This page was created by George White. 

Cass Gilbert's Woolworth Building

Woolworth Building

Cass Gilbert’s Woolworth Building rises from the sidewalk of Broadway to the crown 792 feet above street level. The façade is articulated by vertical mullions, and the vertical divisions of the building are designated by horizontal Gothic canopies. The tower’s vertical mullions are thicker and run from the street all the way to the corner tourelles and add a sense of stability to the tower as anchor of the building. Gilbert avoids monotony in the shaft by alternating the style of the spandrels as well as by dividing it into groups of five floors, with the fifth floor in each group having arched spandrels topped with a string course. This shows that Gilbert was acutely aware of the aesthetic challenges of designing tall buildings. Furthermore, the transition between building and tower is articulated using a mansard roof and a transverse gable, visually connecting the tower with the building, something that the Singer Building lacked. Gilbert obviously wanted to make a signature statement on the skyline, not only as the tallest building in the city, but also as one of the most attractive. Towards the crown, the decoration increases in scale and ornament, as this was the most defining feature of the building from a distance. Unfortunately, the crown of the building is no longer in its original state, as the ornamental tourelles have been replaced with postmodern-looking simplified flattened versions, presumably to save money on repairs.[1] (Compare the two images)
 
[1] Postal, Matthew A., ed., Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009, 25. much of the terracotta cladding was removed between 1977 and 1981 and was replaced with concrete.

This page has paths: