Telegraph Capitol of America (Western Union Building, 60 Hudson Street)

The building at 60 Hudson Street in Manhattan (now called “60 Hudson”) was originally the Western Union Building. It was the main office for Western Union for many years, until the company moved to New Jersey. The 24-story art deco building was constructed from 1928-30.
 
The nickname “Telegraph Capitol of America” was applied to the building since at least 1934. 60 Hudson Street no longer sends telegraphs across America, but it is an Internet hub for New York City.
 
 
Wikipedia: 60 Hudson Street
60 Hudson Street, formerly known as the Western Union Building, is a full-block telecommunications building located between Hudson, Thomas, and Worth Streets, and West Broadway in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1928-30 and was designed by Ralph Walker of the firm of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker as the headquarters of the Western Union Company, a purpose it served until 1973. The building contained offices, an auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium, classrooms so messengers could continue their education, shops and equipment rooms, along with 70 million feet of cable.
 
The design of the building shows the influence of German Expressionism, while the detailing is Art Deco. The exterior brick moves from darker shades to lighter ones as the building rises, passing through 19 different colors as it does. Both the interior and exterior of the building, which is now one of the most important Internet hubs in the world were designated New York City landmarks in 1991.
   
Internet hub
During the heyday of the telegraph, the Western Union Building was a premier nexus of worldwide communications. Since Western Union moved its headquarters to New Jersey, the building has been converted into a colocation centre where over 100 telecommunications companies have offices and can interchange Internet traffic through a meet-me-room and individual fiber optic lines. It is once again a premier nexus of worldwide communications. The room is on the 9th floor in a 15,000 square foot area that is powered by a 10,000 Amp DC power plant. In 2012 equipment for algorithmic trading was installed in buildings close to this one in order to conduct trades microseconds quicker than in Wall Street a mile away.
 
60 Hudson
60 Hudson Street is the telecommunications hub of the Northeast region, attracting more than 700,000 square feet of telecommunications and commercial users. Once nicknamed the “Telegraph Capitol of America,” 60 Hudson is a distinguished landmark of TriBeCa’s burgeoning corporate district, with Art Deco distinction and high technological capacities. Full floors enjoy light on all sides and the pristine lobby, with its barrel-vaulted Guavastino tile ceiling, is one of the notable interiors of the area.
 
Google Books
Dots and Dashes:
Interesting Stories of Progress in the Telegraph Industry
Volumes 3-20
1927 (Google Books date might be incorrect. The Western Union Building was not built at this date—ed.)
Pg. ?:
Solutions of the Ripley mysteries, presented in the form of dramatic sketches before the microphone, were wired in on Yellow Blanks by the public in such an overwhelming percentage of the cases that the judges held their studies to select the winners in an operating room in the “Telegraph Capitol of America,” the Western Union Building at 60 Hudson Street, New York City.
 
22 February 1934, Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman, pg. 13, col. 4:
MAY SEND TELEGRAMS FREE TO LOWELL THOMAS ON FRIDAY
Friday evening, February 23, the Lowell Thomas news program will be broadcast from the Telegraph Capitol of America, the Western Union Building at 60 Hudson street, New York city.
 
Google Books
The Story of Telecommunications
By George P. Oslin
Macon, GA: Mercer University Press
1992
Pg. 416:
The telegraph capitol of America from 1930 to the mid-1960s was the 24-story Western Union headquarters covering the block bounded by Hudson, West Broadway, Worth, and Thomas Streets. When Western Union built it in 1930, it was one of the largest in New York City.
 
Google Books
The Landmarks of New York III
By Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel
New York, NY: Abrams,
1998
Pg. 429:
Because of complex technical requirements, the “Telegraph Capitol of America,” which housed seventy million feet of wire and thirty miles of conduit, took two years to complete.