Bank vault in the former Bank of Manhattan in the Clock Tower, Long Island City
Urban explorers, architecture buffs and art lovers alike will relish this opportunity to fully explore the former Bank of Manhattan in Long Island City’s Clock Tower when the latest No Longer Empty exhibition, “How Much Do I Owe You?” opens to the public on Wednesday, December 12th. As the event’s media sponsor, Untapped New York was given the chance to do some exploring so we can share with our readers this space, which has been closed to the public since the mid-1980s. We will also be offering an exclusive tour led by No Longer Empty and Untapped New York to a select number of lucky readers in January, please sign up here.
Today we want to show you all the spots to check out when in the Bank of Manhattan you come to the exhibit, but do also check out this preview of the unique installations from the 26 participating artists.
The Bank of Manhattan later became the ubiquitous Chase Manhattan Bank, but the financial firm actually began as the first organized water delivery service, a private enterprise run by Aaron Burr called the Manhattan Company, which had exclusive rights to supply water to New York City. According to Kate Ascher in her excellent The Works: Anatomy of the City,
Rather than bring water from the outside as planned, the company sank more wells locally and stored it in a reservoir at Chambers Street; thus the quality of the water was no better than that drawn directly from Collect Pond itself. The company prospered nonetheless and used its surplus to start a bank–the Bank of Manhattan Company–that was more profitable than its water delivery business. As its banking operations expanded, its water delivery operations shrank, and in 1808 the company sold its water operations to the city.
The Bank of Manhattan building was built in 1924, the first skyscraper in Long Island City. The Long Island Star Journal proclaimed that it would make Bridge Plaza, then a gardened promenade in the City Beautiful style, “the new Times Square of Queens.”
Andover Realty currently owns the building and approached No Longer Empty to raise awareness of the historic space on the ground floor (the upper floors of the Clock Tower are occupied by law offices). Lucy Lydon, communications manager for No Longer Empty, tells us that the interior reflects the history of finance. As the Bank of Manhattan evolved from venerated institution to a more personal banking approach, so the architecture shifted from an imposing neoclassical interior to dry wall, with more opportunity for communication with customers.
For example, from the main lobby area you can see the original moulding and pilasters above the wall:
Main entrance of Clock Tower lobby being prepped for the exhibition
Above the drywall, you can see the original lobby details such as the Corinthian pilasters and moulding.
The highlight of your visit will likely be the vaults in the basement:
View from inside the main vault
The main vault
Additional safes in the main vault
Former storage area
Filing cabinet in storage area
A second vault in the basement
Just outside the vault area is this elaborate shower, “artist” and origins unknown:
In the back of the first floor lobby, the assistant to South Korean artist Hayoon Jay-Lee is preparing an installation using rice bags:
In one room, artists fill the wall with bank slogans like “Grow with us,” and “What’s your dream?” around the word “TRUST.”
Closeup of bank slogans
And don’t miss the balcony area, where you can get up close and personal with the ornamented columns and the backside of the building:
Please join us for the opening of No Longer Empty’s “How Much Do I Owe You?” on Wednesday, December 12th from 7-9pm with Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Chair of NYC Cultural Affairs Committee and the staff of Untapped New York. Sign up for our exclusive tour of the exhibition and building here.
Get in touch with the author @untappedmich.
