Woolworth Building
Location: New York City
Completed: 1913
Height: 792 feet (57 stories, plus outdoor observation deck)
Claim to fame: The Woolworth Building was bought by "nickels and dimes" spent at the five & dime stores that company operated. Indeed, construction of the $13.5-millon building was paid for in cash. It is by far the largest building ever built that never had a mortgage. The structure remains the tallest structure on Earth built in the neo-gothic style inspired by Midieval cathedrals. (Indeed, the Woolworth Building was dubbed "a cathedral of commerce" by the presiding reverend at its opening ceremony. The resemblance is rather intentional.) The floodlights that illuminate the tower at night were turned on at the opening ceremony by President Woodrow Wilson, with Wilson flipping a switch at the White House connected to New York City by a telegraph line.
Status: Almost 94 years after it opened, the Woolworth Building is still one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City. The Woolworth Company sold the building for $155 million in 1998 to help pay down debts, as the "big box" retailers such as Wal-Mart had seriously cut into its operations.
The observation deck on the 58th floor was closed in 1945.
^In 1914 the tallest buildings in the world were
all in New York City.
The building on the far right is the New York Municipal Building, a massive 600-foot (41-storey) structure that houses much of the government agencies of New York City. This structure was opened in 1914.