The 1904 Whitehall Building, the first skyscraper on Washington Street, sits at the corner of Washington and Battery Place. Its construction and the annex, completed in 1912, wiped out all the residences and businesses on the west side of the block. A Syrian merchant, Michael Kaydouh, had a candy and tobacco store in its ground floor shop, which means that disembarking Syrians would see the name of a compatriot the moment they stepped off the boat.