How NYC’s Wall Street Architecture Reflects the Power of Finance | Architectural Digest

Today AD returns to New York City for a deep-dive walking tour of Wall Street in Downtown Manhattan with architect Nicholas Potts. From the origins of the New York Stock Exchange and its majestic columns to the many architectural styles on display within just a few city blocks, come along as Nick breaks down everything worth seeing when visiting Wall Street and New York's financial district.
Check out Nicholas Potts here:
Website: nicholasgpotts.com/
Instagram: / nicholasgpotts
Talent: Nick Potts
Director: Hiatt Woods
Director of Photography: Kevin Dynia
Audio: Gabe Quiroga
Producer: Skylar Economy
Associate Producer: Brandon Fuhr
Production Assistant: Patrick Sargent, Louis Coccia
Editor: Tristen Rogers
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Production Manager: Melissa Heber
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
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[@eduardvandijk3431]

I have said it before and I will say it again: MORE OF THIS. Less millionaire houses.

[@bloodtypena]

I agree more of this

[@sugarmice]

Agree 100%

[@annonymously331]

Nah. I think more historic houses

[@bloodtypena]

@@annonymously331 but these are historic buildings

[@annonymously331]

@@bloodtypena I think houses are more interesting

[@benjaminniemczyk]

This video is too short! Fancy that?!?! Downtown--way downtown--is the most amazing, richest (artistically-speaking) part of NYC. One could go on and on about its grandeur, its power, its importance in American history. The buildings, both old and new, are some of the most iconic in the country. No other city in the US has such a dense gathering of styles. After working downtown for decades, I am still in awe of it, every day. Great video!

[@susanavenir]

Trinity Church alone could be a fascinating hour!

[@madjanetramerez2383]

there’s many many many beautiful and extremely historic parts of nyc, but wall street really captures our countries financial and political history, dating all the way back to the 1500’s, about 500 yrs ago.

[@greenmachine5600]

Maybe Philadelphia

[@Familylawgroup]

Hey AD, I love this video and I really like how you referenced many drawings and artwork conveying information about historic trading, etc. this video was well scripted and well edited. Great job!

[@maurobrunosolavergara5041]

Yay! Another Walking Tour With Nick Potts No less Your channel should be like 95 % these types of videos and 5% Luxury apartments

[@TheAristocrat.]

Have you ever thought of doing an international version of Architect Explores? I think It would be a cool world wide series to do.

[@35pen61]

New York is already haven of architecture truly driverse with alot of cultural mixture.

[@35pen61]

It could be more expensive and wouldn't be much profitable for them maybe

[@dnxls_]

Especially like his candour regarding “privately owned” “public plazas”

[@jaspermolenaar1218]

Great video, I visited the area last summer from Europe, fascinating to see the historical development in architecture on such a small area with an insane density

[@Mahalakshmi-Khan]

As a european how did you find american/new york achitecture? any notable observations?

[@Md2802]

I love this series. Thanks for keeping it going.

[@denissamoylov3519]

This is truly lovely. One of the best series AD has ever run. Please keep it up!

[@hellothere2214]

Very knowledgeable and great history information, thanks

[@the_resourceful]

Great tour! Very informative and fascinating.

[@WifeWantsAWizard]

(10:45) "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one." - Alexander Hamilton

[@EdDunkle]

Great tour! I had no idea that Trinity Church owns $6 billion of real estate (and is exempt from taxes.)

[@OreoTime1]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing all those fascinating information. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@jpschriefer2857]

I loved the video, beautifully done. I have to disagree about the Equitable Building importance to the 1916 Zoning Resolution though. The Equitable Building was just the last building to be built that represented what people wanted to get rid of, but it definitely wasn't the cause of the big changes that happened. Talkings about the problem of such huge buildings were taking place since the 1890s (at the same time that Chicago banned buildings above 150 feet and got those bulky ones). In New York City's almost freestyle laws the conversations about the regulation of tall buildings started to get some real importance only when the real estate industry was suffering the consequences of the 1907 panic and the following record construction of new buildings in 1909 , showing a steady decline in 1911 that made part of the industry finally ask for regulations. In 1913 the city was already writing the ordinance and in 1915, when the Equitable Building got finished, the support for the resolution was already solid. In short, it was all about the real estate industry managing to control the dropping values.

