A very reliable source tells me that LinkedIn is moving its New York office from TechSpace in the West Village (and the heart of Silicon Alley) to the Empire State Building in Midtown. What are they thinking? The Empire State Building is just about one of the most depressing, tourist ridden buildings in New York City. Is LinkedIn trying to suck the life out of its people?
Yes, I know the Empire State Building is a New York City icon, but it is also the epitome of the old-boy corporate culture with its marble lobby, mural ceilings, four feet thick walls and midtown location. After the Chrysler Building, it is just about the largest phallic symbol in Manhattan making it the perfect personification of the bankers and other egocentric Robber Barrons that ruled the early part of the 19th Century. And please don’t let the $500M renovation the building is undergoing fool you, as the money is being spent to “restore the old glory“. If there were an antonym for Silicon Alley and Internet culture it could very well be the Empire State Building.
But if the building itself isn’t depressing enough with tourists literally climbing up and down it all day everyday, the neighborhood will surely make you want to leap from the top. The area is full of nothing but those little shops selling Chotchkies (Urban Dictionary definition: A small piece of worthless crap, a decorative knick knack with little or no purpose) to tourists. The only thing to eat within a 5-10 minute walk is Wendy’s.
Is this what happens when startups grow up? I know LinkedIn has over 500 employees and is gearing itself up for an IPO, but does that mean it has to give up a big part of the coolness that made it what it is today in the process? If so, what a bummer!
LinkedIn has to be more “institutional” than the typical startup, because their biggest market is big companies. So there’s at least a minor justification.
And think of it from the perspective of a prospective customer in, say, Iowa. This customer hasn’t ever heard of any “Techspace,” but they have an immediate visual when they think of the Empire State Building.
Totally agree, since the building is a terrorist target, it’s very hard to receive visitors there as names have to be handed down to security in advance, etc. Hard to get in and out of if you work there.
However, as ugly as the neighborhood is, there IS great food as it’s blocks from Korea town and even closer to the NYC Korean fried chicken shoot-out corner of 32nd and 5th ave. Kyonchon vs. Bon Chon vs. Third Floor Cafe. Something for LinkeIn peeps to look fwd to!