Free previewStop 3 of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Walking Tour
The Five-and-Dime Cathedral
You've just crossed out of City Hall Park, and the pale tower across Broadway, climbing in tiers to a green pointed roof, is the Woolworth Building. Bring your eyes down to street level first, to the big pointed arch of the main entrance. Find the two owls perched above a carved letter W. That W is the whole story.
It stands for Frank W. Woolworth, the man who made a fortune selling things for five and ten cents. His chain of five-and-ten stores was everywhere, and he wanted a headquarters to match. The first plan was modest: a commercial building of maybe 12 to 16 stories. Then the plan grew. And grew again. The architect, Cass Gilbert, drew a tower 420 feet high. Then came revisions, and the final height wasn't decided until January 1911. The answer was 792 feet.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 3 of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Walking Tour (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
