NYC is Full of Fake Buildings… Why?

Can you guess how many of NYC’s Buildings are Fakes?
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[@marcmcpherson6960]

33 Thomas Street is literally where everything telecommunications for North America & Europe lives. My mother worked for AT&T and she basically told me that, if something ever happened to that building, almost all forms of communication from Los Angeles to Paris would be down. We would be back to using a town crier or other kinds of primitive means of communication if something happened to that building. That's why that building is so secure.

[@scottmcshannon6821]

most of the large physical switching buildings are no longer in use, the switching is done virtually now.

[@Tatokala]

But is the meaning today as actual? Everybody communicating with mobile phone and no one cares about good old telephones.

[@MrConartistdesign]

really????

[@jacksonmorganfroghin4815]

Cash, you're a brave man.....outing these secret buildings that if destroyed would bring civilization to it's knees. Hopefully, your name won't be put on a list, a secret list where only the keeper of that aforementioned list knows your real name, assuming it is not Cash Jordan (I assume it is real because you're a man of integrity and wouldn't trick your followers that way.) Am I using my real name? Not on your life, boy. May your mouth be washed out with a soap called Lifebuoy or Palmolive!! This message will self destruct in five seconds. Everything will be disavowed. Yo.

[@gogginz]

North America, yes, Europe, not even close :)

[@dominicg2456]

My dad works at that AT&T building. He's been with AT&T for over 30 years now, and he is under an NDA and won't really say what he does there, only that it's very important to New York and that the quality of life in NY would decrease if the building wasn't there. He also said it's not really that serious and that if the building just looked normal then no one would even care.

[@CommentCritic]

In my town, the old post office building has been turned into a colocation for the ISPs. Its unmarked, looks like an old abandoned building. But at night, you can see lights from network switches blinking in series. Hidden in plain sight they are, but very essential to our communications.

[@ntran74]

..?:‘man bun

[@Doobus_Goodus]

>under NDA >"Not even that serious"

[@springchickena1]

I was looking for this comment, i was going to say same thing. It's a data center. *i have some nsa relatives as well

[@itsme_5]

@@Doobus_Goodus Not unusual in the telecommunications industry.

[@cosmoeticguidance6417]

“Clear blue waters … of the Hudson River” this made me chuckle.

[@planetmullins]

me too

[@Sacto1654]

These "fake" buildings are actually more common than you think worldwide. In London and Paris, there are a lot of them exist to be used as ventilation inlets and outlets for the Underground (London) and Paris Metro/RER (Paris).

[@jack2breeze]

Funny cause Ripley's Believe it or Not featured one in England back in the 80s. The first one reminfed me of it but it was small and when you look in the window you can see trains go by.

[@richardcallihan9746]

Ministry of Love, NY NY branch

[@lparky4409]

The London one is in Leinster Gardens and conceals part of a tube line.

[@lauarascott]

​@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist1Amen 🙏.

[@UnklePecos]

Chicago

[@BogdanPetre]

The first fake building is located at 58 Jaman Street. It was originally constructed in 1847 as a private residence. In 1907, it was purchased by the INB Rapid Transit company to vent air from the subway underneath it. The building was completely hollowed out and now serves as an emergency exit for the subways. The second fake building is located on Roosevelt Island. It was built in 1892 as a laboratory for City Hospital. It was abandoned in the 1950s and is now a power conversion substation for the subway trains. The third fake building is located in the middle of the Hudson River. It was built in 1927 to vent air from the Holland Tunnel. The fourth fake building is located at Mulry Square. It was built in 2019 to vent air from the subway underneath it. The fifth fake building is located at 33 Thomas Street. It was built in 1974 and is owned by AT&T. It is rumored to be a National Security Agency mass surveillance hub.

[@EchoRhythmMusic]

You seem to be straight forward

[@anjelab1429]

If you say so. Lol.

[@sg5sd]

Thanks! Saves a lot of time.

[@youwish378]

And I would guess you're a real life genius or computer wiz But that's me and my simple mind process 😔

[@fyiaustralia9686]

I wonder who can spot the fake post?

[@womenofpurposedestiny]

As a native New Yorker this is one of the most informative video about NYC that I've ever seen. Thanks Cash for always creating great videos

[@Tropicaya]

There are NO native New Yorkers, just slaves who come and go from time to time.

[@douglasonney9576]

You do know he is stealing other people content. no reason to praise a content thief.

