- Facebook just signed a lease to take all of the office space in the Farley Building in New York City.
- The building is the main USPS hub in New York City, built in 1912.
- The Farley Building has been renovated before, and offices and new train halls are the latest additions.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Facebook recently agreed to lease all 730,000 square feet of office space in the Farley Building in New York City. The new space will be a chance to grow the tech giant's New York presence beyond it's other large location at 770 Broadway, a spokeswoman said.
The Farley Building is a piece of New York City history. Formerly the James A. Farley Post Office, it is over 100 years old. It was first constructed alongside the original Penn Station, and has undergone renovations and name changes since.
Here's a look at the history of Facebook's newest office space.
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The Farley Building is located across the street from Penn Station in midtown Manhattan.
It was completed in 1912, the same year as the original Penn Station.
It opened for business in 1914.
In 1933, postal workers cheered on the 18-foot National Recovery Administration banner during the Great Depression.
James Farley, pictured here, was the 53rd Postmaster General of the US.
In 1934, then Postmaster General Farley doubled the size of the building to take up two full city blocks in midtown.
The iconic building has the the largest Corinthian colonnade in the world, and was constructed in the neoclassical Beaux-Arts style.
Source: NYC GO
The building bears the famous inscription "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," often falsely called the motto of the USPS.
In 1966, the building was declared a New York City landmark.
The New York City building was officially renamed for Farley in 1982.
The large flight of stairs outside lead to the main level where customer services are located.
The basement was used for non-customer facing activities like mail sorting by employees.
In 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki announced plans to add a train station, commercial space, and residential housing to the Farley Building. The train station would be called Moynihan Train Station.
In 2010, New York broke ground on the first phase, adding new exits and a mezzanine.
The second round of renovations started in 2017, adding an Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road train hall. It's planned to open in 2021.
On August 3, tech giant Facebook signed a lease for all 730,000 square feet of office space in the Farley Building.
Source: Business Insider
Vornado Realty Trust provided renderings of what the finished building will look like.
The office space will take over four floors of the building, once renovations are complete.
The building has some of the largest office floors in the city, at over 200,000 square feet each.
Facebook told Business Insider that this large space will be used to "collaborate and innovate."
Source: Business Insider
While some Facebook employees can now request to permanently work from home, the Farley Building offices will be home to at least some New York-based employees.
"This significant investment in space will support Facebook's efforts to scale our tech and engineering teams," a Facebook spokeswoman said.
