Review:Woolworth Building Tour

One of the most important skyscrapers in the world, the Woolworth Building first opened on April 24, 1913. Located at 233 Broadway in Manhattan, it was the first modern skyscraper and the world's tallest building until 1930 when it was eclipsed by the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. Frank Woolworth commissioned architect Cass Gilbert to design it as the world headquarters for his successful five and dime business, the F.

W. Woolworth Corporation. The corporation only ever used one and a half floors of the building and rented most of the office space to tenants, including the Irving National Exchange Bank.

The building's exterior is neo-Gothic in style and it features at 27 thousand ton steel core (much larger than was necessary for the building's structure. The exterior was originally covered with terracotta and clay, which was both light and fireproof, but restoration in the 1960s and 1970s replaced some of the crumbling facade with concrete bricks. (You can tell the originals from the replacements because the originals are whiter, while the concrete is greyer.

The building also included a three-floor observation deck, but it has been closed to the public since 1941.