Image via Complex Original
Built in 1905 for the US Express, a national freight shipping conglomerate, 2 Rector Street is infamous for the grisly murder that occurred on the evening of July 7, 2009. Eridania Rodriguez, a mother of three, was found bound, gagged, and stuffed into a utility shaft on the 12th floor four days after she had disappeared from her regular evening shift as the building’s cleaning woman. The search for the woman began after she was reported missing, and her cleaning cart was found abandoned on the 8th floor and went as far and wide as looking into Pennsylvania landfills for her remains. Eventually, a trail of her blood let investigators to her body, which was located in an area under renovation and was scheduled to be permanently sealed.
Is it possible for a building steeped in controversy to overcome and emerge from the shadows?
A Fittingly Steep Sentence is Served
The suspect was tracked and arrested within weeks and convicted with a sentence of life imprisonment in June of 2012. His record was extensive with prior arrests for violent attacks. He was identified as a suspect early on in the investigation (but will remain nameless not to glorify his actions—Google it if you are that curious) and was trailed for weeks. When first interviewed, he was found with numerous scratches on his torso, evidently from Ms. Rodriguez’s failed attempts to fend him off.
You're Only As Attractive as Your Tenants
Sadly, this event overshadows the building today and may have had some effect on its economic viability as well. Unrelated to the crime, the building’s major tenant, the city’s Department of Transportation, moved out and the owners quickly ran into trouble with their mortgage payments. A Georgia based investment firm bought a minority stake in the building and began renovations and eventually they secured their position as the majority stake holder in the property. Numerous campaigns in the subsequent years have been made to detach the building from its notorious past, as all the real estate press about the building is clear to avoid mentioning it. Instead, successful tenants like Merrill Lynch, Skanska and Studio Daniel Libeskind are promoted as valuable tenants.
Design Takes the Spotlight
The building itself is quite remarkable. Designed by the firm of Clinton and Russell, who also are responsible for the original Hotel Astor and the Beaver Building, a Flatiron look alike located in lower Manhattan. Reaching 23-stories in height, the building is located just across the street from the Trinity Church graveyard and boasts some clever foundation techniques to shore its adjacency with several underground train tunnels.
Emerging From the Shadows
The façade is limestone with intricate terracotta ornamentation on the upper levels that are reminiscent of Mayan iconography, mixed with the requisite frequent deployment of federal eagles as well. In 1927, three additional floors were added to the top of the structure that mixes in seamlessly with the original. Although not a distinct landmarked building in its own right, the tower certainly adds to the charm of the lower Manhattan skyline. Hopefully its new owners will succeed in emerging from the grim shadow of its recent history.