41 Park Row, often called the New York Times Building, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was the home of The New York Times from 1889 to 1903, when it moved to Longacre Square, now known as Times Square. The building stands as the oldest of the surviving buildings of what was once "Newspaper Row", and is owned by Pace University. A bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin holding a copy of his Pennsylvania Gazette stands in front of the building in Printing-House Square, currently known as 1 Pace Plaza.^[1]

History

The newspaper's first building was located at 113 Nassau Street in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 it moved to a five-story building designed by Thomas R. Jackson in the Romanesque Revival style at 41 Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use.^[2] The original building constructed for the Times was a five-story structure in the Romanesque revival style, designed by Thomas R. Jackson, that occupied the site of the Brick Presbyterian Church. The 1851 building, located across from City Hall and dwarfing that of Horace Greeley's New York Tribune, was described by the Times in 2001 as "a declaration that the newspaper regarded itself as a powerful institution in civic life.... No politician standing on the broad steps of City Hall could fail to note the newspaper's presence. And after 1871, when The Times led the crusade against the Tweed Ring, no politician could afford to ignore it."^[2]

After Greeley's Tribune raised the stakes with a taller building of its own in the 1870s, the Times responded in 1889 with a commission for architect George B. Post to design a grander and taller building at 41 Park Row to replace the existing structure. The 13-story Romanesque building, with arches carved from Maine granite and Indiana limestone, was constructed around the core of the original building. The printing presses were kept in place, and the new building constructed around it as the old one was demolished – this space was later used by Pace University as a gym.^[3] The top floor was designated for use by the composing room to allow the printers access to more natural light.^[2]

The paper was purchased by Adolph Ochs in 1896. Under Ochs' leadership, architect Robert Maynicke was retained to remove the original mansard roof and add three additional stories of offices.^[3]

The building was purchased by Pace University in 1951, and has been used for classrooms and offices. 41 Park Row was designated a New York City landmark in 1999.^[3]

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