American Bank Note Company Printing Plant

American Bank Note Company Printing Plant
View from Lafayette Avenue looking west
Alternative names	American Bank Note Company Building
General information
Type	Printing plant
Architectural style	Gothic-inspired
Location	Hunts Point, Bronx, New York City
Address	1201 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, NY 10474 United States
Coordinates	40°49′01″N 73°53′26″W / 40.81694°N 73.89056°W / 40.81694; -73.89056
Construction started	1909
Completed	1911
Technical details
Floor count	6
Floor area	405,000 square feet (37,600 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Kirby, Petit & Green

The American Bank Note Company Printing Plant is a repurposed printing plant in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. The main structure includes three interconnected buildings.^{[note 1]} The Lafayette wing, spanning the south side of the block, is the longest and tallest, incorporating an entrance at the base of a nine-story tower. The lower, more massive Garrison wing is perpendicular. These two were built first, and constitute the bulk of the complex. Prior to the American Bank Note Company purchasing the property, the land on which the printing plant was built had been part of Edward G. Faile's estate.

The plant was built in 1909–1911 by the American Bank Note Company contemporaneously with their corporate headquarters at 70 Broad Street, Manhattan. The design by Kirby, Petit & Green (who also designed the Broad Street building) incorporated advanced engineering ideas such as the sawtooth roof and large windows for improved lighting, unit drive electric motors in lieu of line shafts, and increased electrical capacity; layout was based on a design philosophy of specifying the production lines first, followed by the building which could enclose them. A small detached garage at the rear of the block was added in approximately 1911 and the Barretto wing was added to the east side of the property in 1912. Several building expansions took place between 1912 and 1928.

A wide variety of financial documents, including international currency, were printed at the plant. At one point, over five million documents were produced per day, including half the securities being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Although the plant printed money for countries around the world, it was best known for producing currencies for countries in Latin America. The plant also housed a research department which worked to improve materials and processes to deter forgeries.

The plant was the target of a terrorist bombing in 1977 with the site chosen specifically because it was printing currency for Latin American countries. The facility was used by American Bank Note until about 1984 after which the property has changed hands several times, undergone a series of renovations, and been designated a New York City landmark. As of 2024^[update], it has been subdivided, with major tenants including the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School and the New York City Human Resources Administration.
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