Woolworth Building

I had my final meeting of my visit this afternoon at the Woolworth Building. It is a famous building, an early skyscraper, built by F W Woolworth. It clearly has a lot of character though the public has now been excluded as you can just see on the 'no tourist' sign on the blip. This occurred after 9/11 which is just around the corner from there.

The lifts were very ornate with wood panelling. It is a shame it can no longer be seen by the public.

My final meeting went well with the Vera Institute and I can now relax and enjoy my weekend. Some more facts about the building below.

The Woolworth Building was designed in the neo-Gothic style by the architect Cass Gilbert, who Frank Woolworth commissioned in 1910 to design a 20-story office building as the F. W. Woolworth Company's new corporate headquarters on Broadway, between Park Place and Barclay Street in Lower Manhattan, opposite City Hall. Originally designed to be 420 feet (130 m) high, the building was eventually elevated to 792 feet (241 m). At its opening, the Woolworth Building was 60 stories tall and had over 5,000 windows.

The building opened on April 24, 1913. It remained the tallest building in the world until the construction of 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building, also in New York City, in 1930. Prior to its 2001 destruction, the World Trade Center was often photographed in such a way that the Woolworth Building could be seen between 1 and 2 World Trade Center. After the September 11, 2001, attacks a few blocks away, the building was without electricity, water and telephone service for a few weeks and had broken windows and the top turret was damaged by falling rubble. Increased post-attack security restricted access to most of the ornate lobby, previously a tourist attraction.

Now for a big American meal! Enjoy your weekend folks!