One Wall Street was originally built as the headquarters for the Irving Trust, which was acquired by the building's present owner, the Bank of New York, in 1992. The corner of Broadway and Wall Street is a prestigious location, for which the Irving Trust Company paid dearly. It was an ideal site for a skyscraper because the graveyard of Trinity Church guaranteed direct sunlight and fresh air in perpetuity. Its rear on New Street faced the New York Stock Exchange and challenged the headquarters of rival Banker's Trust a block away at Wall Street and Nassau.
Ralph Walker was the architect of numerous large-scale industrial and corporate buildings in New York. His first major work in the city was the Barclay Vesey Telephone Building. One Wall Street cuts a distinctive figure on Broadway. Unusual is the graceful façade that creates an effect of fabric-like lightness with its faceted limestone cladding.
In contrast to the contemporary towers, One Wall Street depends on this subtle surface effect for its impact rather than an iconic crown or spire. Its highly expressive Art Deco styling was not for everyone: Lewis Mumford, an advocate of much more rational modes of modernist architecture, wrote in his first architectural review for The New Yorker that it was "mere swank, and unconvincing swank at that."
The light colored exterior stone contrasts strongly with the opulence of the interiors, in particular, the rich red, amber, and gold mosaics of the reception hall. One of the most beautiful interiors in the Financial District, its theatricality seems more suited to the Ziegfeld Follies than to Wall Street. Designed by Walker in consultation with Hildreth Meiere, the room shimmers in tones rising from deep burgundy to gold. The lobby beyond was formerly highlighted by a wonderful abstract ceiling mural designed by Kimon Nicolaides and executed by Meiere. This space was altered beyond recognition in the 1960's, although Meiere's work may survive above the dropped ceiling. Inaccessible to the public is the observation lounge, which is marked by majestic thirty-foot windows at the tower's crown. In 1962 Walker's successor firm built an addition in a sympathetic but simplified style. But despite the grand interior design of the interior spaces, tourist visits are not currently allowed.
