Gannett Building

Gannett Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Gannett Building in June 2010
Location	55 Exchange St., Rochester, New York
Coordinates
Area	less than one acre
Built	1927
Architect	Howell & Thomas
Architectural style	Classical Revival
MPS	Inner Loop MRA
NRHP Reference #	85002862
Added to NRHP	October 4, 1985

Gannett Building is a historic industrial and commercial building located in Rochester in Monroe County, New York. It is a Classical Revival style structure constructed in 1927, with four major later additions. It was built to house the consolidated offices and newspaper printing facilities for the internationally prominent Gannett Newspapers chain.

One of the building's most visible features is a relief sculpture over the entrance of its east side. It was created by noted Italian sculptor Edmond Amateis. The work's central figure is Truth, guarding the eternal flame of enlightenment. The figures on the left are Fine Arts and Industry. On the right are Law and Agriculture.

The five story 1949 addition was designed by Albert Kahn to house the printing presses. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. and served as the world headquarters for Gannett until 1986.

Currently, the building houses the Democrat and Chronicle, one of largest papers in the Gannett chain. In 2014 it was announced that Gannett was selling the Gannett building and moving the Democrat and Chronicle to a new building at the corner of Main Street and Clinton Ave on the former Midtown Plaza site. At 153,350 square feet, the Gannett building is considerably larger than the new planned headquarters, which will be 42,000 square feet. The paper no longer needs the considerable space in the new digital age where newsprint in the United States is on the decline and the building which includes the space that formerly held the presses is expensive to maintain. The Gannett building is currently on the market for sale at an asking price of $3.5 million.

The building also once held fellow Gannett newspaper and former sister evening paper The Times-Union from the opening of the building until the paper's demise in 1996.