Prudential Headquarters

Prudential Home Office
General information
Completed	1892
Demolished	1956
Height
Roof	45.73 m (150.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	11
Design and construction
Architect(s)	George B. Post
Main contractor	Hedden Construction Company
References
[3][4]

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 styling, the work of George B. Post.[5][6] The four buildings were known as the Main Building, the North Building, the West Building, and the Northwest Building, 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 Prudential Plaza building.[7]

Detail of the tower of the Main Building

The Prudential Lions are sculptures designed by Karl Bitter. The two carved limestone companion pieces depict seated male lions, each with its front paw placed on a sphere. They are approximately seven feet tall and weigh 2,900 pounds each. The works were originally created 1901 to stand above the front entrance of the Prudential Home Office. When it was demolished in they were removed and given to Essex County Parks Commission by the Prudential Insurance Company of America and installed in Branch Brook Park in 1959.[8][9][10]

Gibraltar Building
General information
Location	153 Halsey Street
Coordinates	40.7375175°N 74.1733776°W / 40.7375175; -74.1733776
Completed	1927
Height
Roof	67 m (220 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	14
Floor area	299,990 sq ft (27,870 m2)[11]
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Cass Gilbert
References
[12][13][14]

The Gibraltar Building was built by Prudential in 1927 at 153 Halsey Street, across from the old Home Office as additional office space. The name was inspired by the Rock of Gibraltar, which is featured 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.

It was sold by Prudential in 1986 to Hartz Mountain Industries, which renovated the building.[12][14] It was sold in 2021 to an investment partnership, which planned a major renovation to upgrade and 'reactivate' it.[15][16] It houses the Superior Court of New Jersey's Essex County Vicinage Family Court, Chancery, and Tax Court, the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, as well as other government agencies and private enterprises.

Prudential Building
General information
Location	213 Washington Street
Coordinates	40.7378561°N 74.1744907°W / 40.7378561; -74.1744907
Completed	1942
Height
Roof	91 m (299 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	21
Design and construction
Structural engineer	Gunvald Aus Company
References
[17][18]

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

Prudential Plaza
General information
Location	745 Broad Street
Coordinates	40.7370285°N 74.1717390°W / 40.7370285; -74.1717390
Construction started	1956
Opening	1960
Height
Roof	114 m (374 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	24
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith and Haines
References
[19][20]

Prudential's current main headquarters, Prudential Plaza, opened in 1960 on the site of the former home office buildings 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.[21]

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.[22][23]

Prudential Tower
General information
Status	Completed
Location	655 Broad Street
Coordinates	40.7392880°N 74.1711990°W / 40.7392880; -74.1711990
Construction started	2013
Completed	2015
Opening	2015
Height
Roof	45.73 m (150.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	20
References
[3][4]

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.[24] The site of the $444 million 650,000 sq ft (60,000 m²) tower is on Broad Street just west of Military Park.[25][26][27] Construction began in July 2013.[28][29][30] The exterior of the tower was completed in January 2015 and the building opened in July 2015.[31]

• 
  Construction April 2014
• 
  January 2015

• List of tallest buildings in Newark
• Prudential Tower, the second tallest building in Boston