There are no windows in the entire multi-storied building with a single door! It is often heard that there is a secret base of the US military inside this building. Known as Long Lines Building, this building is located in downtown Manhattan, New York City. The high-rise is situated on the eastern side of Church Street between Thomas Street and Worth Street in the Tribeca area of Lower Manhattan. This 170mt-high 29-floor building is located at 33 Thomas Street.

The Long Lines Building was designed by architect John Carl Warneke in 1974. At first sight, the building strikes for the absence of windows and its subsequent fortress-like appearance accentuated by its brutalist attire (precast concrete panels clad with granite facade). The Long Lines Building has a similarity with houses built in Britain in the 1950s. As per the official record, this building houses a telephone exchange office. Also, there are three Electronic Switching Systems (ESS), along with Inter Exchange and Local Exchange career arrangements, in this multi-storey. Although known as a telephone exchange service office, the building stores a lot of important information in a sophisticated manner.

As nothing is seen except the entrance from outside, everyone is interested in what exactly happens inside the building. The building has a ventilation system in its 10th and 29th floors for air circulation. On September 17, 1991, a mechanical malfunction blocked 500,000 calls in the northeastern part of the US. The malfunction also caused problems with private lines of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Hence, the flight service was disrupted at 398 airports which did not receive signals at the right time. Later, the concerned authorities brought the situation under control.

The average height of each floor of the Long Lines Building is five-and-a-half metres, and the building can carry a weight of about 90-130kg per square metre. Once, an employee of this building told The Daily Mail that the security arrangements were quite strict inside that building. He said that common staff had no access to many rooms of the building. Hence, they had no idea about what were being kept inside those rooms. According to the employee, they do not have the permission to walk around the Long Lines Building. “We were given special instructions that we could not enter any of the rooms,” he told the daily.

Meanwhile, Ariel Viera, a New York-based YouTuber, freelance video content creator, live-streamer and VR filmmaker, has claimed that the building is being used by the National Security Agency (NSA). After he managed to get a close-look at the intercom, Viera said: “So, this is the intercom the NSA uses to get inside the building. They have to show their face in front of the camera, they have this kind-of mirror device and here you talk to them. You have to hold your card also. This is the connection for the NSA.” He also mentioned how ominous the building looks, stressing: “It is a really ominous building. There is usually only one person in the lobby and that is it – very rarely you see people coming in or out. And the other thing is, there are actually no lights in this building at night. It just is ominous in the dark.”

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das