Above the sixth story, the building is faced in brick with terracotta decoration, and a series of setbacks taper to a clock tower and a domed roof.

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is at One Hanson Place, in the Fort Greene[3][4] neighborhood of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.

[7] Adjacent to the tower, within the city–designated Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District, are row houses designed in the Italianate style.

[36][37] Later that month, Halsey, McCormack & Helmer filed plans for the new edifice with the city's Bureau of Buildings,[14][38] and the bank announced that it would begin clearing the site.

In addition, P. J. Keogan was hired as the electrical contractor, Almirall & Co. received the heating contract, and Alexander Bryant Company was retained to install plumbing.

[45] Managing agent R. M. Dinsmore began renting out the space that year,[46] and the clock atop the building started operating in December.

[55] Despite the Wall Street Crash later that year, ninety-four percent of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower's space was leased before the end of 1929.

[61] During World War II, the building's management instituted a policy in which only the first four floors would remain illuminated during citywide blackout orders.

[12] The banking hall also hosted events such as an American Revolutionary War exhibit by the Long Island Historical Society to celebrate the United States Bicentennial in 1976.

Congressman Fred Richmond accused the Williamsburgh Savings Bank of participating in redlining by refusing to give mortgages to residents of poorer neighborhoods.

[73][74] The Board of Estimate finally approved the landmark designation in March 1978, when the bank pledged to allocate $10 million for loans and mortgages to Brooklyn residents.

[75][76][77] The LPC's chairperson, Beverly Moss Spatt, said that if the building were designated as a city landmark, it could also be added to the National Register of Historic Places and receive tax abatements as a result.

[82] Republic announced plans to renovate the lobby, banking room, mechanical systems, and facade in 1988, in advance of the building's 60th anniversary.

However, the relatively small dimensions of the tower were not attractive to larger tenants, which preferred buildings with higher ceilings and more widely spaced columns.

[115] Furthermore, the commercial owners wanted to wait for a suitable tenant, such as a "museum store" or other cultural institution that would preserve the banking hall.

[122] Though the building's apartments were heavily marketed, some units remained unsold, leading the developers to reduce prices several times.

[6][132] Robert Helmer, the building's lead architect, had intended for the tower "to be regarded as a cathedral dedicated to the furtherance of thrift and prosperity".

[158] The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower has a gross floor area of 273,186 square feet (25,379.8 m2) and is divided into 197 ownership units, 179 of which are residential apartments.

[93] Masonry and metalwork are used extensively inside the bank,[93][161] including brass, bronze, copper, silver, and both cast and wrought steel.

[161] Within the banking room and its ladies' lounge, mosaics and huge tinted windows contain silhouetted iron cutouts with vignettes of figures such as workers and students.

[165] Segmental arches divide the lobby's ceiling into 11 saucer vaults, which are covered with blue-hued mosaic tiles that represent the sky.

[93][135] The room's central nave, for clients and bank officers, was flanked to the east and west by aisles with tellers' desks.

[146] On the northern or rear wall is a mosaic artwork depicting the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, surrounded by landmarks and motifs that represent Brooklyn and its history.

[163] Cast-stone piers separate the aisles from the nave and are topped by carved capitals depicting various figures,[146] which represent "reasons to save".

[146] The side aisles contain barrel-vaulted ceilings, while the nave and the banking room's north and south ends have cast-stone barrel vaults.

[90] At the time of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower's construction, elevators in typical high-rise buildings were clustered around a central core.

The presence of the ground-story banking room prevented the construction of a central core, so the tower's elevators were instead placed at the southeast corner, connecting both to the offices above and the LIRR and subway stations in the basement.

[123][125] The New York Daily News said in early 1928 that the tower "will be the pioneer skyscraper of unusual beauty in its vicinity",[44] while the Brooklyn Times-Union stated that the building was an "architectural triumph" that would raise nearby properties' values.

[50] A New York Times writer characterized the building in 1972 as "possibly America's funniest skyscraper" and likened its interior to an ornate movie set.

[81] In a book about Brooklyn's buildings, historian Francis Morrone described the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower as among the city's greatest skyscrapers and surpassing Halsey, McCormack & Helmer's design for the neighboring Hanson Place Church.