[@moonwalker091000]

This was such a great educational video on these beautiful pieces of engineering and architectural design and history. They are all so masterfully crafted. My favourite is stil the Empire State Building but all of these are truly stunning and I look forward to one day going to this beautiful city and doing nothing but looking up :o). Thank you so much for the tour. So enjoyable.

[@thebookwasbetter3650]

Fun fact - The Commission scene in The Godfather was held at the Federal Reserve Building in NYC.

[@figlexgonzalez3115]

I’m super impressed by how much history he knows. Amazing!! 👏🏻👏🏻 That is one way to show everyone how much you love your profession.

[@sfowler1017]

More, more, more of these types of videos!! Loved this.

[@suzisus1066]

never knew how much history buildings has

[@jakobdees3489]

awesome tours - this guy knows his stuff -

[@wuzeltownphl]

Love these videos so much! Better than some weird millionaire house in LA nobody cares about.

[@nicolas9589]

Having lunch in my office that over looks Zuccotti Park from One Liberty, kinda cool to watch this video and look right at what is being talked about haha

[@emmanuelfrechette5498]

It would be really cool to have this series expand outside of the US. For example, Amsterdam, Vienna or other north american cities with unique architecture/culture such as Quebec City or Mexico City

[@dpgranger]

I live on Wall St and absolutely love walking around this neighborhood and exploring its architectural heritage. New Yorkers don't want to hear this but FiDi is the coolest neighborhood in the city 😂

[@cupdrums]

Nick Potts you've done it again!!!

[@christofthedead]

"representing the stability of our financial system" - this is why architects aren't economists

[@archwalks]

Thank you so much for the architectural walk. Greetings from Italy 👍🏻

[@LJB103]

Enjoyable and informative tour. One Wall Street: I worked there when it was the Irving Trust Company in the early 80's. It's a pity that you didn't get to show the incredible art deco room behind those windows (the original banking floor - if it hasn't been destroyed) that I remember as being all red and gold mosaics (haven't been there since 1983)..

[@tuckerkirchberger6824]

It's still there-it has been landmarked and restored as part of its conversion from office space to luxury residential

[@nicholaspotts8728]

The Red Room is allegedly still there (along with the shell ceiling in the obervatory)... despite not being protected as Interior Landmarks at the time of the renovation.

[@tuckerkirchberger6824]

​@@nicholaspotts8728 I believe it was registered by the developers. It's really magnificent, but sadly not accessible to the public.

[@LJB103]

@@nicholaspotts8728 Never got to the observatory. No one even mentioned it when I worked there. Thanks for the info.

[@tajriaaan]

You guys need to do Yale!!

[@terraincognita3749]

Thank you for another informative and fun architectural video. I really have the feeling that I now understand some of the architectural history and choices of the Wall Street area. I also checked the spots on Google maps, so I now also have a feeling for the lay of the land.

[@garyb2392]

Amazing and insightful ! TY!

[@CapitalJ25]

I love these videos!!

[@Familylawgroup]

I have a potential silly question. I love how he pointed out the images on Wall Street’s pediments. Who usually designs the pediments aesthetics? Is that part of an architect’s purview or is it a designer who works with the sculptors? I have seen videos of some architects who appear to call for specific design elements, even furniture. Where is the transition between plans and final design choices?

[@martinh.2585]