[@Cristina-RoxanaCristinaR-mj4gm]

Douglas Envious much?!?☺

[@womenofpurposedestiny]

@douglasonney9576 says the person who has no videos on their page. who are you?!?

[@yvonneplant9434]

Haven't watched Cash's videos in a while. But it seems he's still about NY reality. 🎉

[@hurpaderpp]

You really know how to romanticize New York. Always hated the idea of the city but you make it seem super interesting and the history is amazing. Im a super history nerd and never realized the history of New York is so great

[@ryder389]

The history of NYC goes wayyyyyy back. It’s been around since the 1700s so there’s plenty of history! You should look it up- there’s a lot of documentaries about the history of NYC and it’s all really fascinating!

[@sagek7949]

IKR.. it’s so much fun, it’s so worth watching for newbies

[@johnrogers9481]

Right! The NYC area had a lot of action during the Revolutionary War! There were forts all over the place, on up to the Hudson River to West Point. As a kid in the ‘60’s I loved riding over the Throggs Neck Bridge, it seemed to be the highest one in the world. Underneath the Bronx side is a fort called Fort Skyler. There was another fort across the way and I learned that there were huge chains from fort to fort in the water. They would be pulled tight and would block British ships from coming through. A lot of history right there in NYC!

[@heru-deshet359]

Go to the Brooklyn or New York Public library buildings to get your fill of unbiased NYC history.

[@maki9972]

How can you be a history fan.. and not have run into any of new yorks history? Like you can barely go back into American history without talking abt New York

[@81shooterspilot]

its not fake if the buildings have purpose....

[@andremohrke5112]

And this purpose is what???

[@81shooterspilot]

@@andremohrke5112 You can't gather that from the video??

[@brunningstave]

@@andremohrke5112substations for the subway was the answer for several of the buildings… did you not actually watch the video?

[@thr33dproduktionsentertain44]

Yea the erroneous repetitive use of the word “fake” is starting to erk me because they are clearly actual buildings and not just a wall meant to appear as a building but has no inside

[@CoralReef69]

Ok fine, but the exterior is still fake. Why fancy windows? Its not a laudatory feature

[@IslemTav]

There was a show many years ago (about 20 years ago) called "Secrets of New York.” One of their episodes, I remember, was about the subway system. Reportedly, there’s tons of water underneath our city, and if it weren’t because of massive water pumps, our subways would be flooded. I think some of these secret buildings may be for the purpose of having these machines running and for air vent purposes. Awesome video!!

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

That was one of my guesses, if only for the rainwater & everyday water that would find itself down there. I imagine ventilating & pumping the air & water for an entire underground city would take a lot of buildings! Now, that last building? I have no idea, but you can bet there’s some sketchy shit going on in that one🤣

[@IslemTav]

@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 No doubt about that last building! 🤣

[@belldrop7365]

I find the idea that new york is this city built on top these old ruins made of concrete and pipes that most residents don't even know about anymore mildly entertaining. You guys should make an adventurer's guild there and have people explore underground.

[@cmg25]

There is this book - of course I forget the name - about how fast nature would “return” to its prehuman form. I think it said the subway would take 36 hours to flood without any human intervention, which makes sense if only considering the city is at or below sea level.

[@ivegotpetercriss]

I vaguely remember that! was it on a public access channel? I recall an episode on the steam system too

[@longroth4882]

The ATT building is a pretty common design for hubs built by phone companies back when it was constructed. We have smaller version in the city I grew up in. It's around 6 stories tall no windows, only vents around the top, and was built in the same time frame. These are the major switch hubs for the wired phone system, miles of wire, rows and rows of relay switching boxes, offices, and where phone operators and maintenance crews worked out of. They were built solid to mitigate communications disruptions, needed to have strict climate control & ventilation for all the electronics, hence no windows, and tight security. Plus they were built during the cold war era, wired phones were the main form of communication at the time, including secure governmental lines, so another reason security was a factor in the design. Ours had security guards wandering around 24/7 back in the 60's & 70's. Gotta remember too, this was all before the digital age, there were no computers or micro-controllers, rotary phones were in use back then, and it was all electronic relays that connected every phone in the country to each other through hubs like these. I imagine NYC's is so big because, well, millions of people vs a city of 40,000 where ours is. Ours is no longer ATT, last time I was in the area it was branded Frontier internet & phone services, and still controls all the wired landline phones and DSL internet. All the rows and rows of relay boxes were replaced by racks of servers, and the vents now have windows installed.

