On the construction of 60 Hudson, Perry Piermont wrote:
It is not a windowless telecom building -- it was originally a western union office building that slowly evolved into its current role.<<
Good point, 60 Hudson is not windowless <except, in parts, where the windows have been plugged up ;> But from my recall of its details it was built to the same 'fortress-like' standards as 32 Sixth Avenue and other classical telco-grade buildings of the era. But true, its design precedes windowless COs by about thirty years ;)
Frank Coluccio <fcoluccio@dticonsulting.com> writes:
Like 140 West Street (adjacent to where 7 WTC once stood), 60H is a brick shit house.
60 Hudson is not properly built for its role, actually. It is not a windowless telecom building -- it was originally a western union office building that slowly evolved into its current role. Most of the nearby telecom buildings are indeed windowless and designed to take punishment, but 60 is not. I recall on many occasions pointing it out to friends and noting you could see racked equipment through its numerous windows.
It may (or may not) be perfectly true that it is safe, but its design has nothing to do with that safety -- only its position during this incident.
Perry