The NYC Skyscraper Without Windows

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  • Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
  • Why aren't there any windows in this NYC skyscraper? Well the story involves nuclear war, mass surveillance, and secret agents.
    Located in 33 Thomas Street New York, NY. This is the AT&T Long Lines Building.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,3 тис.

  • @boyfromredhook
    @boyfromredhook 2 роки тому +937

    I’ve been in this building when I was with AT&T. It was originally used for the transatlantic cable project. Needless to say, wireless service was horrible. The freight elevators are massive. When entering the floor we occupied, it was like stepping back to the 60’s.

    • @AckzaTV
      @AckzaTV 2 роки тому +8

      hillcrest sd att

    • @allensandven0
      @allensandven0 2 роки тому +31

      Some sites look as if they set their coffee down and everyone left and didn’t come back ?
      If I were a architect of that motif…. What were they thinking 🤔

    • @mangobaby_videos
      @mangobaby_videos 2 роки тому +5

      @@allensandven0 not sure

    • @Robtuse_
      @Robtuse_ 2 роки тому +62

      I service the air compressors here and it’s an absolute dead zone in the sub basement

    • @FerociousPancake888
      @FerociousPancake888 2 роки тому +18

      The AT&T switch building in Denver is like that

  • @subspace2913
    @subspace2913 3 роки тому +258

    A few years back on my trip to NYC I walked past this building and got so confused, and it bothered me ever since then. Thanks for this!

    • @sylviam6535
      @sylviam6535 2 роки тому +5

      I have seen other multi-storey buildings without windows. When you ask, they are always telephone exchanges.

    • @dylanjordan4747
      @dylanjordan4747 Рік тому +3

      why didn’t you just google it

    • @subspace2913
      @subspace2913 Рік тому +5

      @@dylanjordan4747 'twas a wee child

    • @spopple88
      @spopple88 Рік тому

      @@dylanjordan4747 honestly alot of people just are lacking.....not the intelligence but just the understanding of the concept that you can find information with a quick Google search

  • @SeamlesslyAwkwerd
    @SeamlesslyAwkwerd 3 роки тому +759

    A video game titled CONTROL took inspiration from this building. Its brutalist architecture and minimal windows are just so mysterious and haunting. Definitely can see why the building in the video game and its design used this building as its inspiration.

    • @falcosmusic
      @falcosmusic 2 роки тому +36

      The oldest house is indeed, after all, in NYC...

    • @mr_whyy
      @mr_whyy 2 роки тому +19

      I saw this building and immediately thought about the FBC and it's weird building

    • @eden20111
      @eden20111 2 роки тому +16

      I wonder if the NSA is housing Polaris in there. I hope so. I have so many questions.

    • @mr_whyy
      @mr_whyy 2 роки тому +2

      @Truth Sorry7 yeah sure ofc, as seen on tv, what else might be going on in there? saw movies ? maybe a whole hunger game in the cave ? but what if it's bruce wayne's tower and it's the batcave ? Maybe spongebob lives there too huh ? who knows, it's the GOVernment !! GuesSigN manNy pEples died inThere.!,

    • @mr_whyy
      @mr_whyy 2 роки тому +2

      @Truth Sorry7 1 answer, cold war. Also if there was a place for such a thing, you would not know about it, think for a minute... Not it Manhattan... I thought conspirationists were a little more intelligent.

  • @jaysworld5378
    @jaysworld5378 3 роки тому +450

    The 131 dislikes are the people who entered this building but were never able to leave.

  • @SuperNewbie06
    @SuperNewbie06 Рік тому +31

    This building reminds me of the Men In Black headquarters.

    • @anthonybranca1800
      @anthonybranca1800 6 місяців тому

      That's actually the the air control towers for the Battery Tunnel.

  • @DanteYewToob
    @DanteYewToob 3 роки тому +194

    I feel like the lack of windows makes the building look smaller... it keeps tricking my eye into thinking it's only 10 floors or so, until you really notice it next to the other buildings or film it straight up.
    Wierd. We really rely on windows as a frame of reference for determining size in buildings

  • @_Diggler
    @_Diggler 3 роки тому +186

    500 feet up, 500 feet down. That’s a nice server farm you got there.

  • @TangentOmega
    @TangentOmega 3 роки тому +121

    Surprised no one came out to say, "hi". Years ago, while photographing (35 mm) buildings in downtown Houston, I had a couple of friendly guys in suits and sunglasses politely tell me, " It's not allowed to photograph this building." These guys were either one of the alphabet agencies or the Men in Black. Weird.

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +60

      I think after the NSA leaks they chilled out. I also remember after 9/11 security was tight in NYC especially when it came to photography

    • @AlexRuckusFTW
      @AlexRuckusFTW 3 роки тому +11

      @tangentomega, may I ask what building in Houston that was?

    • @jpabmx
      @jpabmx 3 роки тому +14

      Men in black.... That's what this building is for sure! 👍 👽

    • @campandcook3118
      @campandcook3118 2 роки тому +8

      @@jpabmx maybe, it absolutely has more than 3 basementm level

    • @michael_mouse
      @michael_mouse 2 роки тому +5

      @@campandcook3118 ... and tunnels going everywhere

  • @armorer94
    @armorer94 3 роки тому +120

    If they tried discovering my secrets they'd be bored shitless.

  • @tacosno409
    @tacosno409 Рік тому +8

    8:54 the undercover casually smoking a cigarette keeping an eye on our presenter lol

    • @jondavidmcnabb
      @jondavidmcnabb 7 місяців тому

      Dude!!! you totally spotted it!

