226 West Broadway

It's easy to rush past the plain street level facade of 226 West Broadway.

But, if you don't stop and look up, you'll miss a really great building.

The white terra-cotta building was built around 1915 (I've seen 1912 and 1918 in my research) for the FDNY's High Pressure Services headquarters.  It was later transferred to the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. 

A Trio of Tribeca Telecommunications Towers

Today, I had some time to kill before an appointment in Tribeca and decided to walk around and snap some photos.  I love all the old industrial warehouses that have been converted into luxury apartments.  Today, however, I focused my camera on three of the area's taller buildings, all of which were built to house telecommunications companies. 


The first is at 60 Hudson Street.

60 Hudson Street was built as the headquarters for Western Union.  It was was designed by Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker and opened in 1930.  During the heyday of the telegraph, the building was the premier nexus of worldwide communications and originally contained 70 million feet of wire and 30 miles of conduit in addition to offices.

The massive 24-story building has nineteen shades of brick on the facade, from deep red brown at the bottom to bright salmon at the top.

I especially like the Art Deco elements, including the entranceway...

and the grills on the vents...

When Western Union moved its headquarters to New Jersey in 1973, the building was converted into a carrier hotel where over 100 telecommunications companies have offices. 

The second tower is at 32 Avenue of the Americas.