Fake Buildings: What are these apartment-style camouflaged structures for, and why are they necessary?

Fake buildings. What are these structures camouflaged as residential buildings 🏠 used for, and why are they necessary ❓
Don’t be fooled by the exterior 👀—nobody lives here 🚫. These buildings only look like ordinary residential buildings from the outside 🤔.
Come with me on a tour and uncover their secrets below… 🔍⬇️⬇️⬇

New York, the city that almost never sleeps, the largest city in the world—it never gets old. While no one needs an introduction to this city, behind the noisy glitz and glamour, another entirely different city is hiding.

New York is home to world-famous buildings and landmarks you won’t find anywhere else. However, who would have thought that behind some of its luxurious facades lie fake buildings? And there are quite a lot of them, actually. The big question is: Why do we need these structures?

The city has one of the highest population densities in the world, meaning the demand for transportation and housing is massive. This also means that each major borough requires a complex infrastructure and enormous industrial facilities to meet the needs of its residents. Imagine what the city would look like if a giant industrial complex stood right next to your favorite pizza shop or hot dog stand.

Architects anticipated this issue early on and decided to disguise industrial infrastructure buildings as regular apartments. In most cases, they blend in so well with the city that people simply don’t notice them. They look just like any other old apartment building, with facades and real windows, and some even have charming balconies. The only difference is—there’s nothing behind the facade.

One of the most famous of these fake buildings is located in Brooklyn, at 58 Joralemon Street. At first glance, it seems like an ordinary townhouse, but its color stands out among the surrounding residences. Its large windows blend into the neighborhood’s aesthetic—except for one detail: they’re all tinted. If you drive past it in a taxi, you probably won’t notice, but if you take a closer look, it feels like a glitch in a video game.

The house was originally built in 1847 but was converted into a fake building in 1908. Why? To create part of the massive subway ventilation system that runs beneath the area. It also serves as an emergency exit in case people ever need to be evacuated from the tunnel.

Farther away, in the Bronx, there’s another iconic fake building at 415 Bruckner Boulevard. This residential-style building was designed by the Switzer Group, a renowned interior design firm. It’s much larger than the Brooklyn townhouse mentioned earlier, and for a good reason—inside, it once concealed one of the electrical substations that powered a significant portion of the city. These substations are crucial in a major metropolis, but for a city known as a tourist destination, it wouldn’t be ideal for visitors to see industrial sites everywhere.

So next time you’re in New York, admiring its skyline, take a closer look—you might just spot some suspicious-looking windows or unusual architectural details. These subtle clues could reveal that you’re not looking at one of NYC’s famous landmarks, but rather, a cleverly disguised industrial building.