    • @finnromy6304
      @finnromy6304 5 днів тому

      Excellent call👍
      By the way, that call was monitored by AT&T😂

  • @alasdairdignon7925
    @alasdairdignon7925 3 роки тому +372

    I was upstairs in that building a few years back, which was a pretty cool experience. Raised floors and acres of racks with miles of overhead wiring. Checking in at the front desk is like something out of a Terry Gilliam movie. Huge empty foyer, large imposing desk, and two sign-in books: one blue (AT&T) and one red (VZ). I am sure there were others for the various 3-letter agencies, but I didn't see them. VZ, I believe, used to be at the WTC, but then got space at Thomas St after 9/11. Apologies if I missed this being mentioned in the video.

    • @VanguardEternal
      @VanguardEternal 2 роки тому +17

      Why were you there and how did you get to the floors above?

    • @treefrog123a
      @treefrog123a 2 роки тому +9

      They started building down after 9/11

    • @alasdairdignon7925
      @alasdairdignon7925 2 роки тому +49

      @@VanguardEternal Sorry, just saw this question. I was in there working with one of the 2 companies I mentioned above as there is telco datacenter networking gear in there. I had no access to the other floors that may be used for more clandestine purposes. Still cool to have actually gone in there as it is a good story to tell.

    • @richardhaas39
      @richardhaas39 2 роки тому +12

      AT&T had a CO in the WTC. Verizon (Nynex) was in West St, Pearl St. and 100 Broad St.

    • @pauliedweasel
      @pauliedweasel Рік тому +3

      In some ways not unlike the One Wilshire Building in Los Angeles.

  • @davidyoder6174
    @davidyoder6174 3 роки тому +44

    Very similar AT&T (Southern New England Telephone) building in Hartford. Built in late 1960s. Very strong structural steel frame. No windows. Switching equipment in it then was probably replaced by one iPad!!

  • @shoobie
    @shoobie 3 роки тому +72

    That’s the Federal Bureau of Control, you’re not even supposed to be aware of the building’s existence ;)

    • @piratetv1
      @piratetv1 3 роки тому +17

      unless you're looking for it

    • @dylanduff9645
      @dylanduff9645 3 роки тому +10

      The Oldest House!

    • @corneliuselbourne1044
      @corneliuselbourne1044 3 роки тому +3

      Looks like a fortress to me, like the last man standing type of building when all else fail.

    • @mountainbreeze4176
      @mountainbreeze4176 3 роки тому +3

      Screams look at me I crave attention I’m different and edgy

  • @MBhatesYT
    @MBhatesYT 3 роки тому +137

    This is the most interesting and fascinating story I’ve ever heard about NYC, thank you for making this video! I didn’t even know (how ignorant of me) that this building existed!

    • @tariqsw69
      @tariqsw69 Рік тому +1

      A more fascinating story would be how Central Park was built! Look it up if you don’t know

  • @nikolatasev4948
    @nikolatasev4948 3 роки тому +37

    Wonder how often people working there are thinking "Are we the bad guys?"

    • @ColtraneTaylor
      @ColtraneTaylor 3 роки тому +5

      If they're like the average person they don't.

    • @Nebarus
      @Nebarus 3 роки тому +2

      Or they know they are the good guys who also knows the secrets of the building should not be shared in public and with potential enemies of the US.

    • @nikolatasev4948
      @nikolatasev4948 3 роки тому

      @@Nebarus I'm sure this is exactly what the Gestapo were telling themselves.

    • @Nebarus
      @Nebarus 3 роки тому

      @@nikolatasev4948 So you compare the NSA and FBI intelligence gathering to Gestapos methods and purpose of supporting an undemocratic regime? So the US is a regime with evil intend?

    • @nikolatasev4948
      @nikolatasev4948 3 роки тому +1

      @@Nebarus I am saying " the secrets of the building should not be shared in public and with potential enemies of the country" is a very convenient excuse that can be used for pretty much anything. And therefore is absolutely not a proof the people inside the buildings are "good guys".

  • @williamschaffel3760
    @williamschaffel3760 Рік тому +11

    I worked for AT&T as a technician and was assigned to 39 Thomas Street, then called 100 Broadway when it opened. For my last five years for AT&T I worked in this building. Back then, most of the floors were still empty.

    • @NYCMNYBW01T
      @NYCMNYBW01T 3 дні тому +2

      I too worked at 33 Thomas. After a brief stint at 32 A of A ( NYCMNYAA) I moved to Thomas in late 1971. The building wasn't finished yet but we at Long Lines worked alongside the installers at Western Electric. It 'officially' started switching calls in June 1973.
      When I got there the address was 323 Broadway, but the plans to extend to the whole block at Broadway were dropped, probably due the the anticipation of smaller electronic switching replacing the 4A crossbar switches. The east wall wasn't even covered with granite until some time in the mid-70's probably anticipation of the expansion that never happened. 323 Broadway was the address of Stark's Steak house, but our correspondence came in at a small office above the restaurant. The address was later changed to 33 Thomas.

  • @poormanselectronicsbench2021
    @poormanselectronicsbench2021 2 роки тому +40

    I have been in the windowless Chicago counterpart to the NYC building, as a cable splicing tech for Illinois Bell / Ameritech, known as "10 South Canal" The cafeteria was fully functional until at least the late 80's, (company cost cutting closed down most cafeteria's across the nation) mostly for employee convenience, as it would have been hard for most to go out to get a lunch and get back on the allotted lunch time of an hour or less. And as far as giving the government "access" to voice and data, there's a long history of that, even down to an event in the 1980's where a AT&T engineer checking an equipment facility on the coast in CA, noticed equipment in a fiber optic cable signal path that wasn't on company records. It turned out, it was a optical signal "splitter" that enabled the guvment to parse all data traffic going over that cable path (possibly to Hawaii and then to Asia), but his accidental whistle blowing raised awareness of such work. More recently, a "Room 641A" was disclosed by an AT&T employee ( wikipedia referenced info) disclosing a NSA access point to fiber optic signal paths.

