3 Ages of Architecture

Today's foto shows an 1857 church, an ornate 1929 office building, and a modernist concrete slab office building as seen from Atlantic Street in Downtown Newark near Bridge Street.

The steeple belongs to the North Reformed Dutch Church. The old office building is 15 Washington Street. I don't know the current major tenant nor owner of the more recent office building, which is one of three of similar style on both sides of Bridge Street. The tallest is the IDT Building, and one of the others (tho, oddly, not the nearer one) also says IDT on it. This one stands between the two IDT buildings.
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In checking the Internet for the history of 15 Washington, I found a Rutgers University press release of only a few days ago (February 2, 2006):

Rutgers University today announced that it is soliciting proposals from five pre-qualified developers for the redevelopment of its historic building at 15 Washington Street in Newark. The 17 story towered building has been dormant since the Rutgers School of Law-Newark and the School of Criminal Justice moved into the new Center for Law and Justice at 123 Washington Street six years ago. The neoclassical style building has been owned by Rutgers since 1978; it was built in 1929 as a home to the American Insurance Company.

With recent expansion of the campus’ population and with the many developments in Newark that make it increasingly attractive as a residential community, the university is seeking innovative proposals to convert the historic building into graduate student housing.

Rutgers-Newark has long been a major center of graduate education, and currently enrolls, in addition to over 6000 undergraduate students, over 4000 graduate students in business, law, nursing, public administration, criminal justice, arts and sciences. With a growing demand for housing on and adjacent to campus, the location of 15 Washington Street has been seen as one that would be particularly attractive for graduate housing. Among the benefits of the location are its close proximity to downtown, to major institutions such as the Newark Museum, NJ Performing Arts Center, Riverfront Stadium, and to direct train links from the Broad Street station and the new light rail connection, to Penn Station in Newark and New York City. 15 Washington St. features dramatic views of New York City and the entire metropolitan area. A well known architectural landmark, the building was used extensively for the 1998 film Rounders, starring Matt Damon.

It also appeared in the background of an Advair commercial this past year.
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When the conversion of 15 Washington is completed (around August 2008), a substantial resident population of grad students will enjoy not just the features mentioned above but also leafy Washington Park, directly across the street, which contains statues by Gutzon Borglum and J. Massey Rhind. Nice neighborhood.