The evoked themes mostly were a direct command from the project owners. Architects were skilled artists back then, and most of them could design a general idea of what the group sculptures would look like. That was important so that the planned elevation was somehow whole and gave a trustworthy expression of what the facade would look like in the end. To what extend ? It mostly depended on the ornemental and designing skills of the architect. Some of them were very talented designers, and could precisely create sculptures or furnitures. It gave buildings a sense of unity in details. I.e., Viollet-le-Duc designed everything in his restorations, from columns capitals to stained glass, Percier & Fontaine were as much decorators as they were architects for Napoléon (I'm French, so I can give you french exemples mostly, sorry !). But this was still unusual, as it requires A LOT of work from an architect. And even though, for the most important buildings, tradition was to select famous architects for the building itself, and famous sculptors for group sculptures, so that all the most skillfull artists worked together. With the specialization of skills that happened in the late XIXth c., architects tend to focus on architecture itself, rather than on ornament, giving more aesthetic responsability to the sculptor. If so, the final aspect of the group sculptures was really given by the sculptor himself, who had guidelines (materials, dimensions, themes, scenery, etc) to base his work from. In that case, the first few planned general elevations could be intentionnaly vague concerning a pediment. Once the contractors were selected, the chosen sculptor would add a detailed drawing of what he had in mind for the group sculptures of a pediment. It's still how it goes today : you start with designing a general idea, and as the project grows in time, details are being added, until the final form and ornaments are designed on paper, prior to the construction itself. Keep in mind that I have absolutely no idea how it went in the specific case of Wall Street Stock Exchange. I tried to explain what I've understood from the many hours I've spent studying old architectural projects in archives and library's records. Hope it answers your question !

[@Familylawgroup]

@@martinh.2585 thank you so much for this response. I just watched an American PBS special in Rebuilding Norte Dame and they spent quite a bit of time talking about Violette le Duc’s approach to restoring the Rose Window stain glass and his decision to rotate the rose window 15 on its axis for better stability. As an American with virtually no educations about architecture, the name in your response didn’t ring a bell until I rewatched the PBS documentary about an hour ago. I was notified about a response to one of my comments in this video and saw le-Duc’s name and as of today, I know he was. I have read and re-read your informative reply and I want to thank you for taking the time to write it. I learned even more.

[@gemstonesparkle7915]

An episode only for Neogothic skyscrapers, please 🙏

[@J-A-A-K]

More of this from other cities please!

[@terriellis3697]

I'd love to see an entire video on these zoning rules through history. Maybe compare them between NYC and other cities such as Chicago. It's all just fascinating.

[@marinedrive5484]

It's such a great concept to allow developers to build taller if they create a larger plaza area at ground level - giving back some public space to the inhabitants. Trinity Church's property portfolio has dwindled to about 14 acres, down from 215 acres, when it was the 2nd largest landowner in the city, which included lots of dangerous and filthy tenements - "the triumph of finance over religion." $6 billion is still a lot tho'.

[@Mrfolder]

this seems like a architectural antique road show

[@benvenuti_Moscow_walks]

Interesting tour 😊

[@jaimielevesquesteel7695]

Love these videos, I watch them all 👍

[@zoomout4390]

Hi jaimie

[@lawrencer25]

Fabulous video

[@julia_pavlova2364]

Great tour!

[@samwest9169]

Liked the video solely for his glasses

[@LittleTut]

@6:17, those columns and building, street actually, looks like the historic Treasury building near the White House in Washington, DC, 15th street NW side.

[@streetsambience6054]

Great video. Very informative.

[@adrianac3258]

Reading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and it takes place around that area , nice to know the history

[@niciv]

love these! could we get a Philly one?

[@brendakrieger7000]

So very interesting

[@IsadoraMadison]

Please make a video about the history and design of the New York Stock exchange. Nobody has ever made a video on this topic yet

[@obsidiawn2852]

The Federal Reserve building is made with stone excluding sandstone. I like being in parts of New York where buildings are blocking sunlight. There are other places to get sunlight in New York like Central Park.

[@ezzymartin]

Luv it

[@chrisbarney1609]

so cool

[@grantlacquement9952]

Whale sweater!

[@robertsontirado4478]

My first job as a teenager was on Wall Street.

[@njl8908]

More of these please. Idc about the homes of the rich and the famous. I care much more about the wondrous architectural details available to explore by the public eye.

[@dintorodintoro-cw1yq]

Yes

[@ParthShirawala]

BESTTTT

[@SoCalFreelance]

No tour of the gold vaults? 😉

[@TheFinalDirectorsCut]

Except the building at 11:33 is Woolworth Building

[@aBitterMelon]

I imagine they showed it while talking about the "canyon" effect since it is also on Broadway (the canyon of heroes) and predated the 1916 resolution.