  • @MA-yh2ko
    @MA-yh2ko 3 роки тому +146

    I used to work in the area for years. 1 day at lunch passing by with coworkers we saw 3 men having a smoke break out front at the top of the stairs. We asked what the bldg was and they looked at each other and just shook their heads NO. It is a telecommunication hub, but it reportably also monitors all international calls. Certain key words on calls would trigger monitoring allegedly. Btw AT&T has another huge bldg further north on Church St as well. I think it's even shown in the background on this video.

    • @johannsmithe2570
      @johannsmithe2570 3 роки тому +19

      32 Avenue of Americas, AT&T Long Distance Building (four blocks north on Church Street of 33 Thomas Street, Long Line Building)
      on *Walker* Street
      60 Hudson Street, Western Union Building, on *Thomas* Street (two blocks west of 33 Thomas Street, AT&T Long Line Building)
      Both 32 Avenue of Americas and 60 Hudson Street were designed by R. Thomas Walker.
      Also, AT&T was at 550 Madison Avenue, 195 Broadway LLC (Western Union) on Church Street, 375 Pearl Street (Verizon), 140 West Street Verizon Building designed by R. Thomas Walker. Add, 811 10th Avenue.

    • @thecloneguyz
      @thecloneguyz 3 роки тому +7

      The whole keyword thing has always been a joke because by the time you say the key word they haven't recorded the preceded conversation so it's pointless after that

    • @kylerocket4904
      @kylerocket4904 3 роки тому +22

      @@thecloneguyz The entire conversation would be recorded and keywords would trigger the conversation to be saved and flagged, no keywords and it’s deleted.

    • @thecloneguyz
      @thecloneguyz 3 роки тому +4

      @@kylerocket4904 you forget that someone has to listen to it in real-time so it's all fake

    • @thecloneguyz
      @thecloneguyz 3 роки тому +9

      @@kylerocket4904 you forget that there's literally a billion conversations happening every hour and it's scientifically impossible to record all of them and then have one person listen to it in real time

  • @keyanicks8682
    @keyanicks8682 3 роки тому +35

    The fact that the address has "33" in it tells you who in control.

    • @keyanicks8682
      @keyanicks8682 3 роки тому +5

      @TYS02 Masons

    • @vwsaiphone
      @vwsaiphone 3 роки тому +10

      The Teletubbies

    • @keyanicks8682
      @keyanicks8682 3 роки тому +3

      @@vwsaiphone tinky winky to be exact

    • @Spaceghost444
      @Spaceghost444 3 роки тому +1

      Of course. Black magic

    • @CreeseDF
      @CreeseDF 3 роки тому +3

      aaaaa scary devil demon religious number!!111!111!!!!11

  • @adamndirtyape
    @adamndirtyape 3 роки тому +106

    Good thing the Agents in the Matrix didn't take Morpheus to a building like this instead of one covered in windows. It would have screwed up Neo's rescue plan quite thoroughly.

    • @Varibeca
      @Varibeca 3 роки тому +1

      Or to a basement

    • @jamesowen1075
      @jamesowen1075 2 роки тому +3

      Ya looks like there prepared this time they wont lose there new matrix

    • @trumpameri1638
      @trumpameri1638 2 роки тому +2

      🤣🤣🤣🤣💪💪💪

    • @1arra1alpha72
      @1arra1alpha72 Рік тому +1

      That's funny and true

    • @finnromy6304
      @finnromy6304 5 днів тому +1

      Very good point. Ya gotta love Hollywood😄

  • @onemorecowswag
    @onemorecowswag 3 роки тому +5

    July 2019 I visited NYC fresh from the new mexico desert and late one night I decided to leave my temporary home in the bronx and walk around downtown Manhattan. Knowing nothing i rode the train and got off on a random stop, it was about 11pm and the nightlife in chinatown hummed in a crimson red. I got drunk in a noodle shop and got lost looking for the train station, deep inside of the urban canyon i looked up and saw this skyscraper. I may as well have been staring at a mothership floating in the sky. The long, flat, almost chimney like structure of the building filled me with a sense of dread and ignorance, i couldn't even look where I was going.

  • @TheDurnans
    @TheDurnans 2 роки тому +11

    I worked as an MCI telephone operator in the very early 1990's. We had rooms that were locked off & we were told that it was for the use of government to do spying. I worked in a mid-western town.

  • @scottygarner4670
    @scottygarner4670 2 роки тому +10

    This was a fascinating and incredibly well done video I gained WAY more knowledge than I thought I would looking up on UA-cam to simply find a video on this building with no windows in New York City.

  • @555pghbob
    @555pghbob 2 роки тому +10

    I'm a retired AT&T Long Lines employee who worked before and after the divestiture of AT&T until the reconstitution of AT&T from the SBC / AT&T merger in Nov 2005. I heard many rumors about the building I worked in at 635 Grant Street in Pittsburgh, PA, e.g., that the building was strong enough to survived the annihilation of the USX building across the street if it fell on the AT&T building. It is absolutely true that AT&T monitored international phone calls in and out of the USA as early as the 1980's, when I started working there. I know, because I was an overseas telephone operator when everything still had an analog component. We used switchboards with cords, and we operators could listen into any conversation that was happening at anytime. We weren't permitted to do that, but we could monitor the line for transmission quality. I heard many interesting things, like drug deals from public phones here in the US and women calling their military husbands in Germany to complain about the kids or having no money. AT&T is a quasi government agency and trust that they monitor everything they possibly can. I finally left the company in 2009 when they started recording all of our customer interactions and searching our call records for any keywords like "fuck" or other swear words.

