New York Times Building (Originally The Times Annex)

History and architecture

Built in three stages between 1912 and 1932, the New York Times Building reflects both the development of the Times Square neighborhood and the history of one of the most highly-respected newspapers in the United States. Founded on Nassau Street in 1851, the Times moved to West 42th Street in 1905, constructing a skyscraper headquarters at the crossing of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, which had been named Times Square the previous year. The newspaper quickly outgrew the so-called Times Tower and in 1912-13 the eleven-story Times Annex was constructed about two hundred feet away on the north side of West 43rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

Architect Mortimer J. Fox, of the firm Buchman & Fox, closely patterned the tripartite neo-Gothic elevations on the 1905 building, designing a limestone base and brick shaft, crowned by a richly embellished terra-cotta cornice and parapet. The Annex became the newspaper's headquarters, accommodating editorial and executive departments, as well as new printing presses and mechanical equipment. The editors christened their new headquarters the "monarch of Times Square" and claimed it was the largest newspaper plant in the world.

In 1922, the Times filed plans to double the plant's capacity. Ludlow & Peabody designed the one hundred-foot long addition, which consisted of an expanded staff entrance, five identical bays to the west, and a five-story setback attic level in the style of the French Renaissance. At the center of the hipped roof attic, which extended across both buildings, was a seven-story tower, capped by a pyramidal roof and slender lantern. This Chateauesque feature gave the expanded Annex a dignified and conspicuous presence in an increasingly incandescent Times Square, making the building visible from all corners of the entertainment district.

The west wing was constructed in 1930-32. Albert Kahn, the noted Detroit-based architect, designed the plan and maintained the building's primarily neo-Gothic vocabulary, adding three additional bays, a second lobby, and roof-top studio. In recognition of its importance to the newspaper, the Annex was renamed the New York Times Building in 1942. The New York Times Building is one of Times Square's oldest and best preserved non-theatrical structures. Extending 318 feet along the north side of West 43'd Street, the exterior survives largely intact, and the building continues to serve as the newspaper's editorial and business offices.

The New York Times

For over one hundred and fifty years, The New York Times has been one of the world's best-known and highly respected newspapers. Established by Henry Jarvis Raymond, George Jones and Edward B. Welsey in 1851, the newspaper flourished in a series of increasingly prominent Manhattan structures, including sites in the financial district, along Park Row, and since 1905, in Times Square. The Times initially leased space at 113 Nassau Street, but it soon moved to a larger structure at the southeast corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets.

In 1856, the owners acquired the Old Brick Presbyterian Church and graveyard "at the northern apex of the triangle formed by Park Row and Nassau and Beekman Streets," which they replaced with a five-story, eighty-foot tall, building designed in the Italianate style by the architect Thomas R. Jackson (1826-1901). The floor plan provided a model for future Times structures: the heavy presses and printing equipment were housed in the basement, while staff offices were located above, on the first, fourth, and fifth stories.

To provide space for future expansion, the second and third stories were temporarily leased to outside tenants.

The early 1880s were a prosperous period for the Times and in 1886 George Jones proposed to build "the largest and handsomest newspaper office in the world." With few sites available in the immediate area, he decided to construct an entirely new building at the same location while retaining as much of the existing structure as possible. Credit for this technological feat went to the architect-engineer George B. Post (1837-1913) who planned and supervised construction of a twelve-story building without interfering with daily operations. Completed in 1889, the granite and limestone Romanesque Revival headquarters (a designated New York City Landmark) was described in King's Handbook of New York (1892) as "the Times expressed in stone."'

The Times struggled financially during the early 1890s due to competition from "penny" papers, such as the Journal and World, as well as the financial panic of 1893. Despite hopes that rental income from vacant floors would supplement circulation revenue, in 1893 the newspaper was sold to the New York Times Publishing Company, a corporation headed by Times editor Charles R. Miller. Three years later, in August 1896, Adolph S. Ochs (1858-1935) became publisher, and by August 1900, the company's major shareholder. Soon after taking full control of the Times, he added the familiar slogan "All the News that's Fit to Print" to the masthead, signaling his intention to maintain the newspaper's traditional high standards.