[@machintelligence]

The basement probably once contained battery rooms to provide fast emergency power to make sure that telecommunications were independent of the power grid.

[@Rhaspun]

Yep. Probably every city has something like this NYC AT&T building. NYC has a big one just because of the amount of communication that's goes on in NYC. There's one in San Francisco that has a small room that the CIA or the NSA has equipment installed. They're monitoring internet traffic. AT&T employees aren't allowed in that room. At least that's how it was back 25 years or so.

[@jimb3317]

Yes I am a Central Office Technician in western ny and these buildings were built to withstand a lot. One of my offices even has a fallout area. They used to have cross bar switches in them which took up a lot of room very heavy and noisy.

[@stevemitchell4656]

A Central Office… very common, no windows for security, the equipment would require a much smaller footprint today.

[@garysmcdermott]

Solid security, high ceilings (for air flow, and raised flooring for computer rooms), heavy load capability (again for computer racks)... this is simply a very large and secure datacenter, which is essentially the same thing as a Telco Central Office.

[@jessguzman]

You’re so creative with your transitions, b roll, and editing

[@michelegoff554]

Cash, your videos are SO good! The way you tell a story is phenomenal! You could make a video about dirt exciting! Love ya. Keep up the great work!

[@ambabamba7271]

“Clear blue waters of the Hudson River.”😂

[@paulofelipebbraga9634]

Had me in laughts too, also the guy fishing there. Imagine fishing in the Hudson, you can get used condoms catfish and beer cans salmon out of it.

[@LukeStephens-gw6fb]

I hope he wasn’t serious when he said that- I giggled when he said it!

[@annet6017]

We have fake buildings in Ontario in the suburbs that look like regular houses but are hydro substations. Always loved those buildings. Great video!

[@mom_spaghetti]

Yup there's one in Guelph I've seen. At Carden street near the Guelph Central Station

[@FATHOLLYWOODB123]

The first one, 58 Joralemon Street is actually an emergency exit for the MTA subway station below it. So it is a kinda hidden passageway technically hahaha

[@diandragiffaryelsakurniawa3465]

This guy presentation style is crazy, am subscribing

[@danielx555]

The first thing I noticed about that first building is that they aren't actually trying to disguise it. $40 worth of white paint would actually make it fit in with its neighbors. Like, they aren't actually trying to make it look like an actual house. It looks more like a facade for a medium security document storage facility, but if it actually had important stuff in it, they would have spent that 40 bucks and taken two or three other measures like weathering, fake curtains, etc.

[@Qermaq]

If it's just housing a subway vent and exit, there's no reason to go through the trouble of disguising it. Your motivation is simply aesthetic - making it look ok and a fit for the neighborhood is good enough. Now if it was a safehouse or a spy center then for security it is worth the extra expense of making it look as unobtrusive as possible.

[@Mephitinae]

A spy safehouse would just be a totally normal house, because spies are inconspicuous. The facade was built so the subway vent wouldn't devalue the properties around it. @@Qermaq

[@AngeloCipra]

Up

[@benjamindover4337]

There's something in there. Something that wants to get out. And when it does, all hell will break loose.

[@Qermaq]

@@benjamindover4337 Oh go watch Poltergeist.

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

"I don't think they did a very good job at hiding the fakeness of this fake building" had me in stitches! 🤣 unfinished disaster, indeed!

[@653j521]

Post modern art installation.

[@j.kristineemmons]

Yeah, Cash said a lot of funny things in this vid 😅

[@johnrogers9481]

Ha, I haven’t heard heard that saying “had me in stitches” for a long time! I even forget the origins of the phrase? To be sewn up in stitches after laughing so hard??

[@timrektrax8481]

The big ominous building in New York is a server building owned by AT&t. How did nobody guess this? Servers don't need Windows. Servers also don't need a lot of people to operate them. But being such a robust structure the city probably required that it be an emergency facility in case of disaster.

[@duanesamuelson2256]

I use to build data centers and the security associated with them. It can't be a very large center, the cooling and backup generators would be visible. Yes you can put them on the roof but the requirements take space. In addition you can't use on as a shelter since the data centers are secure space (homeland security requirements for critical infrastructure) these buildings fail secure (fire alarm etc you can leave but no one enters). Also the major transatlantic data comes in and leaves southern VA now..its why it's a hot spot for building major data centers now.