    • @officialnickname
      @officialnickname 11 місяців тому

      Isn't it common for call centers that the calls are recorded for quality control?

  • @judithhinton5784
    @judithhinton5784 3 роки тому +43

    Usually, I'm not a fan of the brutalist architectural style, but this windowless building is fascinating. Very interesting information...thanks, Ariel!

  • @AverytheCubanAmerican
    @AverytheCubanAmerican Рік тому +27

    Speaking of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, if it wasn't for Jacqueline, the iconic Grand Central Terminal would've gotten the same fate as the original Penn Station. The original Penn Station was enormous, a majestic building that rivaled Grand Central. One describes it compared to the current Penn Station as "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.” When it was decided to demolish the building in favor of Madison Square Garden, there was outrage, but it wasn't enough to save it.
    It was a turning point in the preservation movement. Two years after its demolition, the city passed a landmarks preservation act, thereby creating the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Grand Central Terminal was next on the chopping block, as proposed by its then owner Penn Central in 1968. It was to be replaced by a Marcel Breuer office building design that looked like a shoebox lid on its side. Jacqueline Kennedy was having NONE of it. She joined the fight in 1975 with the Municipal Art Society and had a conference at the famous Oyster Bar where she said, "If we don’t care about our past, we can’t have very much hope for our future." Thanks to Jacqueline convincing the mayor (Abraham Beame), the terminal was ultimately saved by the city's LPC, but this was challenged by Penn Central in a Supreme Court case. In 1978, the court ruled in favor of the city. And the most beautiful building in NYC was saved.

  • @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
    @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un Рік тому +30

    Another weird structure in NYC: At the western end of Canal Street, there is what looks to be an innocent pier with some benches...until you see an odd structure at the end of it. And then notice there's another pier with the same structure on the NJ side. And you might wonder "What is that?".
    Those are ventilation shafts for the Holland Tunnel. The Holland Tunnel is named as such not because of the area's Dutch heritage but rather because of Clifford Milburn Holland, the tunnel's chief engineer who died from a heart attack three yours before it opened due to stress from the project. When the tunnel opened in 1927, it was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in the world, as well as the world's first mechanically ventilated tunnel. The ventilation system was designed by Ole Singstad, a Norwegian who also worked on Lincoln, Brooklyn-Battery, and Queens-Midtown Tunnels.

  • @LaneGandy
    @LaneGandy 3 роки тому +78

    There’s a building like this in Nashville owned by ATT and it was partially blown up by a van parked by it a few months ago. The network in the southeast US went down for a while.

    • @itselevenfiftyfive3833
      @itselevenfiftyfive3833 2 роки тому +2

      Oh I remember that incident

    • @therocinante3443
      @therocinante3443 2 роки тому +14

      How the hell wasn't that huge national news?

    • @SilentKnight43
      @SilentKnight43 2 роки тому +12

      @@therocinante3443 It was.

    • @uncovidvaxxforthestrongand3582
      @uncovidvaxxforthestrongand3582 2 роки тому +2

      lol under attack

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 2 роки тому +19

      @@therocinante3443 It happened in 2020. Before exploding the RV also broadcast a warning stating there was a bomb and to clear the area so the only person killed was the bomber.

  • @dutchmazz
    @dutchmazz 3 роки тому +14

    Absolutely one of your best videos, I loved it and learned something new! Well Done!

  • @professional.commentator
    @professional.commentator 7 місяців тому +1

    I didn't even know this building existed until last year, and I'm a native New Yorker. It's crazy how nobody has ever really talked about it until in recent years.

  • @debailey72
    @debailey72 3 роки тому +28

    Thanks for this, I had no idea this building existed!

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +6

      my pleasure! yea the building is surprisingly easy to miss I didn't know about it till only about 3 years ago

  • @Colls-m8i
    @Colls-m8i 2 роки тому +2

    That’s New York for you. I’ve been here 5 years now and I’ve never heard of this street till now

  • @sammbabazi2849
    @sammbabazi2849 3 роки тому +9

    I subscribed afew hours ago, but am already addicted to watching this channel. Wow....so much architectural designs! And secrets too!

  • @hackjealousy
    @hackjealousy 3 роки тому +14

    We always used to say that if the planes had hit 33 Thomas they would have bounced right off.

    • @eagleeye8916
      @eagleeye8916 3 роки тому

      @helloperson readingthis what do you mean ? I was in Brooklyn when the towers were on fire . My company had contracts for the clean up with the towers and adjacent buildings. I only worked like 5 days due to me feeling sick cause of all the debri . Luckily I don't have health conditions and respiratory problems .

    • @eagleeye8916
      @eagleeye8916 3 роки тому

      @helloperson readingthis we were wearing those n95 masks , had we knew how dangerous the conditions were we all needed those respiratory mask . That's why me n a few co workers stopped working there, we felt weak and sick it wasn't normal .
      By looking at the videos many times you can see burst at the corners where the beams are and it just dropping like nothing just like a demo job . That building should of never collapsed the way it did . I'm just glad I got out of there after a few days , I was weak all week . The pay was good but not worth my health and they didn't protect us like they should have . I lucked out . I can't imagine what those other guys went through

    • @tcjohnson3437
      @tcjohnson3437 2 роки тому +2

      @@eagleeye8916 Pure liar.

  • @DonGivani
    @DonGivani 3 роки тому +8

    Secret Service, FBI, CIA, DEA, NSA, Google all in one building

  • @chuckoneill2023
    @chuckoneill2023 Рік тому +12

    Most big cities have a building or two like this. They were used to house switching systems for telecommunications. The lack of windows were for environmental control. I think security was just a secondary concern.

