Cass Gilbert's Woolworth Building

Commanding the Skyline: The Woolworth Building as a Model for The Columbian Mutual Tower

The Columbian Mutual Tower (now known as the Lincoln American Tower at Court Square Center) in Memphis, Tennessee, is frequently described as a replica of the Woolworth Building in New York City at a one-third scale.[1] While the origins of these claims is not cited and probably apocryphal, the similarities of the two buildings is undeniable. Both have U-shaped bases with towers rising at the center of their façades and steeply pitched green roofs. The exteriors of both buildings are sheathed in glazed terra cotta tiles, and both are designed in the Gothic Revival mode. The physical similarities invite comparison, and the differences in scale reflect differing economic landscapes on both a city and regional level. The Woolworth Building, completed in 1913 and designed by Cass Gilbert, was constructed as the headquarters of the F. W. Woolworth Company. At 792 feet, it was the tallest building in the world from its completion until 1930. The Columbian Mutual Tower was completed a decade later in 1924 as the headquarters of the Columbian Mutual Life Assurance Society and was designed by Isaac Albert Baum. With a height of 288 feet, it was the tallest building in Memphis until 1930. Both buildings functioned as advertisement for their respective companies through their superlative heights. Moreover, the Columbian Mutual Tower’s visual similarities with the Woolworth Building served to associate it with the larger building’s international success. The Woolworth Building’s superlative height made it a compelling image of economic prosperity for the Columbian Mutual Assurance Society to emulate in their own headquarters. It is not, however, an exact replica, and the design of the Columbian Mutual Tower reflects its local context as well as the influence of national architectural trends.
 
[1] e.g. Dell Upton, “Social History of Architecture,” in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 21: Art and Architecture, edited by Estill Curtis Pennington and Judith H. Bonner, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013): 186.

Ellen Dement
 

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