From the Archives: The laying of the New York Life Home Office cornerstone nearly 100 years ago.

New York Life | November 7, 2025

Learn more about the laying of the cornerstone at our iconic headquarters building in New York.

On June 17, 1927, the 51 Madison Avenue New York Life Home Office cornerstone ceremony took place at the southeast corner of the new building at 26th Street and Park Avenue. New York Life President Darwin Kingsley served as Master of Ceremonies, and we’ve preserved his ceremonial trowel as a memento of the moment in time.

Today, the New York Life Home Office Building is recognized as a prominent New York City landmark and an enduring symbol of the company. The site originally served as a transportation depot beginning in the mid-1800s. Several entertainment venues (such as the first and second iterations of Madison Square Garden) graced the land before its transformation into the permanent location of our Home Office. 

At the cornerstone ceremony, Kingsley declared that the building would serve as a headquarters for societal progress — a “Cathedral of Service” — fusing a moral mission with practical action. Although the company had been in operation for nearly 80 years and had already built one architecturally significant building, at 346 Broadway, it had never laid a cornerstone. By 1924, New York Life needed more space for operations, and New York City had entered the age of the skyscraper. In May 1924, company leadership voted to approve construction of a building at 51 Madison Avenue.

Architect Cass Gilbert

To realize its ambition, New York Life turned to renowned architect Cass Gilbert, who, among other things, designed the Supreme Court building, to create a structure that would match the company’s vision. Gilbert designed a 34-story gothic structure inspired by England’s Salisbury Cathedral, in line with Kingsley’s sentiment of a “Cathedral of Service.” The Home Office building rises 617 feet above ground and is topped by a 70-foot pinnacle, which we often refer to as “the dome.” Construction began on Aug. 22, 1926, with the cornerstone ceremony the following June.

This event was a major moment for the company and the building. The laying of the stone was meant to symbolize the building’s literal as well as figurative foundation, complete with a cornerstone time capsule filled with historical items including copies of documents key to the company’s operations, such as its 1912 charter and its most recent bylaws; information about people and key events in the company’s history; and items to commemorate the building itself. It also included a copy of that morning’s New York Times and a $20 gold piece minted in 1927. The capsule was opened in 2019 during a building renovation.

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