[@mat3ck]

I love your sense of humor. Great video.

[@eerokutale277]

Years ago I worked for an energy company and I had to go check a place which I presumed to be a building, it had an address but I couldn't find it on a map and I had to ask some other employees what was going on. Turned out it was a space under railway tracks and to get there I had to open a heavy duty steel gate and a steel door in a pedestrian underpass. Inside that quite a large place were huge number of computers in racks, I guess they were monitoring trains etc. It was kinda creepy place.

[@lori5613]

I assume it’s for something else more sinister👁️

[@eerokutale277]

😀@@lori5613

[@maryjogreen1706]

Hmmmmmm bet not just trains😢

[@jackhammer5683]

​@@lori5613 Your assumption was right, at last. There hasn't been any feedback from OP for more than 2 months 😢

[@victoriavillegas5]

I love your friendly way to tell things: important, weird, funny, strange or special.

[@Crowhillgal]

Great info on some of these "fake buildings" and very entertaining video! Thank you. The "Find Building Data" section of the NYC gov website also has a treasure trove of info about a building's history...permits, violations, etc. History is very cool.

[@JamesCAsphalt8]

This is the kind of KZbin video worth watching. I wish they had a section for great videos that they could put stuff like this in and charge extra for and give the profits to the creators. That way you would not have to sift through the junk and clickbait.

[@joermnyc]

The vent for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel all the way downtown was used for the Men in Black HQ entrance. Roosevelt Island used to be called Blackwells island, and housed a hospital for patients needing to be quarantined, a prison and an asylum. The journalist Nellie Bly faked being insane to get checked into the asylum and exposed horrific treatment and conditions, which got the place shut down (it was akin to what Geraldo Rivera found at Willowbrook in Staten Island.)

[@cathoderaytube7497]

I knew it! I was thinking "That reminds me of that huge building in _Men In Black_."

[@donnafromnyc]

The insane asylum (The Octagon) which was at the north end by Coler Hospital at the far north end is now the entrance for an apartment building. The exterior once a ruin is now fully restored. The original plan for the apt building was in a Victorian/Edwardian style with gables but the locals killed it. What's now there is a basic modern concrete block, but what was left of the Octagon building was saved.

[@ryanward8039]

@@cathoderaytube7497 AT&T Employee: " Can I help you?" Job Applicant: "Yeah, this dude gave me this ca..." AT&T employee: "Elevator....."

[@waynecmontgomery]

The AT&T building at 33 Tomas Street is a telecom switching hub (node switches) for the tri-state area and the northeast. I used to work in the building

[@andimom2010]

Hey I like your energy! Life goals my man

[@p3rs0n_that_ne3ds_th3rapy]

11:02 that aint a skyscraper thats lord farquaad's castle

[@newyorkalb]

It's depressing to know that we built so many great things at a time without computers, we invested in jobs and infrastructure, while today with massive wealth generated over the past 70 years of prosperity since ww2, cash is staying idle not going into new investments that can create so much positive change for the world. Talk about the rich hoarding money...

[@blacksilverchair3315]

I don't even know how but I've become addicted to this channel.

[@jacksonmorganfroghin4815]

Aren't we all?

[@melbrown6019]

Same I check every day for a new video. I don’t even live anywhere near NY.

[@TakenTook]

Same here. Never lived in New York, have no plans to move there, much less plans to move to New York City with the crazy real estate prices. But he always presents things in such an entertaining way. Plus the editing is fantastic -- like a professional television show

[@josephgaviota]

_I don't even know how but I've become addicted to this channel._ And that's the plan ....

[@julez3161]

me too lolol

[@TFHS420]

We have the fake houses over in the UK in London to use as a vent for the underground but ours is an entire block and was originally going to be just a fence you could see over but the people of the neighbourhood didn’t want a gaping hole in their view so the council decided to put up a wall of fake houses with no roofs. Worked pretty well.

[@caroleroseburgh1344]

This WAS a very interesting video.thank you for inviting me to watch your video ‼️🙋🏽👍🏽😃.

[@seanjamescameron]

2:30 we have these in London for the underground.

[@JudithYD]

As a New Yorker, i love this video! Thank you for showing aspects of this city that i wouldn't otherwise see.

[@heribertorivera6519]

First time watching and let me tell you, it's an excellent video. Great job; hope your channel keeps growing, I know it will... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🤗

[@IAmKillEveryone]

gotta hide the tunnels somewhere, innit?

