Bizarre theories abound, but the truth is prosaic. Photo in article.

“…
It was designed and built between 1969 and 1974 to house AT&T (the American Telephone and Telegraph Company) telephone switching equipment - one of the most important telecommunications hubs in the USA.

The equipment required a high level of space and a secure location, therefore the building's floors are taller than average. Despite being as high as a 40-storey tower, it actually only has 29 floors.
…
Since being built it functioned as AT&T's long distance telephone exchange until 1999, when the company moved elsewhere.

Today, the windowless skyscraper is still sometimes used for it's original purpose of telephone switching by some local exchange carriers.

Other areas of the building are reportedly used as a high security datacenter.

It's now more commonly known as 33 Thomas Street, rather than the AT&T building or the Long Lines Building. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/12481917

My Dad worked for AT&T Long Lines had numerous stints where he worked in that building.

He graduated from the Brooklyn Technical High School, class of 1956. Immediately following graduation, he went to work for American Telephone & Telegraph Co. as an Equipment Technician. He had a long career with AT&T that spanned over 50 years. His career highlights included major groundwork for technological improvements in data com, telecommunications, and high speed internet. He was most proud of his work on AT&T’s build out of the IT Common Backbone.

Isn't that the HQ for MIB?

I thought it was the FBI Yankee White facility. (From RED 2)

Any time you see a building like this it's usually telecommunications or network infrastructure related. They started building them without windows to be more bomb-proof and with it being mainly full of equipment there was no reason for them.

I'm sure they have all manner of reasons to build them the way they do, but it seems like if you're going to build a building which looms, make it LOOM.

Polished black granite, lightning generators, etc. Either do the Early Dr. Frankenstein look, or 2001...

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Any time you see a building like this it's usually telecommunications or network infrastructure related. They started building them without windows to be more bomb-proof and with it being mainly full of equipment there was no reason for them.

The only large windowless building that I’ve seen was for SAGE at an Air Force base.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC GROUND ENVIRONMENT AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM
https://www.ll.mit.edu/about/h...t-air-defense-system

Much smaller version in Nashville. Thats what the guy tried to blow up a few years back on Christmas morning to stop 5G..

Seems like you couldn’t ask for a more secure setting; you aren’t getting in unless you’re let in.

Similar building type in Seattle, though not as tall, foreboding and menacing as the New York example. The architect of this almost monolith chose brick panels as their material of choice (a real winna of a building material for a Type 3 earthquake zone if there ever was one ), and it actually does have some windows though rumor is that most if not all are fake and actually blocked off. No longer is it the responsibility of AT&T but nowadays run by another telecom, Lumen.

I wouldn't want to be be anywhere close to the sidewalks around that thing when the subduction shaker hits (or most any of the city's high-rises, for that matter), but there it is in downtown Seattle.

Surprised they haven't turned fully it into a data center. That's what happens with the old exchanges around here.

^^^^^ When was that built?
Just about every building on the West Coast that's going after a brick look, is all a facade. Brick panels are popular in San Francisco in order to tie-back to early 20-century building styles.

Better than building data centers out of decommissioned freight containers stacked on end. This is actually a common practice in Europe, and there hae been a number of memorable fires that have gutted these "chimneys."