There were plans for a 21-floor

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

above the 121st floor, which would have been the top floor of the hotel component. Grant also proposed a privately financed, 125-seat

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

system that would have run from the tower to the

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

. The tower was to be built on the block bounded by Broad, Lafayette, Edison, and Mulberry Street, purchased by Grant for $1.2 million in a city auction in 1985. Construction on the first component of the project, the five-story, Renaissance Mall, was underway in 1989. The mall was to feature an international food court, a floating

piano bar A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician as a central part of an establishment that also serves alcoholic drinks. Piano bars can be located in a cocktail lounge, bar ...

, office space, and

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rides around downtown Newark. An accompanying 30-story tower called "Grant USA I", was to be connected to the mall via

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of Cover ...

References

{{coord, 40.732755, -74.172242, display=title Unbuilt buildings and structures in the United States Skyscrapers in Newark, New Jersey