[@datswassup07]

Well if it’s owned by AT&T and AT&T trucks parked around it then isn’t it obvious? It’s probably where they have routers, signals and whatever else they use to make the internet and tv work. Theres a place here in my area in Atlanta that looks exactly like it only it’s just one story and it’s also owned by AT&T.

[@ninettemurk7492]

Yep. From Wikipedia: "it is a telephone exchange or wire center building which contained three major 4ESS switches used for interexchange (long distance) telephony, as well as a number of other switches used for competitive local exchange carrier services."

[@ninettemurk7492]

33 Thomas is still used for telephone switching, but some of the space is also used for highly secure datacenters

[@ramblingrose6967]

We have one in Boston in Government center that is tall and also crazy looking owned by the telephone company at least when I was a kid .It is AT&T now . Government center in Boston has some serious crazy looking buildings anyways so it kinda blends but it is giant bunker looking because of the lack of normal windows . Now I want to check to see if it has the unusual cars ?????

[@jfalline]

I love that you aren’t afraid to show the real New York. I enjoyed this video

[@_kay990]

It’s a fake ny ?😂 writing from ny .. 😂

[@SW-hu7qw]

I just found this channel and I really am enjoying these vids this content rocks. Great work One Love

[@user-fu6yu3jj7w]

Incredible! I absolutely love old buildings structures and hearing the stories about them! When my old man takes me up on Garrett Mountain in Paterson to our landlords place on a clear day you an see that bridge to Manhattan on a good day!

[@coreywelch]

33 Thomas Street is definitely some data center of sorts, I'd imagine. There are main hubs for internet backbones that have to live somewhere. Seems pretty reasonable to convert a beefed up building that was originally a telephone exchange into a highly secure data center. I wouldn't have any doubts of it also being used for government shenanigans as well.

[@jashanestone]

I've worked at the dying pier 8 -9 for years.. years before the park was started and well after it was done. This building actually is an access point for FDNY, Con Ed, the EPA and other utilities. And it's no "secret". They be out there posted up with cones and big red utility vehicles sometimes within a year. You will see them working, coming in and out of the building. The real locals within that area knows of it's existence. Even myself, passing by to my once container job, when i didn't want to drive the 15 minutes to and from work, only to struggle for parking once arriving home. My doctor's office is still in that area as we speak.

[@pamelamcclam2915]

Love your videos, they are so informative and interesting. Keep up the good work.

[@Nikola-vs6fd]

You could have opend the first building whit an elevator key or a simple triangle key,you can purchase those online

[@iSucrose]

yup it's probably a building full of servers for the NSA.

[@AnnSisuLiv]

It is. It is one of several sites around the US that collect data on US citizens.

[@653j521]

@@AnnSisuLiv You know that because...?

[@MultiPetercool]

It’s not the NSA, that’s bullshit. It a massive windowless switch building like numerous others in the US. AT&T has ridiculous numbers of copper telephone wires throughout Manhattan. This building is the hub.

[@Ryarios]

No, Google builds those… 😁

[@TRUECRIMESPTV]

Or just where all the servers are.

[@aimeeamigone2717]

Cash u r now an investigative reporter. Awesome dude!!!!👏👆👊

[@scottmcshannon6821]

he may be the best in NYC, he seems to be the most evenhanded, reports whats happening, rather than what he wants to have happened.

[@mostlyxconfused]

waiting for the spiderman arc to complete the cycle@@scottmcshannon6821

[@josephgaviota]

Investigative Reporting sounds VERY interesting.

[@huitrecouture]

None of this is news and has been in PRINT MEDIA for decades, genius.

[@humanitiestheproblem]

2:52 Imagine paying 6m for that shit. What an absolute waste.

[@supercalifragilisticex]

Only in NY lol

[@lolsoina]

New Youk

[@mesbalkema9996]

I like that you explained what the buildings are instead of leaving everyone to believe the rumors.

[@InssiAjaton]

The AT&T massive building built during the Cold War Era can only suggest one conclusion - providing as secure communications center as possible, just in case. And I also have it quite easy to imagine that wired connection might still be of more value than cell phones in a big time emergency. And in fact, how are the cell tower transmitters getting their signals in the first place? Or where and how do they forward your cell phone calls? I think wired connections to some central switching facilities are to be expected even in the cell phone era.

