Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building (New York City, New York)

 office building, FBI, skyscraper, 1967_construction, federal government, International style architecture

587-foot, 42-story modernist/International-style office building originally completed in 1967. Designed by Alfred Easton Poor; Kahn & Jacobs; and Eggers & Higgins, with an addition to the west that was constructed in 1974-1976, designed by Kahn & Jacobs with Poor & Swanke and The Eggers Partnership. The Watson U.S. Court of International Trade on the east side is linked to the Javits building by a four-story pedestrian bridge. Foley Square Plaza unites the complex of interconnected buildings.

At almost 600 feet, the Javits Federal Building dominates the Civic Center at Foley Square along with the Municipal Building and the U.S. Courthouse. This massive building has a 41-story slab facing east, that is partly "wrapped" around a core that faces Broadway. Originally the facade facing Broadway was a windowless wall of exposed concrete, but in 1976 an extension by the same architects brought offices also to the western portion. The annex, at 42 floors, is taller than the original 41-story portion. On the facades of the original portion, the vertical window slits of the glass walls are misaligned so that all the adjacent windows are at a different height, forming an alternating zig-zag or checkerboard pattern on the facade, consisting of grey granite, black marble and glass. The annex has tall, light-grey members that run the height of the grey stone and dark-tinted glass exterior, accentuating the verticality of the building.

The street-level central portion of the building, which contains the entrance, is slightly recessed behind piers that support the upper stories. On the interior, the main entrance lobby is clad in marble, while the elevator lobbies are clad in Vermont marble and floors are covered with terrazzo.

The building houses many federal government agencies, including the FBI's New York City field office. The federal building falls under the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Protective Service for any and all law enforcement and protection issues.

Because the New York City district field office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is located in the building, it is a well-known location among the city's immigrant communities. Every business day, immigrants requiring USCIS services can be seen lining up in the morning along Worth Street to go through the security checkpoint and enter the building. The building is named for influential U.S. senator from New York Jacob K. Javits.

When the complex was constructed, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) did not fund any public art for the plaza because of changing agency policies and prohibitive inflation. However, in 1979, GSA allocated funds for renowned artist Richard Serra to create a sculpture for the corner site adjacent to the complex. Serra unveiled Tilted Arc, a 120-foot by 12-foot curving, raw-steel wall, in 1981. Criticized for aesthetic reasons, potential security hazards, and for bisecting the plaza, the sculpture was removed in 1989 amid much controversy. After Tilted Arc was removed, GSA retained award-winning landscape architect Martha Schwartz to redesign Foley Square Plaza, which was completed in 1997.