– June 22, 1912 –
A dramatic bird’s-eye photograph from this date captures the steel skeleton of the Woolworth Building rapidly climbing above Manhattan. Financed entirely in cash by five-and-dime retail magnate Frank W. Woolworth, the neo-Gothic skyscraper was a marvel of early 20th-century engineering. When it officially opened the following year, its commanding height of 792 feet secured its title as the tallest building in the world, a record it would proudly hold for nearly two decades.
Beyond its record-breaking height, the construction of the Woolworth Building revolutionized skyscraper engineering by pioneering advanced wind-bracing techniques and massive pneumatic caissons to anchor the structure into deep bedrock. The building’s ornate, cathedral-like terra-cotta architecture was so breathtaking that contemporary critics dubbed it the “Cathedral of Commerce.” It successfully transformed the skyline from a collection of utilitarian blocks into an iconic, soaring art form.
Image via LOC, no known restrictions
