It then evolved through a series of mergers and acquisitions that began in 1907 when the Irving Bank merged with the New York Exchange Bank. By 1928, the bank had outgrown its impressive quarters in the Woolworth Building and was planning its own building on Wall Street. Ralph Walker, the architect chosen for the new facility, was well-known for his distinctive designs of buildings for the telephone and telegraph industries. In his work, Walker attempted to express the possibilities of modern machine technology in order to create buildings that would be suggestive of the modern period. At 1 Wall Street, he employed a smooth limestone skin arranged in a series of undulating surfaces to simulate a fluted column, or the effect of draped material hanging from the sky, varying the rhythm of the curves throughout the building.
Subtle setbacks lead to a narrow tower enhanced by large window openings near the top.
The faceted, chamfered corners and pointed tops of the fluted bays create a crystalline effect at the crown of the building. The lower stories are accentuated by narrow window openings with decorative mullions, shallow incised designs, and theatrically-inspired entranceways. Throughout this century the bank continued to expand, culminating in the 1988 acquisition of the Irving by The Bank of New York, which created today's modern, international financial institution.