Why American Express has always loved New York

Earlier this year, American Express broke ground on a new global headquarters at 2 World Trade Center. It's the latest chapter in a relationship with Lower Manhattan that began more than 175 years ago.

We asked Ira, Amex's resident historian, how downtown New York City became home and how our headquarters have evolved alongside the neighborhood.

Our customers. Amex was founded in Buffalo in 1850, but Lower Manhattan was the center of New York City's express industry and home to many of the banks and financial firms we served. We opened a Wall Street office that same year, putting us close to customers who trusted us to securely deliver coins, currency, bank notes and stock certificates.

Our first headquarters, which opened on Hudson Street in 1858, stood near a major shipping hub. Train tracks ran directly through the building's ground floor, allowing Expressmen to load and unload packages onto wagons and trains.