[@MrWolfSnack]

People in Nashville found out fast how useless cell phones were when that RV bomber took out the AT&T hub. All their little idiotphones were destroyed but landline phones still worked.

[@Sacto1654]

Mind you, I'm not sure if that AT&T building would survive a Russian nuclear attack, though. The Russians still have missiles armed with a _25 megaton_ nuclear warhead specifically to attack underground bunkers and to take out large metropolitan areas, and the blast effects of a 25 MT warhead is probably strong enough to topple even this building.

[@jessicahitchens6926]

The Cold War was a farce... it wasn't even real. There is something else going on with that building.

[@prismo6621]

@@Sacto1654 I don't know why you're even talking about that like it's relevant. If Russia did that then we would would press the big red button and life as we know it on this planet will be wiped out. I don't think it's relevant if this building would survive an end of the world attack.

[@thefuzzyone3389]

Good morning I hope everyone has a blessed day

[@CS-lp5yv]

Great video. Really enlightening!

[@_NguyenManhDung-vb8ep]

The building on 33 Thomas Street is an inspiration for the main location of Control video game from 2019 where it becomes the HQ of FBC ( Federal Bureau of Control), I think.

[@stefanierice3670]

This is another great video. You would make a great reporter Cash!

[@rageintothelight]

It is wild the things people could build so long ago and now they cut corners to build homes.

[@653j521]

Yeah, too bad we have to pay workers a living wage, right?

[@sabersky1134]

@@653j521Missing the point entirely. People want quality but not willing to pay the cost for it. That’s also not counting developers who cut corners and pocket the excess. Because developers can never be corrupt or greedy right? /s

[@Fido-vm9zi]

Junk everywhere

[@ntv358]

There are a row of houses on 9th Street across Hamilton Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, that do not have any doorhandles, door knobs, and there doesn’t seem to be any other way of getting into these houses. I have never seen anyone go in or out of these houses 🤔

[@FadeToBlackLLC]

New York is incredible. I’ve been twice and can’t stop looking at videos and reading about it. So many cool things and history. The construction is mind blowing!

[@blondek767]

Down the road from me, which I live next to a watershed, is a abandoned small building. I was told it’s a well/pumping station and it’s pipes are underground, go down my road, to pump water into a stream that then fills a reservoir (lake) that supplies water to a nearby town. It’s used when there is drought, the watershed and stream dries up. Otherwise, it looks like an ordinary abandoned small barn.

[@kittensugars]

"Paper and pencil...is how we got the Holland tunnel" ....indeed, Cash! We CAN accomplish things, without machine computation.

[@damonmelendez856]

Blacks are now 13% of the U.S. population. What will the future be like? 😱

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Paper and pencil and slide rule. The last we don't have anymore.

[@653j521]

@@edwardmiessner6502 They still exist. Any engineer could learn to use one. Children did.

[@josephgaviota]

I worked with a guy (VERY smart man) who used a slide rule in calculations all the time, back in the late '70s. I hope he's still alive-such a smart guy.

[@billlee1821]

33 Thomas St inspired the design of The Oldest House in the phenomenal game Control (2019). The address is even listed on in game documents. Such a cool design.

[@briansguy]

regarding the creepy unmarked tower in NYC. I found a creepy huge tower like this in SF. still curious what it is... have some pretty good theories. thanks for sharing this so more people can know about these weird buildings!

[@jerseyboy1791]

So I guess it doesn't have a faucet sprayer Cash !! 😢

[@eattherich9215]

@0:02, there is a similar grand looking fake facade building at 23-24 Leinster Gardens in London (UK) which serves as a vent for the Metropolitan tube line. The Strecker building is beautiful. Glad that it is being reused rather than falling into dereliction.

[@adnamaameda2473]

This is intriguing! Thanks for sharing! :)

[@mctheta249]

Hysterical presentation- great work !

[@bkm2797]

I had no idea New York has all these fake buildings, the last one might be a data farm, you have to have ventilation for those gigantic computers. Thanks Cash

[@damham5689]

I think all major cities have real buildings that have been converted to other uses. I know here in St Louis we do. One not far from me is a power substation inside an old building.

[@bkm2797]

damham5689, It's something I never thought about, nor has anyone ever pointed it out. So St. Louis too, I live in San Francisco, so now I've got to see what's up here. Thanks

[@damham5689]

@@bkm2797 they are hard to a spot . I would have never know about the substation except my cousin works at the power company and told me about it.

