55 Water Street Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids 55 Water Street
55 Water Street as seen from the East River
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Architectural style	International style
Location	55 Water Street Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°42′12″N 74°00′33″W / 40.7032°N 74.0091°W / 40.7032; -74.0091
Construction started	1969
Completed	1972
Owner	Retirement Systems of Alabama
Height
Roof	687 ft (209 m)
Technical details
Floor count	53
Floor area	3.5 million square feet (325,000 m²)
Lifts/elevators	59
Design and construction
Architect	Emery Roth & Sons Lee S. Jablin
Developer	Uris Buildings Corporation
Structural engineer	James Ruderman

55 Water Street is a very tall building, called a skyscraper, in New York City. It's located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, right next to the East River. This building has 53 floors and was finished in 1972. It stands about 687-foot-tall (209 m).

A company called Emery Roth & Sons designed it. 55 Water Street is the second largest building in New York City based on how much floor space it has. Only One World Trade Center is bigger. It was built on a very large area that combined four city blocks.

History of 55 Water Street
Design and Public Space
Who Works There?
Images for kids
See also

History of 55 Water Street

Early Years and Art Museum

From 1973 to 1983, a famous art museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, had a special branch inside 55 Water Street. They rented the space for only $1 a year! Several companies in the Financial District helped pay for the museum's running costs.

New Owners and Renovations

Since 1993, the building has been owned by a group called Retirement Systems of Alabama. They bought it for $202 million. The new owners hired architects Kohn Pedersen Fox to update the building's look. They also spent over $20 million to remove a material called asbestos and put in a new backup electrical system.

Plans for Expansion

In 2001, a big financial company, Goldman Sachs, thought about renting space in 55 Water Street. They even suggested adding a new 13-story section to the building. This new part would have included large trading floors. They also wanted to make the north tower taller. To make up for using public space, Goldman Sachs offered to pay for improvements nearby. However, these plans were quickly stopped. Goldman Sachs said it was because of the economy, but some people living in the neighborhood were also against the idea.

Dealing with Storms

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused a lot of damage to the building. Over 32 million U.S. gallons (0.12×10^⁶ kl) of water flooded three underground levels. The water even rose to waist-high in the lobby.

Later, on November 23, while repairs were happening, a fire broke out. This fire injured 27 people, mostly those working on the lower floors. To get ready for future storms, the building's owner decided to move electrical equipment from the basement to the third floor. They also built a special flood control system around the building. This system helps protect it if another big storm hits the area.

Design and Public Space

The Elevated Acre

On the north side of 55 Water Street, there's a 15-story section with a sloped front and terraces facing the river. The biggest terrace is a special public area called the "Elevated Acre." It's about 30 feet (9.1 m) above street level. You can reach it using an escalator and stairs from Water Street.

Creating this public space allowed the builders to make 55 Water Street even bigger than usual. The Elevated Acre was first planned as part of a series of public spaces along the East River. These spaces were meant to be connected by walkways above the street.

The Elevated Acre can be rented for special events like weddings. In the summer, it sometimes hosts free movie screenings for everyone to enjoy. The original design for this area was done by M. Paul Friedberg & Associates. The building and its public areas were later updated by Lee S. Jablin of Harman Jablin Architects. The Elevated Acre itself was renovated again in 2005.

55 Water Street was the last big building constructed by the Uris Buildings Corporation.

Who Works There?

The New Water Street Corporation is in charge of running and renting out space in the building.

Many different companies have offices in 55 Water Street:

EmblemHealth, a health insurance company, has its main office here. They moved in with 2,000 employees in 2004. This was the largest company move in downtown Manhattan after the September 11 attacks.
Standard & Poor's, a company that rates other companies.
FXCM, a company that deals with foreign money exchange.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, another financial company.
The New York City Department of Transportation, which handles city transport.

In 2015, McGraw Hill Financial, which owns Standard & Poor's, moved its main office to 55 Water Street. Also in 2015, the fashion company Hugo Boss moved its North American headquarters here. In 2019, a software company called Justworks also announced they would be moving into several floors of the building.