City Place I

A commercial office building now stands on the site of John Pierpont Morgan’s birthplace. J.P. Morgan was an American banking tycoon and philanthropist (1837-1913). He was born at his grandfather’s house at 169 Asylum Street. Young Pierpont was called Pip by his immediate family. His father, Junius Spencer Morgan, was a dry goods merchant with a store on Main Street. The Morgan family became affiliated with Trinity Episcopal Church. Junius’ business interests transitioned to banking, causing him to move the family to Boston when Pierpont was 14.

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
—J. P. Morgan

The property is now a 38-story, 537 ft skyscraper called, “City Place I” – the tallest building in Connecticut, and two meters taller than Travelers Tower (built 1919). City Place I was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and completed in 1980. The majority of the building is office space, though there are various restaurant and retail establishments found on the lower floors. The building was sold on April 2, 2012, to CommonWealth REIT, a real estate investment trust based in Newton, Massachusetts, for $99 million, by the original owner, CityPlace LLC at approximately $112 per square foot.

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Learn more about the life of J.P. Morgan