NYC: Financial Capital Of The World

While many people think that New York City is the financial capital of the world because it is the home of the New York Stock Exchange, there are many buildings in the city that have a tie to the financial world.

“These buildings have a rich history tied to the Big Apple,” said Blair Nicole, spokesperson for Liberty Cruise NYC.  “As you sail along New York Harbor with us, you’ll hear the exciting history of many of the great financial buildings of this city.

If you are planning on coming to NYC, then here are some places that you will want to make sure to see in addition to the New York Stock Exchange.

60 Wall Street

60 Wall Street was built between 1987 and 1989 as the home of J.P. Morgan. Kevin Roche of John Dinkeloo & Associates combined several different styles including postmodern, Greek-revival, and neoclassical to empathize the height of this 745-foot-tall building.

Deutsche Bank purchased the 1.6-million-square-foot building from J.P. Morgan for $610 million in 2001. Paramount Group bought the building in 2007 for $1.2 billion making it the largest purchase of Manhattan commercial real estate at that time. Deutsche Bank continues to use the entire building as their United States base of operations after selling the building, however, in May 2018, Deutsche Bank announced that they would be moving their United States headquarters by 2022.

Museum of American Finance

Another example of why this city is the financial capital of the world is that it is home to the Museum of American Finance. This museum is the only private museum in the United States dedicated to United States money.

The first bank on this property was opened by Alexander Hamilton in 1784. The bank that is the oldest in the state of New York State and the second oldest in the United States remained in this location until 1997.

The current colonial-revival building was constructed in 1929, and it is the third bank building to be constructed on this site. While it can be difficult to see, the colonial-style cupola consisting of a Corinthian temple and copper eagle.at the top of the building today, it is the only cupola found in Lower Manhattan. The cupola and other colonial-style elements of this building were designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris at the request of the Bank of New York to remind people of the bank’s long history.

20 Exchange Place

When plans were laid by the City Bank-Farmers Trust to construct 20 Exchange Place, it was supposed to be the tallest building in the city.

The original plans called for a pyramidal top, and the original 1930-design called for the building to cost more than $9.5 million dollars to construct. Unfortunately, the city and the rest of the United States became stuck in the Great Depression, so plans had to be scaled back.

The building still held the distinction of being the tallest building in the city with a stone facade when it opened in 1932. Carved into the outside of this Art Deco-style building are coins from the 11 different countries where City Bank-Farmers Trust had locations in 1932.

A bank was found in this building from 1932 until the mid-2000s when it was converted to upscale apartments. Anna Chapman who was one of the most famous Russian spies of modern times once called these apartments home until her arrest.

While the 27 elevators in this building only go to the 26th floor, there are actually two floors above it that are only accessible by using the stairs. One houses mechanical equipment, but the other is used for housing.

One Wall Street

One of the very first buildings built at One Wall Street was the Manhattan Life Insurance Building which was the world’s tallest building from 1894 until 1899,

This building, however, was not known as One Wall Street, because it had a Broadway address. This building was torn down to make way for the first building to be called One Wall Street was constructed in 1907, and it was known as the Chimney Building for its narrow 18-story design. American Exchange Irving Trust, purchased the chimney building along for $1,050,000 in 1929. At that time, it was the highest price ever paid per square foot in New York City. The Chimney Building was torn down, and the current building designed by Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker opened in its place in 1931.

Workers added another 18 stories to the building between 1961 and 1965.

In order to learn more about the history of these famous New York City financial buildings, take a sightseeing cruise with Liberty Cruise NYC.