October 07, 2007
Inside the Woolworth Building with OpenHouse NY
 Behind one of the meanest signs in New York, (pictured at right,) lies the door to one of the grandest spaces in the city, the so-called "Cathedral of Commerce," the Woolworth Building.
Closed to the public since September 11, 2001, the landmarked building was open Saturday for the first time (but only to the first 50 people who RSVP'd) as part of Open House New York.
When the Cass Gilbert-designed terra cotta office building was completed in 1913, it was the tallest building in the world (until it was overtaken by 40 Wall Street and then the Chrysler Building.) "Ornate" is insufficent to describe the lobby, with high domed and barrell-vaulted ceilings inlaid with glittering mosaics set off by religious-looking murals instead dedicated to "Labor" and "Commerce." Gargoyle-type figurines instead are whimsically carved in the shapes of the building's principals, including a bespeckeled Cass Gilbert holding a model of the Woolworth building, and Frank Woolworth himself counting his nickels and dimes (as he made his fortune with the five-and-dime stores.)
 Other significant details include images of squirrels hiding nuts, wise owls, salamanders (representing the transmutation of lead into gold,) and Phoenixes (as a nod to Woolworth's initial business failure and turning it around into his dimestore empire.)
As exciting as it was to get inside the lobby, pictures were not allowed. Visitors couldn't take out their cameras until the tour headed up to the 21st floor, the offices of the Control Group, which arranged the OHNY visit. (The floor was also the setting for the first season of "Ugly Betty.")
The good news -- for those hoping to maybe get inside -- is that Control Group hopes to offer the tours again next year for OHNY, possibly with more people. Also, the Saturday tour group was told that the building has been hoping to find a spa willing to come in and renovate and take over operations of the downstairs pool (which is currently empty.
 From the Control Group offices, you could see down into the WTC site (and see the PATH train emerge from the tunnel into the "bathtub,") sunbathers on nearby rooftops and down onto City Hall Park. The south-facing windows of Its meeting rooms offered eye-level views of the buiding's stunning terra cotta work along with at least one long-necked dragon. And if you sat close to a window and looked up, you could see the recessed portions near the top of the skyscraper. However the office itself looked pretty much like any other office; there were no mouldings or other details to indicate you're in a building as fabulous as the Woolworth.
Construction on the upper floors prevented further access on Saturday. The Woolworth Building also has an observation deck, but it's been closed to the public since 1948.
More picture after the jump.
Also see a NewYorkology picture of the Woolworth taken during an April 2006 OHNY tour of WTC 7 before construction was complete.
October 7, 2007 10:13 AM in Architecture, Downtown, History, Sightsology, Tours
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