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Photo: Courtesy of Thomas McGovern Photography
Dare I admit it? It was 2003 and I was firmly planted in middle age before I became interested in preserving and promoting the work of my great grandfather, the renowned architect Cass Gilbert. The Woolworth Building, owned by the Witkoff Group quickly became one of my favorites, along with the Minnesota State Capital and the Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
Photo: Courtesy of Thomas McGovern Photography
When the 60-story Woolworth Building opened in 1913, it was the tallest building in the world, and it remained so for 17 years. No shrinking violet when it came to publicity, its owner Frank W. Woolworth hosted a banquet in Cass Gilbert’s honor for nearly 1000 gentleman, all in white tie, in a specially created event space on the 27th floor. A charade was even concocted so President Wilson could hit a button in the White House and the Woolworth Building suddenly lit up on Broadway, causing someone in the crowd watching from City Hall Park to dub it “the Cathedral of Commerce.” Originally built as a speculative office building to house the headquarters of the F.W. Woolworth Company, among other tenants, it now has two owners and a dual purpose. While the U-shaped base up to the 29th floor remains commercial space and is still owned by the Witkoff Group, the tower was sold in 2012 to Alchemy Properties for development into residential condominiums. The high profile residences and their skyhigh asking prices have again brought the Woolworth Building into the limelight. In celebration of its centennial in April 2013, Chuck Post, my brother in California, and I planned a series of events we called “Woolworth Week.” Although the building had been closed to the public since 9/11, we were given permission to open the lobby for tours as part the program. People were thrilled to finally be able to get inside and see the extraordinarily beautiful space with its marble, stained glass, mosaics, murals and amusing sculptural characters that is really unlike anything else on this continent. The Building’s management then asked us to offer lobby tours to the public on an on-going basis. And so it is my honor to welcome you to the Woolworth Building! Public tours of 30-minutes, 60-minutes and 90-minutes, are available by prereservation. Private and custom tours can also be arranged.
To purchase tickets for tours, please visit the WoolworthTours website.
-by Helen Post Curry
Helen Post Curry is a great granddaughter of the architect Cass Gilbert and she likes to think a bit of his DNA trickled down to her. She was originally trained as a graphic designer, then a certified color consultant and finally an Interior Designer. In addition to her enthusiasm for interior design, and especially the uses and philosophy of color, she is intrigued with the practice of walking meditation using labyrinths, about which she wrote The Way of the Labyrinth, Penguin Putnam 2000. When not busy organizing public and private tours of the magnificent Woolworth Building Lobby or traveling around the country to advocate for the preservation of other Cass Gilbert buildings, she can be found in the quiet sanctuary of her Connecticut home musing over colors and designing intentional interiors for her treasured clients through her company Look LLC.