be able to withstand of wind pressure, the West Street Building's steel superstructure was braced to protect against wind gusts. The curtain walls on the exterior were reinforced by hollow brick, while portal bracing was used for the steel frame. The lower floors occupy the whole parallelogram-shaped lot, while the upper floors contain a "C"-shaped floor plan, with a small "light court" facing east toward the middle of the block. There are seven bays on the Cedar Street elevation, nine bays along West Street, and six bays on Albany Street. The upper portion of the eastern elevation is divided by the light court into two wings: the northern wing contains four bays and the southern wing contains two bays. The eastern elevation is mostly concealed from view, but the visible portions contain a similar design treatment to the three other elevations. Base The base is three stories tall and clad with Fox Island granite. There are segmental arches at ground level, and a cornice runs above the second story. At West Street, there are single-width arches within the outermost bays and double-width arches in all the other bays. The center bay consists of a double-height arched entrance flanked by red marble columns, foliated bosses with tracery, and a sign saying . The Albany and Cedar Street facades are largely set up similarly at the base, with single-width arches in the outer bays and double-width arches in the inner bays. The Cedar Street side has an offset arched entrance that is similar to the West Street entrance, with signage saying , while the Albany Street side has a driveway that leads down into a basement garage. On all three sides, the remaining arches are double-height and contain wood, aluminum, or cast-iron storefronts. The third story is designed as a transitional story with a cornice above the top. Between the window openings in each bay, there are granite panels, as well as foliated bosses at each corner of the window openings. The outermost bays contain one window each and are framed by more elaborate surrounds, while all the other bays contain two windows each. There are marble panels below the cornice, and single-story engaged columns at each corner of the building. Some of the granite lintels are spalled because they had been burned in the September 11 attacks. Upper stories The shaft comprises the fourth through sixteenth stories. As with the base,