[@LukeMahan-xr4xx]

Cool

[@kethsharakhlok1976]

My endless admiration for the unified left brain and right brain professionals in world architecture. I couldn't even do pre-Algebra 😕.

[@2012photograph]

It rare that see old Citbank structure.

[@2012photograph]

@@whatapp922 You know if one a location in NYC of Old Citibank location would add that structure to my Flickr page.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

I am from Montreal and i find similarities with architecture in NYC and Montreal . Wall street looks like Old Montreal since Montreal ( founded in 1642 )is older than New York city .

[@hairharbor5080]

New York was founded in 1624

[@bloodtypena]

More of these videos less milionaires houses

[@MegaMyExperience]

I ❤NY

[@ethaneveraldo]

We need walking tour videos like this of foreign cities.

[@anitchlikadze3451]

❤️👏

[@colinswartz6022]

AD, please keep these up, more architecture, less interior design.

[@ragetoca]

@9:20 "The triumph of finance over religion" better yet: "The love of money is the roof of all evil"

[@EliF-ge5bu]

And religion is better? How many wars have been fought because of religion? And finance is evil? You are responding to a video that your probably streamed on your laptop. Your computer, your internet, this video have been made possible because of finance yet your are here consuming everything evil.

[@christofthedead]

how much money has The Vatican hoarded over the last few thousand years while it's donors live in abject poverty? Finance conquered religion a long time ago

[@christofthedead]

@@EliF-ge5bu The average consensus amongst historians give us an estimate of just under 10% of recorded wars were fought solely due to religion. Not a good basis for an argument. Neither is claiming that someone who purchases things with money is a hypocrite for criticising a financial system. If that were the case, no one would be able to point out the problems with global warming, because we all contribute to global warming.

[@EliF-ge5bu]

@@christofthedead what a baloney. under ten percent is not a good basis for argument? Whoever told you that? If your body temperature rises by ten percent, you will suffer severe consequences. The average temperature of the Earth is 13.9 Celsius, an increase of 2 Celsius, just a little over ten percent, has severe consequences for the weather.

[@ilovegodandjesusjohn316]

Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

[@wizzardajp]

samuel be yellin

[@eharvath4679]

Thought the AT&T Longlines Building was designed by John Carl Warnecke in the brutalist style...but now I know there are two buildings in Tribeca both named the AT&T Longlines Building

[@marielozoria]

Hi tell the architect he did a great job on this please

[@rossmeldrum3346]

I would say that juxtaposing Trinity church with buildings housing finance is like trying to merge the sacred with the profane.

[@JoshuaMehojevich]

Can you all come to New Orleans?

[@ohno2112]

Does trinity church own all the land on Wall Street ?& is trinity church affiliated with church of England ? So the money go back to England? Video is excellent…

[@skylarsa]

Why are all of their videos on New York lately. I would like to see more international content as well like European buildings or the skyscrapers in Dubia.

[@user-ht2wi3uc8m]

❤

[@beefybutterfly4269]

#nobuildingisillegal

[@christianm5271]

Tartarian buildings

[@MrNypdblue911]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Simply 😶

[@sarahelizabethfoster]

The federal reserve actually has no reserves and it's not federal. Nice try private bankers! You're going down!

[@LegendOfTheLegends1]

You just nailed it. Wow😮😂😅

[@reginaldjenkins9215]

The FED.......The biggest scam in morden history !

[@mrmartywaring]

😂😂😂😂

[@walkinginiran.]

🥰🤗

[@FloydTaylor]

the audio mixing on this video is terrible.

[@sunnygirl9691]

Ha - finance and religion are the same!

[@Aliens-Are-Our-Friends2027]

lol, fed acting permanent. THEY'RE DONE, fkin scammers

[@salvadorcarbajal]

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[@moneyhotspot1279]

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[@kurtmeier]

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[@-anonymuosofficial1719]

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[@-anonymuosofficial1719]

I'm now a creditor not debtor anymore

[@starkparker16]

Worst presenter in this series.

[@l4y461]