  • @adriart8690
    @adriart8690 3 роки тому +13

    Another great video Ariel. You always bring varied and interesting information. So grateful I found your channel. Keep it up Ariel!

  • @LVT_Music21
    @LVT_Music21 3 роки тому +5

    Dude, this is awesome. First time Ive heard a comprehensive explanation on this.

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +4

      yea my pleasure!! there's a few videos on it, but none really went in depth. I wish I could go inside!

  • @jasonm9264
    @jasonm9264 2 роки тому +36

    Love this subject material. Thanks for the video. We have an old AT&T building in my area, Appleton, wi. Similar architecture but with windows. The base is also granite. When I was younger I worked for a maintenance company that serviced the building. It also had a massive basement. There was the basement that the everyday employees had access to, but under that was one that had 20’ ceilings with massive fuel tanks to several generators, kitchen area, coolers, and other rooms we didn’t go in. I had only been in there twice. It was rather amazing to be in there, reminds me that there are plans for the potential of mass destruction on US soil and we need to stay prepared.

    • @zaggirl06
      @zaggirl06 2 роки тому +1

      I grew up in Neenah and I remember the AT&T building since we went to downtown Appleton a lot. I don’t remember windows but then again we didn’t really hang out around it lol. We had a small windowless AT&T building (Bell)in downtown Neenah too. It always freaked me out when I was a kid.

    • @chebochevato8336
      @chebochevato8336 2 роки тому +1

      It's only a mystery to someone under 35. Anyone over 36 knows exactly what that building was from the thumbnail.
      Because most cities have one. Bigger the city, bigger the building. The phone company has been a monopoly for most of its existence. The tallest building in downtown Santa Rosa for decades was the Pac-Bell switchboard building. I live in Reno NV now. And I'm looking at the back of the old Bell/At&t switchboard building not more than 600 ft across a city storage yard and the Truckee river right outside my front door. Both of them windowless buildings of concrete and/or metal. Reno is 7 stories tall. Santa Rosa was 10 or 12.
      Both with mind control rays..err, I mean harmless satellite dishes pointed at your hopes and dreams...ehh I mean pointed at nothing in particular or suspicious in any way...
      Thousands of these buildings in nearly every city in the country. From Reno to Tulsa to Midland to Topeka to Eureka to LA to New York... New York's got 3 of them actually.
      The NSA is there? No shit Sherlock. Ever read the Patriot act?

  • @thejoshman3843
    @thejoshman3843 3 роки тому +10

    this video will self destruct in 30 seconds...

  • @marynamurray9385
    @marynamurray9385 3 роки тому +10

    Fascinating information as usual - thank you Urbanist!

  • @christopherdieudonne
    @christopherdieudonne 2 роки тому +2

    I just walked by this building yesterday during my vacation in New York. We wondered what it was and now this video pops up in my suggestions.

  • @lbush8261
    @lbush8261 3 роки тому +3

    Love the dramatic music at 7:31 when introducing the building ... not only that but also the way the camera panned upward to the top of the structure

  • @mattperez1705
    @mattperez1705 3 роки тому +1

    This building is SUCH an old topic and has not been a mystery for years.

  • @shadowess1961
    @shadowess1961 3 роки тому +50

    Who would or could work in a windowless building for 8 hours? Sounds crazy as hell. Yet I am fascinated...

    • @GmanL18P
      @GmanL18P 3 роки тому +33

      Oddly enough most people do, I worked in a kitchen for about 10-11 hours, Without ever seeing any sort of day light till I went to go home.

    • @frankblack0503
      @frankblack0503 3 роки тому +23

      Warehouses, production, and so on...

    • @R2TheM
      @R2TheM 3 роки тому +10

      I work in a building originally built for the FBI.. 4 stories, no windows.

    • @bmona7550
      @bmona7550 3 роки тому +5

      North Texas high school buildings barely even have windows..

    • @K42023
      @K42023 3 роки тому +12

      The Matrix doesn’t need windows.

  • @MyWalkLondon
    @MyWalkLondon 3 роки тому +69

    "I just need green. I need to wake up and see grass and squirrels. I don't want to see skyscrapers" Andre Leon Talley

    • @sebby324
      @sebby324 3 роки тому +4

      Then live in the country side like me

    • @77numerouno
      @77numerouno 3 роки тому +2

      @Mwalk the NY is definitely the wrong place for you

    • @flamah10n
      @flamah10n 3 роки тому +1

      @@sebby324 Oh the countryside, I love it!

    • @jimfaust6342
      @jimfaust6342 3 роки тому +1

      I hate squirels and I love skyscrapers so I'll stick with them. Lol I hate tree rats with a passion.

    • @chasenip2
      @chasenip2 3 роки тому

      Andre said that after Anna threw him away & he was suddenly persona non grata. 😂

  • @kummer45
    @kummer45 3 роки тому +15

    This building is fascinating in many ways. Thank you so much for letting me be aware of it. The ventilation system must be a marvel of technology.

  • @AndyJackson380
    @AndyJackson380 2 роки тому +1

    If you're looking at a building to survive a nuclear attack, you don't build a tower.

  • @derekdurst9984
    @derekdurst9984 3 роки тому +8

    Warnecke designed the 60's era Federal Building in San Francisco...when it opened people walked in front with placards reading "THIS IS AN UGLY BUILDING" it still is... San Fran has been surrounding it with other structures trying to hide it for years! The NY building is handsome by comparison. Strong forms clad in expensive granite...not cheap curtain wall! Thanks for an interesting video...!

