60 Hudson Street is a major telecommunications facility and an historic landmark located in Lower Manhattan, New York City, not far from the World Trade Center. The art deco brick structure was designed by Ralph Thomas Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker and opened in 1930.[1] It served as the headquarters of the Western Union company until 1973.
During the heyday of the telegraph, 60 Hudson, then known as the Western Union Building, was a premier nexus of worldwide communications. It was designated a building landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1992.[2] According to the landmark plaque in the lobby, the building originally contained, in addition to offices, 70 million feet of wire, 30 miles of conduit, classrooms (so telegraph messengers could continue their education) and a gymnasium.[2]
Since Western Union moved its headquarters to New Jersey, the building has been converted into a carrier hotel where over 100 telecommunications companies have offices and can interchange Internet traffic through a meet-me-room and individual fiber optic lines. It is once again a premier nexus of worldwide communications.[3] The room is on the 9th floor in a 15,000 square foot area that is powered by a 10,000 Amp DC power plant.[4]
In 2006, a New York City panel approved the storage of nearly 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of diesel fuel on six floors of the building, part of some 80,000 gallons (300,000 liters) of fuel oil stored in the building. Community opposition had been raised regarding concerns that the presence of the fuel oil posed a fire hazard that could result in a catastrophic failure of the building, similar to what had happened to 7 World Trade Center, which collapsed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.[5]