[@lawrencesiskind3554]

There's nothing fake about these buildings, except for the Brooklyn Heights hollowed out house.

[@bkm2797]

lawrencesiskind3554, You got to admit that last building looked like something you'd see in Hell,lol,geezus.

[@prissilou]

That big, ugly, tall building may be AT&T's POP (which stands for Point of Presence) in NYC. The switches (now-a-days they're computers) that handle all the telephone traffic on the upper East Coast and transAtlantic may be housed in that building. Think about the call volume at any given moment in the northeastern US, along with call volume from the US and Europe, and you're looking at millions of calls at any given second. May also do some processing of cellular traffic as well. (Worked in telecommunications for 29 years)

[@JohnSmith-yr4vi]

That explains the ventilation, they probably have need to cool down the thousands of super-computers processing all of the regions internet and telephone traffic. Insane.

[@JohnSmith-yr4vi]

@@karlwithak. I never said storage of data... transitive data processing and routing is probably what goes on. You realize there is quite a bit of computation that needs to be happen for every single HTTP request? DNS lookup for example.

[@stevehasler8922]

Every city has one of these windowlessCenter Office or Network Operation Centers managed by the phone company. Yes, it once needed to handle miles of copper cables converging and analogue switching. You'll also commonly see electric substations camouflaged as buildings.

[@bluemeanie6395]

They are not 'fake'. They are just buildings, doing what buildings do.

[@k.dotsr.8481]

Love the vid, and the shoes!!

[@stephenperretti8847]

Cash... Your videos are more and more interesting. You are way more than a realtor.

[@jacksonmorganfroghin4815]

I've been saying that for a minute. He could either be the permanent host of Saturday Night Live or a reporter on Sixty Minutes if not mayor of the greatest city on Earth. Maybe all three at the same time. While still showing us sink sprayers in shoebox apartments. No joke!

[@josephgaviota]

_Your videos are more and more interesting. You are way more than a realtor._ Undeniable.

[@mikeb6085]

It's always amazes me to learn how long ago they were constructing engineering marvels that still seem almost impossible to build today.

[@josevaladez8056]

Because we’re not the ones that built them, these buildings were already here, New York City was already here before it became a City, the buildings were founded not built. They found them

[@meurer13daniel]

@@josevaladez8056 bruh

[@KingDavidTBE]

​@@josevaladez8056🤨🤔👀

[@letsgococo288]

@@josevaladez8056that’s spot on.

[@Simking]

​@@josevaladez8056lol conspiracies time

[@tonythedonluciano]

33 Thomas Street is the perfect zombie apocalypse bunker. It's a super fortress! 😮

[@DrewJohnson-ex2jy]

This is fascinating!!

[@commiedeer]

Interesting application of urban design. Interesting how most of them are ventilation units for the tunnels. That's something most folks don't think about until they have to.

[@amyquyen]

Cash a real urbanist and voice for city planning. Love it!!

[@user-zt9vp5dv8k]

America slowly turns into gta 5😂

[@gobbletegook]

Back in the day...the BELL SYSTEM had to have buildings in residential neighborhood's all over America for thier switching systems and hidden within them. In most cases (at least in my city of Milwaukee) they were quite nice. They had windows (you could actually look into them and see the switching boards & electronics) for the building and gave it natural light. Back then, when someone got a new phone number or moved, someone had to actually go in these buildings and manually change and re-route the wires. (Which today, can be done electronically). Those built in the 1930-1950 were beautiful buildings that actually fit into the neighborhoods around them.

[@pegt8920]

Wowee Cash, your real estate and city videos have been really entertaining for the last couple years 🎉now with your excellent reporting I’m gaining real in-depth knowledge! Really appreciate all your hard work as a business and family man🤓

[@mamadag8616]

This is so interesting! Great job Cash!! ,Love your videos!

[@StreetsharkOG]

The AT&T building at 33 Thomas Street was nothing more than a telephone exchange center. The NSA uses it now.

[@bonnieharris4538]

This was literally part of my bucket list when visiting NYC for the first time... see an apartment building, 'that looked like it had at at least one point been on the credit sequence of an eighties/ nineties film or sitcom' !😂

[@bonnieharris4538]

And now you tell me that a lot of it is fakery?? Meh!

[@susanwoodwardrussell9993]

As a lover of architecture, I found this video fascinating.

