Wow. Look at this architectural masterpiece. This is the Adams Express Building. It’s not just an office building. It’s a piece of New York City history.
Built in 1914 the Adams Express Building was once the seventh tallest in Manhattan. Imagine the sheer scale of it back then. It cost a staggering $2 million to construct. That’s equivalent to tens of millions today. This colossal structure houses 3300 tons of steel and over a million square feet of terracotta.
The Adams Express Company wasn’t always in such a grand space. They initially occupied a smaller building. A devastating fire in 1904 destroyed their old building. Amazingly the company rebuilt on the same spot. They didn’t just rebuild. They went big. They wanted a fireproof structure. They got a 32-story behemoth.
The design wasn’t without controversy. The Adams Express Building cast a massive shadow over the city. Complaints arose about sunlight and airspace. The city later introduced zoning regulations to prevent similar situations. This building predates those changes though. It stands as a testament to a different era.
The Adams Express Building has seen many changes. It survived the Black Tom explosion in 1916. An engineer working there in 1988 discovered something truly unexpected goldfish living in a basement pool. Building engineers still feed them today.
In recent times the Adams Express Building has seen significant renovations and changes in ownership. The building faced challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been bought and sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a story of resilience and adaptation.
So here we stand before the Adams Express Building. A silent witness to the city’s evolution. A stunning example of early 20th-century architecture. A building with secrets and stories whispered through the years. A true icon of New York City.