    • @legacy4548
      @legacy4548 Рік тому +1

      Forget expensive it was built to survive a nuke old man 🤣🤣🙏🙏

  • @colosseumbuilders4768
    @colosseumbuilders4768 3 роки тому +40

    AT&T has skyscrapers all over the country with no windows. They house telecom equipment. There is one at the corner of Madison and Canal in Chicago, for example. There isn't much of interest inside.

    • @Box545x39
      @Box545x39 2 роки тому +1

      When was the last time you went inside this place?

    • @sean_before8807
      @sean_before8807 Рік тому +6

      Thanks nsa haha

    • @EggmondChad
      @EggmondChad Рік тому

      You’re not the builders buddy. You better hope you don’t work for the nsa. Better hope

  • @andytang04
    @andytang04 3 роки тому +8

    AT&T actually has several windowless buildings here in California ,I’ve seen one in the Central Valley and also in east Los Angeles

  • @ftla2014
    @ftla2014 3 роки тому +18

    Brutalism ❤️

  • @chevycaprice87
    @chevycaprice87 3 роки тому +5

    In Moscow, there is a 21-story skyscraper without windows that also have a supercomputer inside that collects data about people in Russia. What a coincidence.

  • @ansoniamuse401
    @ansoniamuse401 3 роки тому +9

    Maybe your best video so far

  • @5argetech56
    @5argetech56 3 роки тому +15

    I get visions of the Movie "The Day After" with Jason Robarts Shown in the late 1980's It was so terrifying that
    After the movie (ABC) had to show a disclaimer to calm everyone down!

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +4

      oooh interesting, now I'm curious to check that movie out

    • @torg0
      @torg0 3 роки тому +2

      @@UrbanistExploringCities That movie was scary AF!

    • @karlee3095
      @karlee3095 3 роки тому +2

      I remember watching that. It freaked a lot of people out.

    • @adamndirtyape
      @adamndirtyape 3 роки тому

      What's scary is far too many people think the threat of Armageddon by nuclear war ended with the close of the Cold War, but in reality, the threat of nuclear annihilation is just as close as it ever was. People just don't talk about it as much anymore.

  • @beyondthenurd
    @beyondthenurd 3 роки тому +50

    If you were my history teacher I probably would have been a historian.

    • @OzzyVRrealone
      @OzzyVRrealone 2 роки тому +1

      Exactly. And he's not obnoxious in the least

  • @ChopFooey
    @ChopFooey 3 роки тому +41

    I'm honestly shocked you weren't detained and questioned as to why you were filming critical infrastructure. Those guys don't play around, or so I'm told.

    • @RonLaws
      @RonLaws Рік тому +6

      easier to let people do it and ramble on, plausible deniability.

    • @KhaledTheSaudiHawkII
      @KhaledTheSaudiHawkII Рік тому +3

      He’s probably on a dozen lists just because of filming and on another dozen just for posting the video on YT

    • @ElectricityTaster
      @ElectricityTaster Рік тому +13

      Duh, it's the NSA. They know who he is and what he is going to do from several blocks away. There is no need to question him and risk some weird shit appearing on youtube.

    • @BladePocok
      @BladePocok Рік тому +2

      @@ElectricityTaster You think this video would have appeared here if he was questioned and detained ? :)

    • @jbdragon3295
      @jbdragon3295 Рік тому +8

      He is on a public sidewalk and can record anything and everything he sees. It’s a first amendment protected right. Can’t just illegally detain a person because of a camera in public. That would also create a huge scene. I’m sure this building gets recorded all the time. It’s what is inside that actually matters. No one is taking pictures of the inside and posting those. That would be a huge deal and done on private property. They wouldn’t be playing around then.

  • @baje1122
    @baje1122 2 роки тому +1

    Good info. There’s another building 20 miles outside of NYC.

  • @TheAdventuresOfDougan
    @TheAdventuresOfDougan Рік тому +8

    I used to walk past this building all the time. I knew it had to have a nefarious purpose because why no windows? Well, apparently, you can decipher the vibrations of sound on glass, so you can hear conversations in the building by monitoring the windows. Always made me think of Pink Floyd and flying pigs.

    • @243wayne1
      @243wayne1 Рік тому +2

      Defeats laser mics and parabolic mics.

    • @jacksmith7576
      @jacksmith7576 Рік тому

      No doubt children have been sacrificed their... 33 thomas street.

  • @dav264
    @dav264 3 роки тому +6

    Chicago has a similar ATT building at Canal and Madison. I believe it does have windows on some top floors of the building, but it's very similar to the one in this video.

  • @tonymaher3034
    @tonymaher3034 3 роки тому +22

    When I first graduated architecture school in the late 1980’s, I worked for Warnekes firm, which was fairly small at that point. By that time he was a little hard of hearing and would basically yell questions at you. It was terrifying

    • @thecandyman9308
      @thecandyman9308 2 роки тому +3

      lol that's hilarious

    • @SKF358
      @SKF358 Рік тому

      1980s. It's plural not possessive so there's no apostrophe.

  • @Luis.Feliciano
    @Luis.Feliciano 3 роки тому +30

    This is the building that the video game Control uses as inspiration

  • @Moribus_Artibus
    @Moribus_Artibus 3 роки тому +5

    So basically this is the citadel of New York City

  • @Chris-lh7wj
    @Chris-lh7wj 2 роки тому +1

    I distinctly remember this building just visiting NY as a tourist, really sticks out

  • @seanmcdonald5859
    @seanmcdonald5859 3 роки тому +6

    "Nuclear war was eminent" . . . . . Imminent. 'Eminent' is the quality of being famous and respected, 'imminent' is 'about to happen' . . . . . Great video and i do wish i had known about this during my visit a few years ago: next time.

