20 Exchange Place


20 Exchange Place is a 57-story Art Deco building on Exchange Place in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Formerly known as the City Bank–Farmers Trust Building, it was built between 1930 and 1931, for the newly merged National City Bank of New York and the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, predecessor firms of Citigroup. It remained the company's headquarters until 1956 and was ultimately sold in 1979.

Description

The building was designed by Cross and Cross. Although the firm described the building as having no particular architectural style, observers characterized it as having a "modern classic" style with minimal Art Deco ornamentation. It was originally designed in 1929 to be the world's tallest building at, with a pyramidal top and a budget of $9.5 million. Depression-era realities resulted in a scaled-back, -tall building, the city's fourth-tallest building at the time.
The building opened February 24, 1931. In 1996, the building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Use

The 16th through 57th floors of the building have been converted from commercial to residential space by Metro Loft Management. As a part of this conversion, the building's exterior was restored, including cleaning the building's bricks, which had turned black over the years, to their original white color.
Today, 20 Exchange Place is held by Luxembourg-based Eastbridge Group and AG Real Estate. Notable residents include Anna Chapman.

In popular culture

In 2006, the building served as a fictional branch location of the "Manhattan Trust Bank" in the movie Inside Man. In 2009, it served as several different bank locations in the Fringe episode "Safe". The building also makes an appearance in the films Wall Street, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and The Post.