I spent this past Wednesday – my last day in college – touring and having lunch at the latest New York Times building on Eight Avenue, in front of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. My Honors class professor, Mitchel Levitas, who has worked for the Times for decades, presented us with a gift by inviting us there.
You may not know this, but this is the Times Company’s sixth NYC headquarters building. The first one was in Lower Manhattan, after which The Times moved uptown to what was then known as Long Acre Square. Shortly thereafter, the neighborhood was renamed Times Square in the paper’s honor. I find this fact fascinating.
This new building opened in November 2007. The reason for this new establishment was due to outgrowing the old one. Unlike the previous ones, this displays a surprisingly modern design. Its transparency, openness, suggested by floor to ceiling glass walls and wide brightly colored hallways, adorned with quirky modern furniture were all representatives of what I normally adhere to for any kind of space – be it home or work – however this struck me as something I had NOT imagined for the New York Times headquarters.
Walking along its hallways, bright panels of exquisite technological innovation took us by surprise. As one of my classmates noticed, the newsrooms weren’t at all busy, loud and hectic, like one would envision, but quiet, with everyone in their own business, neatly organized, impeccably in order. On the other hand, many offices were empty due to the disastrous economy, major layoffs, and hire freeze, which justified for some of the quietness. The man in charge of the vision of this already acclaimed 21-st century architectural icon is internationally established Renzo Piano.
The impressive 52-story tower is the epitome of New York City skyscrapers. Piano’s idea was to create a transparent relationship between the street and the building, which he did. You can see everything from the street through the whole building; there are no secrets. An important fact to know is that the New York Times only owns floors 2 through 27.
I loved the elevators, with customized buttons for each floor when calling to go up (which means you only stop at the floor you want to, not spend 10 minutes until you hit story 52, which gets increasingly annoying over time), the wide airy flooded with light lobby, and its amazing 50-foot-tall birch trees garden surrounded by glass walls, creating a serene environment in the midst of one of the densest neighborhoods in the world.
After having lunch in the cafeteria – modest word to encompass the internationally diverse gourmet foods and breathtaking views – we entered the famous board room, where major decisions are made, where even President Obama graced with his presence.
Besides the yet again modern layout – white leather chairs, big conference screen, and brown leather intimidating board table – one could not go without noticing the numerous photographs of past presidents of the United States, as well as other important historical figures, such as Einstein, each one with an autograph on it. I felt extremely honored to be in the room and witness this piece of American history.
Tours no longer take place, which made professor Levitas’ gift to us extra special. We were very privileged. Great class, outstanding professor, challenging coursework.
It was an exceptional way to end the semester…and my undergraduate college years, for that matter.
