# Palais Equitable > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Palais_Equitable > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Palais_Equitable.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Equitable > Source revision: 1295081538 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Office building in Vienna, Austria}} thumb|upright=1.35|Palais Equitable on Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, Vienna The '''Palais Equitable''' is an office building in [Stock-im-Eisen-Platz](/source/Stock-im-Eisen-Platz) (now part of [Stephansplatz](/source/Stephansplatz%2C_Vienna)) in the [Innere Stadt](/source/Innere_Stadt) of [Vienna](/source/Vienna), [Austria](/source/Austria), that was built in the 19th century for [The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States](/source/The_Equitable_Life_Assurance_Society_of_the_United_States) and that incorporates a medieval nail-tree (the [Stock im Eisen](/source/Stock_im_Eisen)) on one exterior corner. The building is on the site of five small [medieval](/source/medieval) buildings that were demolished between 1856 and 1886, partly in order to expand [Kärntner Straße](/source/K%C3%A4rntner_Stra%C3%9Fe). It was designed by Andreas Streit and constructed between 1887 and 1891.Manfred Wehdorn, Mario Schwarz, and Susanne Hayder, ''Vienna, a Guide to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites'', Vienna: Springer, 2004, {{ISBN|3-211-40863-0}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EkbxcBIn71YC&dq=Andreas+Streit+Equitable&pg=PA32 p. 32].Dietmar Steiner, Johann Georg Gsteu, et al., ''Architecture in Vienna'', Vienna: Prachner, 1990, {{ISBN|3-85367-050-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jRdNAAAAYAAJ&q=old+German+neo+Baroque p. 69] describes the architecture as "late Historicist 'Old-German-neo-Baroque.'" The Palais Equitable has a richly detailed [façade](/source/fa%C3%A7ade)[Renate Wagner-Rieger](/source/Renate_Wagner-Rieger), ''Wiens Architektur im 19. Jahrhundert'', Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst, 1970, OCLC 343623 speaks of [https://books.google.com/books?id=_dpPAAAAMAAJ&q=Andreas+Streit+Equitable "eine für die Zeit charakteristische Prunkentfaltung"] - "a sumptuous realization characteristic of the era." featuring [American eagle](/source/Bald_eagle)s. The Stock im Eisen, enclosed in glass, is in a niche on the Kärntner Straße corner of the building, and bronze reliefs by [Rudolf Weyr](/source/Rudolf_Weyr) on the main doors depict its history. The remainder of the ornamentation is by [Viktor Oskar Tilgner](/source/Viktor_Oskar_Tilgner) and Johann Schindler. The interior is also extremely sumptuous: marble from [Hallein](/source/Hallein) and granite from [Saxony](/source/Saxony) were used for the dramatic stairway and the vestibule, and the glass-covered interior courtyard is completely clad in tile and [maiolica](/source/maiolica).Éva Csenkey, Ágota Steinert, and Piroska Ács, ''Hungarian Ceramics from the Zsolnay Manufactory, 1853-2001'', Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, New Haven: Yale, 2002, {{ISBN|0-300-09704-2}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=n8PW5TrZ3wQC&dq=Equitable+Palace&pg=PA172 p. 172] has pictures of the designs for friezes and niches in bright colors contrasting with a background of cream tile. (The stairway was apparently intended to be adaptable for access to a future [subway](/source/Vienna_U-Bahn).Caroline Jäger, ''Österreichische Architektur des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts'', Vienna: Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2005, {{ISBN|3-7083-0263-X}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rMAVAQAAIAAJ&q=U-Bahn+Aufgang+vorgesehen p. 142]: "die angeblich schon für einen künftigen U-Bahn Aufgang vorgesehen war" - "that was reputedly already intended for a future U-Bahn entrance".Rob Humphreys, ''The Rough Guide to Vienna'', London: Rough Guides, 2001, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iJP-eTxYW5AC&q=ornate+vestibule+%28originally+designed+to+be+a+metro+entrance%29&pg=PA47 p. 47].) A painting on the ceiling of the lobby and the [stucco](/source/stucco) ornamentation on the second floor are by [Julius Victor Berger](/source/Julius_Victor_Berger). [Wilhelm Beck & Söhne](/source/Wilhelm_Beck_%26_S%C3%B6hne), providers of uniforms to the [Austro-Hungarian Empire](/source/Austro-Hungarian_Empire), had its shop in the building, and the United States consulate was located there.[Amelia Sarah Levetus](/source/Amelia_Sarah_Levetus), ''Imperial Vienna: An Account of its History, Traditions and Arts'', London: Lane, 1905, OCLC 562282684, [https://books.google.com/books?id=S4Ss986UPnUC&dq=Palais+Equitable&pg=PA254 p. 254]. The Palais Equitable was damaged in [World War II](/source/World_War_II) but was restored in 1949. The entrance area was renovated by Rüdiger Lainer in 1997.[http://www.nextroom.at/building.php?id=2700 Palais Equitable - Umbau Mezzanin], nextroom.at, September 14, 2003 (German), retrieved June 24, 2010. Today the building houses offices of various companies and organizations including the Austrian division of [Sal. Oppenheim](/source/Sal._Oppenheim),[http://www.oppenheim.de/deen/about_us_at_a_glance/locations_at/head_office_vienna.htm Head Office Vienna] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622065201/http://www.oppenheim.de/deen/about_us_at_a_glance/locations_at/head_office_vienna.htm |date=2010-06-22 }}, Bank Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. (Austria) AG. and a retail outlet for [Augarten Porcelain](/source/Augarten_Porcelain_Manufacturer).[http://mymagicalvienna.com/Courtyards_or_Hofs.html "Charming Inner Courtyards - Hof in German"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308132553/http://mymagicalvienna.com/Courtyards_or_Hofs.html |date=2012-03-08 }}, MyMagicalVienna.com (picture of the staircase). ==References== {{Reflist|33em}} ==Sources== * Eve Marie Young. ''Art and Enterprise: The 19th Century Administrative Buildings of a U.S. Life Insurance Company: With Particular Consideration of the Vienna, Austria, building known as "zum Stock in Eisen"''. Dissertation, [University of Bonn](/source/University_of_Bonn), 1991 ==External links== {{commonscat|Palais Equitable}} * [http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0054559 Palais Equitable] at Nicolas Janberg's Structurae * [http://www.planet-vienna.com/spots/Palais/equitable/equitable.htm Palais Equitable] at Planet Vienna * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170822014405/http://www.panoramicearth.com/247/Vienna/Stephansplatz 360° panorama of Stephansplatz] at Panoramic Earth {{coord|48|12|29|N|16|22|18|E|region:AT-9_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}} Category:Office buildings in Vienna Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1891 Category:Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Category:Historicist architecture in Austria --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Palais Equitable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Equitable) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Equitable?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.