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Woolworth Building

Woolworth Building

Cass Gilbert

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Location
New York City, United States
Client / Owner
F. W. Woolworth
Year
Completed 1913
Access
Private
Typology
Commercial

Cass Gilbert designed the Woolworth Building for F. W. Woolworth in the Neo-Gothic style. Construction started on November 4, 1910, the building topped out on July 1, 1912, and it opened on April 24, 1913. It rises 792 feet (241 m) to the roof and was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1929,.

The steel frame was designed by the engineers Gunvald Aus and Kort Berle and rests on 66 or 69 caissons. The facade is glazed architectural terracotta above four limestone stories. The text says the structure had 60 stories when completed, with 53 usable floors, while the infobox lists 55. The cruciform lobby arcade has veined marble from the island of Skyros and glass mosaic ceilings.

The facade was restored between 1977 and 1981, when about one-fifth of the terracotta was replaced. A 55th-floor observation deck, about 730 feet (220 m) up, closed in 1941 after the Pearl Harbor attack.

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