The abandoned fortress: How 4 New York Plaza became a banking ghost

A tower built for a vanished era of finance now looms empty. Its fortress design tells the story of how banking—and architecture—left it behind.

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2025 December 2 . 1:33 PM

1 min read

This is a collage photo and here we can see buildings and we can see some text.

The abandoned fortress: How 4 New York Plaza became a banking ghost

4 New York Plaza, a striking 22-storey tower in Lower Manhattan, was built in 1969 to house a major pnc bank’s mainframe computers. Designed to resemble a fortress, it stood out among the smaller mercantile buildings of Coenties Slip. Over time, however, its purpose faded as technology and banking changed dramatically.

The building was originally created for a us bank that no longer exists. Its unusual design, by architects Carson, Lundin, and Shaw, drew inspiration from waterfront warehouses and even computer punch cards. The tower’s fortress-like appearance was intentional, meant to dominate the surrounding low-rise structures.

4 New York Plaza now stands as a relic of an earlier banking era. Its lack of windows and fortress-like design reflect a time when mainframe computers required strict climate control. The building’s future remains uncertain, but its history highlights the rapid changes in both finance and architecture.