    • @bioheart09
      @bioheart09 3 роки тому

      Every place/state has its quirks and features. Wisconsin has a alot of schools connected to underground bunkers.

    • @gtafan2006
      @gtafan2006 3 роки тому

      I mean he also said soho was a portmanteau for south of houseton its Houston or as its property pronounced hewston :p

  • @Elfnetdesigns
    @Elfnetdesigns 2 роки тому +1

    We have on similar to that here but it is painted with giant murals on it's walls to make it more pleasing to look at. The building here houses PSTN switching equipment, fiber optic trunks, All the city and county officials departments servers. Long lines microwave transceivers, various cellular providers and a number of other internet relates systems like DNS servers, mail servers, web servers, etc.

  • @HOUSEOFXR
    @HOUSEOFXR 2 роки тому +3

    Can I pay my outrageous phone bill there?

  • @coreysouza3540
    @coreysouza3540 2 роки тому +2

    This is not the only building owned by att in nyc that’s windowless. There is a second building on 10th ave and 53rd street in Manhattan

    • @shortyd999
      @shortyd999 Рік тому

      Are they high-rises like this one?

  • @masonc4919
    @masonc4919 Рік тому +3

    there's an entire protocol document on how to enter this building. you're not allowed to identify as working for an agency, you're technically just contracted there. Plain clothes and if you're coming from a distance the alphabet boys will loan you an unmarked car for the day

  • @fuzzylon
    @fuzzylon Рік тому +1

    When I worked for AT&T in London I used to talk to people who worked in this bulding all the time.
    Never got to go inside myself, though.

  • @UrbanistExploringCities
    @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +5

    👾 BTW this building is featured prominently in my sci-fi novella RETROWAVE: www.amazon.com/Retrowave-Ariel-Viera/dp/B088LBXBYV/

  • @ieorlich
    @ieorlich 2 роки тому +2

    OBEY, CONSUME, WATCH TV

  • @youngreeper1439
    @youngreeper1439 3 роки тому +47

    I used to work right across the street from that building and wondered what that building was for. I always knew that it had to be some kind of federal building, because there's a lot of federal buildings in that area.

    • @luiscraze169
      @luiscraze169 3 роки тому +4

      I worked at 20 Thomas right across from that building always thought of it as the at&t building

    • @hackjealousy
      @hackjealousy 3 роки тому +6

      @@luiscraze169 You guys FBI? That’s what’s right across from the entrance iirc.

    • @luiscraze169
      @luiscraze169 3 роки тому +3

      @@hackjealousy no it was a law firm back then early 90s

  • @reiswekker
    @reiswekker 3 роки тому +2

    Thank you for making me aware of brutalism. Great video.

  • @thelastselfieonearth
    @thelastselfieonearth 3 роки тому +9

    this building was in men in black.

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +6

      it looks like it! But the Men in Black offices are actually the Battery Tunnel Ventilation Building :)

    • @deereed6350
      @deereed6350 3 роки тому

      The only reason I clicked on this video cause it reminded me off men in black

    • @PHN-2024
      @PHN-2024 3 роки тому +1

      Actually, it's for the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

    • @richardhaas39
      @richardhaas39 2 роки тому

      This building was the headquarters in Winter Kills with Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, and Elizabeth Taylor. The PanAm Building at 200 Park was also in the movie. The movie's release was delayed due to its controversial nature.

    • @richardhaas39
      @richardhaas39 2 роки тому

      @@PHN-2024 There are stairs from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Governor's Island. They feature in the movie Marathon Man.

  • @chadmarkley
    @chadmarkley 2 роки тому +1

    Lol, a tour of the outside of a building. BEST clickbait ever. You nailed it. I've worked in there multiple times. It's just a giant Colo/datacenter. Way more analog and copper than fiber. Nothing impressive. Just super fucking dark and florescent lit, But good job making it mysterious!

    • @UrbanistExploringCities
      @UrbanistExploringCities  2 роки тому

      Haha I appreciate it. Yea if I were to go inside it might have been a bit anti-climatic, better to have the mystery

  • @alejandromedina-ix5yx
    @alejandromedina-ix5yx 3 роки тому +3

    wish the video was longer, thank you man.

  • @townfool6859
    @townfool6859 2 роки тому +1

    4:54 - 5:00
    When he mentioned the machines, I swear, I thought he was leading up to Skynet!

  • @AJS_117
    @AJS_117 3 роки тому +5

    “Granite is flame resistant” - you cannot set fire to rock, you’ve heard it hear first people.

    • @bk2342
      @bk2342 3 роки тому

      *here 🤷🏻‍♀️

    • @AJS_117
      @AJS_117 3 роки тому

      @@bk2342 feel better now?

    • @bk2342
      @bk2342 3 роки тому

      @@AJS_117 ehh it still says hear.

    • @jeshkam
      @jeshkam 3 роки тому +1

      @@bk2342 🤣😁😂👍👍

  • @juanvaladez5703
    @juanvaladez5703 3 місяці тому

    Thank you for this important work. God bless you brother. 🕊️

  • @meesalikeu
    @meesalikeu 3 роки тому +47

    ny'ers laugh how every few years a new generation discover this building and school us about it.

    • @cann5565
      @cann5565 3 роки тому +13

      I don't think this video was for most New Yorkers. There are people outside of NYC interested in the city. I'm one of them. Hello.

    • @aeuro23
      @aeuro23 3 роки тому

      Lmao everytime

    • @TR-rj1fw
      @TR-rj1fw 3 роки тому +11

      Self flattery on your part it seems. You mean ppl learn new things and share with others? Imagine that.. Also, UA-cam is still relatively new for society. This building is much older than UA-cam.

