American architect Ralph Walker is responsible for a number of beautiful buildings in New York City, but perhaps his most spectacular work is the old Verizon Building in Lower Manhattan. The 32-story Art Deco structure is a stunner both inside and out; a block-long arcade at its base is topped with Guastavino tile arches, while the interiors are covered in travertine and black marble.
When it first opened, the building was used by the New York telephone company as its headquarters; though it changed hands several times (with Bell Atlantic and eventually Verizon moving in), it’s always functioned as a communications building of some sort.
But that’s changed slightly in the past few years: Developer Ben Shaoul brought 158 posh condos to the building’s top floors, and rechristened them 100 Barclay Street. In addition to the swanky apartments, the condo portion of the building also features a 82-foot pool, created using Walker’s own design.
Alas, the building isn’t exactly open to the public; part of it is still in use by Verizon, which had its headquarters in the building for years, while the condo portion is off-limits to all but its residents and their guests. But thanks to a new Curbed video tour, even us plebes can take a peek at those fancy new apartments, as well as the restored lobby, with its frescoes depicting the advent of communications in the United States, and its stunning arched ceiling.
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