At a renovated, century-old loft factory in the garment district, 10 of the 15 tenants are technology firms, including Roku.Credit...Gabby Jones for The New York Times

A century-old loft building has been retrofitted for tech workers with fancy pantries, bleacher seating for all-hands meetings and a library for Kindle readers where the only books are decorations on the wallpaper.

In another part of Manhattan, Google is creating a vast campus with offices spread out among three loft buildings.

Even some new office towers are being made to look like lofts, with high ceilings, flexible floor plans, and exposed columns and pipes that evoke old New York to tech newcomers.

The humble loft building helped transform New York into an industrial powerhouse in the first half of the 20th century, with expansive, light-filled floors packed with workers stitching shirts and textiles, forging metal and machinery, and toiling in assembly lines.

It was a utilitarian version of a modern co-working space.

But the lofts that once defined the cityscape were eventually abandoned by businesses, left to artists and homeowners coveting more space, and were no longer favored by city officials who saw them as outdated relics.

Now lofts are back in vogue, coveted by technology companies that want an authentic New York feel.

“People used to think these kinds of buildings and areas are obsolete,” said Elizabeth Lusskin, president of the Long Island City Partnership, an economic development group in Queens. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They are now at a premium.”

Technology executives say loft buildings are versatile, provide more space and character for less cost than cookie-cutter office towers, and better reflect their collaborative work culture. And the buildings themselves have a past that can be irresistible for companies with so little history of their own.

“Loft buildings offer the open, creative and fun spaces of Silicon Valley, combined with the New York City urban industrial feel,” said Matt Glickman, a vice president of Snowflake, a California-based software company with a Manhattan loft office.