[@newdawn7586]

Me too😊

[@josephgaviota]

It _WAS_ interesting !

[@Cristina-RoxanaCristinaR-mj4gm]

AS A HUMAN BEEING, i found this video fascinating.(Well, joke a part, as i am also a building engineer...)

[@curiousnomadic]

AT&T is totally helping the government illegally eavesdrop on Americans.

[@NiaLaLa_V]

They don't need to. We all sign up to social media accounts and willingly hand over every single thing about us.

[@Sashazur]

And Verizon and T-Mobile and Comcast and…

[@KaitouKaiju]

It's not illegal thanks to the PATRIOT act

[@curiousnomadic]

@@KaitouKaiju Patriot Act expired in 2020 thanks to Democrats. And it is still illegal.

[@curiousnomadic]

@@NiaLaLa_V Only nitwits do that. Rule of thumb, ever since the AOL days and before (like 1989) you use "handles" or pseudonyms on the internet. You NEVER give out your real information. Never. That's why I have no idea that ever since Snowden so many people are ok with Smart Phones.

[@kagbenerix]

33 Thomas Street is the Oldest House acts as the global headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control.

[@video3ish]

The Lab, that’s electrical transformer oil cooling radiators in the window & depending on size, load they can have huge fans under them moving air over them when the unit is under higher electrical load

[@celesteredding1550]

That "Townhouse" looks normal except for the windows. The laboratory building looks nice, I like the brick work. The 100yr old buildings for the tunnel stay maintained but not the New York sewer system- go figure.

[@653j521]

Which is harder to do?

[@gailnedd8032]

Thank you for bringing this up.

[@christopherchapman9505]

Another great video, Cash!

[@mridgaf232]

The first building is an air shaft for the transit authority when the tunnel between Boro hall and bowling green was being worked on we turned it on within minutes it was shut off due to a judge living there had it turned off . We had to bring in portable fans to vent the tunnel so we could continue to work

[@Lyons_T-BAG]

This is such a brilliant video and very unique 🤣. Great job Cash! 💯

[@mrjaxthecat]

Super interesting, Cash! Love these off the beaten track videos!

[@djinhelo]

I never cease to be amazed by the facts you do not know.

[@opallise2605]

Architect, Stewart Hicks did a really good video about 33 Thomas St. I think the main point was that it wasn't built so much for people as for computers. Therefore, not much need for windows. It's just an important part of infrastructure.

[@bruffmeister1]

We also have several of these fake buildings in Newcastle in the UK to vent the underground Metro system. And they are used to be Victorian homes.

[@brenturquhart7090]

You’ll see building such as this in pretty much any city I. North America. They are just buildings that are used to hide infrastructure that was needed by buildings of the passed. In residential areas they are used to hide the mechanisms that were used when dialling old analog phones. They were used to hide hydro switching stations as well. They are a much better option than just a large box made out of bricks. Downtown the were used to heat or cool building in the winter and summer. This centralized the large boilers that fed steam to the building in its immediate area. Boilers can be very large, and they require well trained personnel to operate them. Most of these have been replaced with systems that are located within the building itself. In days of old, these systems were fed by coal. Today they use a mix of electricity and natural gas.

[@elizabethturel78]

Enjoyed the video❣️

[@Dismythed]

The last building is so secure because it is housing mainframes for information processing. Thus all the vents. The lower vents are intakes and the higher ones are expulsion vents for heat. It's creepy looking, but completely innocuous, or in otherwords, purely functional. The high load floors would be for all the power units required for all the mainframes on each floor. I'm an electrician's apprentice, so I have some experience in power requirements and such a massive power unit would be required for each floor. The headroom for each floor is to give room for the heat to rise away from the mainframes.

[@debsylvester2012]

Cash-Your selection of content is absolutely fabulous! You present material that everyone is interested in. That was a great idea. A++ Keep going!☮️👏👏👏👏

[@carrot1977]

There's a townhouse in London, I believe, that serves the same purpose as the 1st building; I think they were built in the 1860s

[@belltolls1984]

I've always considered the AT&T Long Lines Building absolutely beautiful, It is so unique looking.

[@lovelilpeep99]

Very interesting. I once worked at a Multi-Billion Dollar Collection Agency in their Client Services Department, part of the training was to remember to ask the owner of At&T; " may I please put you on hold", instead of just doing so, or just saying, please hold, this was like 20 years ago.