Griffith Building

The Griffith Building, also known as the Griffith Piano Company Building, is a historic high-rise complex in Newark, New Jersey, located on Broad Street directly across from Military Park. Built in 1927 and opened in June 1928, the building originally served as the headquarters of the Griffith Piano Company and the Griffith Foundation. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 in recognition of its significance for architecture, commerce, and music history. The architect George Elwood Jones handled the design after the plans of another local architect had been rejected. The building once housed a large sales showroom, a four-story workshop, a concert hall, and offices, and the foundation, led by Mrs. Parker O. Griffith, also supported the programming of Newark Symphony Hall.

Architecturally, the building stands out for its detailed facade. The base, made of hewn granite, is flanked by a central display window with bronze surrounds and French doors, above which the name "GRIFFITH" appears in Roman block letters. The upper floors are clad in yellow brick and feature regular rows of windows. The roofline is especially elaborate, with paired arched windows, a Solomonic column in the Romanesque Revival style, and four obelisks crowning the facade. Inside, terrazzo foyers and bronze coffered ceilings on the lower floors still bear witness to the building's original splendor, while the office floors are reached by elevators and corridors.

After the piano maker went bankrupt in 1973, the building stood empty for years before being purchased in 1983 by a New York developer, who never carried out a renovation. Further plans for condominiums or a hotel also fell through. Not until 2018 did 605 Broad St., LLC, later identified as the Park Builders Group, acquire the building for $6.4 million. Since the extensive renovation, the building has housed 76 modern studios and one-bedroom apartments, complemented by a fitness area, a game room, and a lounge. The ground and second floors now contain roughly 20,000 square feet of retail space, giving the historic structure a new role as a residential and commercial building.