What is the most famous Art Deco building in New York that you’ve probably never heard of? It may well be a magnificent, lofty refreshment space known as Conwell Hall, where you can enjoy the “Golden Hour” with $12 martinis and $2 oysters. The shy downtown jewel is the former City Bank-Farmers Trust Building at 20 Exchange Place in the Financial District.

Completed in 1931, a year after the Chrysler Building and the same year as the Empire State Building, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building is little known. At the time, it was the world’s tallest stone-clad building, and the fourth-tallest building in New York, reaching 57 stories into the sky.

When built, it was surpassed only by the Chrysler Building (77 floors), 40 Wall Street (then known as the Manhattan Company Building, 71 floors), and the Woolworth Building (58 floors). Soon after the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building was completed, the Empire State Building was too. At a height of 1,250 feet, with 102 stories, the ESB dominated as the tallest building in the world for almost four decades. [Author’s note: My publisher Keith Kelly’s grandfather worked on the ESB. He was a specialist in the brick work at the building’s corners. Amazing! No fear of heights there!]

Glorious panoramic views from upper floor apartments at 20 Exchange Place. One World is seen in the left photo, extending above other skyscrapers at the left. The Statue of Liberty is glimpsed in New York Harbor in the right photo, on its own island to the left of Ellis Island. Photos: Karen RempelThese days, 20 Exchange Place is merely the 73rd-tallest building in NYC, and is somewhat overshadowed by about 20 taller buildings in the Financial District, including One World (aka the Freedom Tower), which stretches an incredible 104 stories in the sky and is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and seventh-tallest in the world. Including the spire, One World is 1,776 feet high, referencing the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. A nice thing to remember as our semiquincentennial approaches!

In 1929, two of the country’s oldest and largest banks, The National City Bank of New York and The Farmers Loan and Trust Company, merged to become the City Bank Farmers Trust Company. The tower at 20 Exchange Place was a celebration of the merger of these two banking institutions, built on the plot where they each had much less magnificent office buildings. The Canadian Bank of Commerce had also been located on the site—since 1872—and the new building housed offices for its New York branch as well. The City Bank Farmers Trust Company survives today as Citibank.

When construction was completed, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building was a marvel. The 15th floor was given over to 40 telephone operators whose job was to handle over 100,000 calls daily from around the world—necessary at the time for a banking operation that had offices in 11 countries! Those 11 countries are represented by their circa 1930s coins, which are carved in the granite surrounding the entrance at 20 Exchange Place. In clockwise direction, they are Liberia, Italia, Republica de Cuba, Estados Unidos Mexicanos, China, Republique Francaise, Belgie, Britain, Bolivar Libertador, and Republica Argentina.

I love visiting historic sites in New York City. If you do too, plan a coffee or cocktail date at Conwell Hall. The glory of the surroundings will overshadow the green Aviation cocktail (usually known for its beautiful lavender color) and virtually inedible victuals.

Roam around inside and out, and view all the splendor on display. Pro tip: Skip the food and order the rosé!

If you don’t want to venture from your cozy chair, but still want to view the magnificent interior, including the bank vaults extending six floors below street level, watch the gripping Inside Man, Spike Lee’s bank heist drama from 2006, starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster. You won’t be sorry.

If you go to the opposite extreme and aren’t above a little elevated spying on the neighbors, make an appointment with Dermot Company to view the residences available for rent. I took a tour of several units and must say the value far surpasses the average Manhattan apartment.

Dermot Company is completing a marvelous suite of amenities on the 19th floor this summer, which will include an outdoor dog park, spa facilities, executive work lounges, and magnificent outdoor entertaining spaces. With glorious views! Some apartments have outdoor terraces as well.

The building was landmarked in 1996 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was converted to residences in 2008, retaining some floors for office space. By 2015, all units were converted to residential, with some being rent-stabilized.

Conwell Coffee Hall, with an entrance at 6 Hanover Street, opened in the former main bank lobby in February 2024, initially hosting an immersive show called Life and Trust. Today, many residents enjoy the coffee hall as a space to relax and a second home office!

This story first appeared in Chelsea News and other papers in the Straus News group.

What I Wore

For an Art Deco Society event at Conwell Hall, I wore a stunning, geometrically-shaped, Deco-inspired shrug in purple silk faille and a slender black cocktail dress by my favorite Art Deco-adjacent designer, Andrea T New York.

More Details

• Deco-inspired shrug in purple silk faille with silk charmeuse lining by Andrea T New York. 147 West 35th Street (by appointment only).
• Black cocktail dress in wool satin with silk wool inserts. Andrea T New York.
• Jessica Simpson “Irbella” black suede strappy platform sandals. DSW, 40 E. 14th St.
• Red ostrich feather handbag. Collette’s Basement, 10 Main St, Southampton.

Postscript of Red Roses Revived

The first time I visted Conwell Hall, I spied an almost-dead bouquet of red roses stuck into the grillwork of a building across the street, along with an empty beer bottle. Of course I concocted a tale of heartbreak: A suitor cruelly rejected by text message en route to proffer said bouquet, drowning his or her sorrows in a bottle of brown ale. The roses were still there when I left Conwell Hall, suitably cocktail-fortified. I brought the roses home and revived them. I enjoyed their beauty for another week—a lovely reminder of a magical evening.