If you’re going for a walk with a serious lover of New York history, you can’t do it without hearing the stories behind at least some famous, beautiful, or downright bizarre buildings. However, most long-time New Yorkers are famous for paying attention to their surroundings in order to better strive toward their goals for the day, and tend not to even notice structures that tend to attract the attention of out-of-towners. there is. take 58 Joralemon Street Brooklyn Heights: “From the outside, it looks like a typical townhouse,” says urban explorer Cash Jordan. his video above — But then I noticed blacked-out windows, a bunker-like metal exterior, and a door that clearly couldn’t be opened.
Although it was indeed a townhouse when it was first built in 1847, 58 Joralemon Street was hollowed out in 1907 and converted into a single subway vent. But the buildings on either side remain residential, and one of them, as Jordan discovered, was never sold. It used to be $6 million.
In a completely different and more isolated situation, Strecker Memorial Institute on Roosevelt Island. Built in 1892 as a municipal hospital laboratory, it opened as “the nation’s first pathology and bacteriological research institute,” an activity that naturally took place away from the dense urban environment. It was abandoned in the 1950s, but later became another subway facility, specifically a power conversion substation.
Jordan also visits a fake building a fair distance away on Pier 34. The building also provides ventilation for smoke and exhaust fumes from the Holland Tunnel, a vital function for New York transportation. These structures are owned and operated by public authorities and perform well-documented and not entirely secret functions. The same cannot be said of Jordan’s last and most impressive faux building, a windowless Brutalist tower built in 1969. 33 Thomas Street In Lower Manhattan. Owned by AT&T, it appears to have once been a telephone exchange, but has recently been rumored to be a “giant doomsday bunker.” Either way, it’s one theory, and the building’s ominous appearance could inspire countless others. Many locals don’t imagine living up to one of Manhattan’s central commandments: “Don’t look up.”
Related content:
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New York’s Lost Skyscrapers: The Rise and Fall of the Singer Tower
Introducing New York’s Art Deco Masterpiece, the Chrysler Building, by John Malkovich (1994)
Introducing the oldest house in New York City: Wyckoff House (1652)
Architect demolishes five of New York City’s most iconic apartment buildings
3D animation showing the evolution of New York City (1524-2023)
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Colinbemust or facebook.
