Woolworth Building skyscraper
The Woolworth Building is one of New York City’s first skyscrapers, appearing on Broadway in the early part of the last century. It was erected to house the headquarters of the international retail company F. W. Woolworth Company, founded by Frank Winfield Woolworth. Like medieval Gothic cathedrals in Europe, the Broadway Skyscraper is considered one of America’s national symbols and an ornament to Broadway. It is often called the “cathedral of commerce” for its outward resemblance to cathedrals.”
Highlights
The high-rise building rises 241.4 meters and has 57 floors. The beauty of the interiors of the Woolworth Building is in no way inferior to its exterior. The luxurious lobbies are decorated with vaulted mosaic ceilings, colored stained glass windows and beautiful inlaid floors, while the 34 elevators are decorated in gilded leather.
.Under the coffered ceiling of the main lobby are small grotesque sculptures depicting Woolworth and the authors of the skyscraper’s architectural design. There is also a stone figure of architect Cass Gilbert holding a miniature replica of the building. Also preserved inside is Woolworth’s original study, which has marble finishes in the French Empire tradition.
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Unfortunately, to look at this splendor tourists can not. After the tragic events of September 2011 for security reasons outsiders are not allowed inside the Woolworth Building, so travelers view one of the oldest American skyscrapers from the street.
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Adjacent to the Woolworth Building is the lovely City Hall Park, where you can sit on benches, stroll through shady alleys, and admire the beautiful fountain and squirrels jumping on tree branches. The park is open to the public from 6.00 to 24.00.
.Woolworth’s
.Founder of the powerful retail chain F. W. Woolworth Company, Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852-1919) began his career at a young age as a clerk in a small shop. The shy boy, who also stuttered, was about to be fired. The owner agreed to keep Woolworth if he could make the day’s sales during his shift.
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In those days, stores did not yet have price tags, and the cost of goods the seller appointed himself, assessing the creditworthiness of the buyer. Woolworth placed pieces of paper with a minimum price on each item, and over a rack full of lying merchandise he wrote “all for 5 cents.” The amount he was able to collect was 6 times his daily sales!
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Woolworth opened his first store in 1879 in Pennsylvania. At the beginning of the last century, the retail chain he created was the largest in the world. This company was the first to sell goods at a fixed price of 5 and 10 cents. Woolworth’s created the first supermarkets, and customers were able to choose the goods lying around freely available. The owner of the Woolworth Building invented discount merchandising, where goods were sold at discounted prices, and buying goods from direct manufacturers. Throughout the twentieth century, the F. W. Woolworth Company” remained a competitive retailer.
.History of the Skyscraper
In 1910, Woolworth decided to erect the tallest building in New York City for his company’s office. He commissioned Cass Gilbert, who was a renowned master of classical architecture and had built several public buildings, to design the skyscraper.
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Gilbert created the design for the unusual Woolworth Building high-rise in the tradition of Neo-Gothic architecture. In the original design, the skyscraper was to rise 191 meters, but then its height was increased to 241.4 meters. Construction work took three years, and the large-scale construction cost Woolworth’s 13.5 million dollars. The grand opening of the building took place in April 1913 and was attended by the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.
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The new skyscraper became the tallest building on the planet. It made a strong impression. The poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, who visited New York in 1925, dedicated a poem “The Young Lady and the Woolworth” to the high-rise on Broadway. The height record stood until 1930, but then the palm of supremacy went to 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building. The observation deck, located on the 58th floor of the skyscraper, welcomed tourists until 1945..
The F. W. Woolworth Company owned the Woolworth Building until 1998, and then it was purchased by the Witkoff Group. The skyscraper now houses educational institutions and offices of various firms inside..Features of the architecture
The builders of the first American skyscrapers were innovators, and they brought innovative solutions to each new building. One of the discoveries of engineers Cort Berle and Gunwald Aus was the design of a strong steel frame that provided remarkable stability to the skyscraper. Where other high-rise buildings sway slightly in strong winds, the Woolworth Building stands perfectly still.
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High-speed elevators were first built in this skyscraper. Thanks to them, passengers were able to move quickly through the floors and get to the top of the building in a short time.
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The facades of the high-rise have a noble light ochre color. They are made of durable terracotta panels, popular at the beginning of the last century, whose durability has been confirmed by time. The horizontal lines separating the floors are made by expressive stone strips with carved lace.
.From the base to the top of the Woolworth Building are flat columns, which are nowhere interrupted by cornices. They give the building laconism and straightforwardness, and city dwellers jokingly call the skyscraper “The Pride of New York”. Its top resembles a Gothic cathedral. The building ends with a high pyramidal roof surrounded by graceful turrets.
.How to get there
The Woolworth Building stands on Broadway. Next to the building is the Park Place subway station exit. In addition, buses #120, M55, X1, X3, X4, X8, X17, X27, X17A, and X19 stop near the skyscraper.