  • @alelollipop1903
    @alelollipop1903 3 роки тому +2

    I live in Italy and it’s not uncommon to see this type of hideous buildings, especially at the edge of cities. Every time I see one, 1984 comes to mind

  • @aeiltzemering2160
    @aeiltzemering2160 3 роки тому +17

    Excellent video, however the reason it does not have windows is nothing to do with heat, but obviously to protect it from shockwave, radiation etc from an atomic bomb explosion.

    • @vannhollandiii3711
      @vannhollandiii3711 2 роки тому +1

      This is just your opinion. Most telecommunication buildings have no windows. Get your facts straight. It’s not bombs either.

    • @johnbeach7985
      @johnbeach7985 2 роки тому +1

      EMPs

  • @theemclane4037
    @theemclane4037 3 роки тому +1

    Americans are so happy thy can just walk up to such a building in the middle of the day with a camera and just film!
    In Africa you would be jailed for just taking a selfie at the mall.

    • @stn7172
      @stn7172 3 роки тому

      That's messed up bro

  • @UrbanistExploringCities
    @UrbanistExploringCities  3 роки тому +24

    😱 Want to learn about another crazy skyscraper in NYC? This one is bulletproof: ua-cam.com/video/imxmAsNj4bc/v-deo.html

  • @HitManActual112
    @HitManActual112 Рік тому +1

    I doubt that you or anyone who cares will ever review this comment, but I will leave it anyway. I encountered this video on “shorts”. Without a word being spoken I instantaneously knew who owned and used this building and I have never stepped foot into NYC. I’m from Rome, Ga. and we had a building that it reminded me of for some reason. This was not a skyscraper rather a three story building in our town. It too was originally built by Southern Bell. The parent company in the beginning that eventually became AT&T. At first glance I knew that the building in your video would be owned by AT&T as ours was and was a switching station for MaBell when built. Odd, huh??

  • @willmatic84
    @willmatic84 3 роки тому +17

    😂👉🏼 i thought that was the MIB building

    • @menotme5560
      @menotme5560 3 роки тому

      SAME!

    • @hamiltonsny
      @hamiltonsny 3 роки тому

      The M.I.B. building is on Battery Place in Lower Manhattan. It is actually a ventilation building for the Holland Tunnel.

    • @jayvoke188
      @jayvoke188 3 роки тому

      Why this building wasn't a Target on 9/11?

    • @elijahthesamurai
      @elijahthesamurai 3 роки тому

      @@jayvoke188 the terrorists are afraid of what will happen if they blow it up

  • @JS-mq1qg
    @JS-mq1qg 3 роки тому +1

    Thank you nsa for keeping us safe!

  • @sylviakross3862
    @sylviakross3862 3 роки тому +5

    Thank you for telling us what this building is all about!!, walked by for 20 yrs and couldn’t figure it out!!!

  • @lcmlcm2460
    @lcmlcm2460 3 роки тому +1

    Man that building looks expensive but obviously durable. Kool thanks

  • @suelyons531
    @suelyons531 3 роки тому +4

    when I live in NYC I always thought this building was a gas-off-air flow exchange for the subway system. I guess not!

  • @zoefowler498
    @zoefowler498 3 роки тому +1

    you make it seem like you are going inside... i finally understand what clickbait means.

  • @roachtoasties
    @roachtoasties 3 роки тому +15

    From the title, I immediately guessed you were going to talk about an electronic communications building. AT&T has many other buildings with few windows. Now, I doubt they need all that space inside, given how technology has advanced over the years. I suspect inside there is a lot of unused space. Of course, for a building like this, there's not really anything else you can do with unused space, other than store stuff.

    • @Mr.Plant1994
      @Mr.Plant1994 3 роки тому +5

      I bet even with the advancements of technology that ever square inch of this building is used. I bet most floors are floor to ceiling servers.

    • @c_o_r_y
      @c_o_r_y 2 роки тому +1

      Server racks take a lot of space and make a lot of heat

    • @roachtoasties
      @roachtoasties 2 роки тому +1

      @@c_o_r_y You're right. I'm thinking of the mini phone network in my house, using VOIP adapters. Small stuff. In another time, it would take large and noisy mechanical phone switches.

  • @caffeinatedflightattendant
    @caffeinatedflightattendant 3 роки тому +2

    "This video is about bricks..." 🤣

  • @sunshinenyc007
    @sunshinenyc007 3 роки тому +9

    Ariel was wondering if u ever did a tour of gramercy park and the history of the beautiful old buildings around it? Oh wait i found it!! Yay

  • @santiagosoria461
    @santiagosoria461 3 роки тому +2

    That's it, new favorite channel.

  • @bquick94
    @bquick94 3 роки тому +3

    The number 33 always appears at places like these

  • @nathanb1078
    @nathanb1078 Рік тому

    Fascinating look into this building. Thanks 🎉

  • @joekinn69
    @joekinn69 3 роки тому +10

    We have building like this in Raleigh NC!

    • @andrewsamuelson3275
      @andrewsamuelson3275 3 роки тому

      Wait! What street?

    • @Just.A.T-Rex
      @Just.A.T-Rex 3 роки тому

      And one with same role multistories underground on big hole rd outside Raleigh towards pittsboro

    • @lunapetunia3778
      @lunapetunia3778 3 роки тому

      Do you mean "the Big Hole"?

    • @Just.A.T-Rex
      @Just.A.T-Rex 3 роки тому

      @@lunapetunia3778 yep on big hole rd

    • @ojsilva1975
      @ojsilva1975 3 роки тому

      There’s one here in Dallas, NC (used to be a Bellsouth payment office in the 90’s) & Downtown Gastonia.

  • @TheApothecary_
    @TheApothecary_ 3 дні тому

    Wild, Thankyou ! Very informative