The Woolworth Building was once the tallest building in the world

On February 27th, the Skyscraper Museum will open the "Woolworth Building @ 100" exhibit to celebrate the landmark tower's centennial year. The building opened on April 24, 1913 as the tallest in the world, rising to 792 feet to the tip of its spire, instantly becoming a marvel of early 20th-century technology and a masterpiece of the architectural arts.

Read more about the Woolworth Building here.

The early skyscraper was a career-crowning achievement for the tower's owner, five-and-dime store magnate Frank Woolworth, who paid for the skyscraper with his personal fortune and took a hands-on role in every decision of its design.

Architect Cass Gilbert designed the office building, which is built with a steel frame and clad in ornate, hand-cast terra cotta that conjures a great Gothic tower -- earning it the nickname "Cathedral of Commerce." The exhibition illustrates how the original project for a 20-story office building grew into a full-block site, and stretched to 60 stories and a record height that would dominate the New York skyline until the citys next boom in 1929.

A major section of the show focuses on the design, artistic production, and installation of the towers extraordinary terra-cotta ornament, manufactured by the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company of Tottenville, Staten Island and Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

The Woolworth Building's place in popular culture also is explored in the exhibition. Conceived in part as a giant sign on the skyline that advertised the success of the Woolworth Company, the tower also became a logo on many of their inexpensive products, such as the sewing needles and dominos included in the show. The image of the skyscraper also appeared on a host of souvenirs, from postcards, paperweights, and spoons, to miniature banks and building replicas.

Protected as a New York City landmark since 1983, the Woolworth Building celebrates its centennial year while now in the process of conversion -- with office space remaining below and luxury residences planned for the upper tower.

The exhibition is co-curated by Museum Director Carol Willis and Gail Fenske, author of The Skyscraper and the City: The Woolworth Building and the Making of Modern New York (University of Chicago Press, 2008). Susan Tunick served as a consultant on the architectural terra cotta section.

The Woolworth Building @ 100 runs through July 14, 2013.

Related Links