Another classic New York story from Rob Lenihan at Luna Park Gazette. This one is about the history of place, memories and the wrecking ball.
I
had just stepped out of my building at lunchtime when a little old lady
stopped in front of the revolving door and asked for directions.
“Excuse me,” she said in what sounded like an Eastern European accent. “Could you please tell me where is 198 Broadway?”
She
was speaking to a man standing by the door and I was about to walk away
until I noticed the guy was ignoring her. So I stepped in.
“Where do you want to go?”
“198 Broadway,” she said, holding up a slip of paper. “My eye doctor is there.”
I
work at 195 Broadway, so I didn’t think this would be too difficult. My
office is located in this magnificent old building in Lower Manhattan
that dominates one side of the street.
The place is a treasure, with this fabulous lobby that looks like something out of a Cecil B. DeMille picture.
It
was the headquarters of AT&T; from 1916 to 1983 and since they were
a monopoly back then money clearly was no object. The place is like a
cathedral of capitalism.
AT&T; even installed a basketball
court on the fifth floor so their employees could get a workout during
the workday. I’ve been working there for several months now and I’m
still amazed every time I walk through the front door…