The Woolworth Building in New York City was the world's tallest building when it was built in 1913.

Cass Gilbert (November 29, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was a pioneering American architect.^[1] An early proponent of skyscrapers in works like the Woolworth Building, Gilbert was also responsible for numerous museums and libraries (Saint Louis Art Museum), state capitol buildings (the Minnesota and West Virginia State Capitols, for example) as well as public architectural icons like the United States Supreme Court building. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 2053 KB) Summary Woolworth Building in New York City was designed by Cass Gilbert and built in 1909. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 2053 KB) Summary Woolworth Building in New York City was designed by Cass Gilbert and built in 1909. ... The Woolworth Building, at sixty stories, is one of the oldest — and one of the most famous — skyscrapers in New York City. ... is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Architect (disambiguation). ... Taipei 101, the worlds tallest skyscraper by roof height on high rise. ... The Woolworth Building, at sixty stories, is one of the oldest — and one of the most famous — skyscrapers in New York City. ... The façade of the St. ... Minnesota State Capitol at Night The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesotas capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor. ... The West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of West Virginia. ... Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The buildings facade underwent renovation during the summer of 2006. ...

Early life

Gilbert was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the middle of three sons, and was named after the statesman Lewis Cass, to whom he was distantly related.^[1] Gilbert's father was a surveyor for what was then known as the United States Coast Survey. At the age of nine, Gilbert's family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where he was raised by his mother after his father died. After attending preparatory school in nearby Minneapolis, Gilbert dropped out of Macalester College, before beginning his architectural career at age 17 by joining the Abraham M. Radcliffe office in St. Paul. In 1878 Gilbert enrolled in the architecture program at MIT.^[2] Muskingum County Courthouse (Photo ©2004 Leslie K. Dellovade) Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. ... Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer and politician. ... The National Geodetic Survey is the successor agency in the United States to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. ... State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... This article is about the city in Minnesota. ... Macalester College (popularly known as Mac) is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ... Abraham M. Radcliffe (1827 - ) was an architect born in New York. ... “MIT” redirects here. ...

Professional career

Gilbert later worked for a time with the firm of McKim, Mead, and White before starting a practice in St. Paul with James Knox Taylor. He won a series of house and office-building commissions (the Endicott Building in St. Paul is still regarded as a gem, and many of his noteworthy houses still stand on St. Paul's Summit Avenue) in Minnesota before landing a career-breaking commission designing the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City (now home to the George Gustav Heye Center).^[1] His public buildings in the Beaux Arts style reflect the optimistic American sense that the nation was the heir of Greek democracy, Roman law and Renaissance humanism.^[3] McKim, Mead, and White was a prominent architectural firm in the eastern United States at the turn of the twentieth century. ... The central rotunda of the Alexander Hamilton Custom House The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (originally U.S. Custom House) is a building in New York City, built 1902 - 1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port of New York. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The George Gustav Heye Center is the branch in New York City of the National Museum of the American Indian, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. ... Beaux Arts was an architectural style that was popular in the early twentieth century. ...

Historical impact

Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel Burnham — and his technique of cladding a steel frame became the model for decades.^[1] Modernists embraced his work: Alfred Stieglitz immortalized the Woolworth Building in a famous series of photographs and John Marin created several paintings of the same; even Frank Lloyd Wright praised the lines of the building, though he decried the ornamentation. For other uses, see Skyscraper (disambiguation). ... The Woolworth Building, at sixty stories, is one of the oldest — and one of the most famous — skyscrapers in New York City. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Daniel H. Burnham. ... He was a loser. ... The Woolworth Building, at sixty stories, is one of the oldest — and one of the most famous — skyscrapers in New York City. ... John Marin (December 23, 1870 - October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist artist. ... Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the worlds most prominent and influential architects. ...

Gilbert was one of the first celebrity architects in America, designing skyscrapers in New York City and Cincinnati, college campuses at Oberlin College and the University of Texas, state capitols in Minnesota and West Virginia, the support towers of the George Washington Bridge, various railroad stations (including the New Haven Union Station), and the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.. His reputation declined among some professionals during the age of Modernism, but he was on the design committee that guided and eventually approved the modernist design of Manhattan's groundbreaking Rockefeller Center: when considering Gilbert's body of works as whole, it is more eclectic than many critics admit. Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... Oberlin College is a small liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, in the United States. ... The University of Texas System comprises fifteen educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are general academic universities, and six are health institutions. ... For the bridge in New York that crosses the Harlem River, see Washington Bridge. ... Union Station is the main railroad passenger terminal in New Haven, Connecticut. ... Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The buildings facade underwent renovation during the summer of 2006. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... For Christian theological modernism, see Liberal Christianity and Modernism (Roman Catholicism). ... Lower Plaza at Rockefeller Center. ...

Notable works

US Supreme Court Building, Washington D.C., East Pediment, 1928–1935.

• Saint Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Hall, Loras Hall, the Service Center, a classroom building, the refectory building, the administration building in 1894, and Grace Hall in 1913 were commissioned by James J. Hill. Only Cretin, Loras, the Service Center, and Grace still stand.

• Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul, 1895–1905. Designed in High Renaissance style, the building is not merely a replica of the United States Capitol. Local newspapers made a fuss when Gilbert sent to Georgia for marble, but the result, in which a hemispherical dome caps a high drum not unlike that of Saint Peter's Basilica, crowning a building housing the bicameral legislature and the state supreme court, was so nobly handsome that West Virginia and Arkansas contracted for Gilbert capitols too. Its brick dome is held in hoops of steel.

• The Broadway-Chambers Building (277 Broadway), 1899–1900. Gilbert's first building in New York City.^[4]

• Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, facing Bowling Green park in Lower Manhattan, 1902–1907.
• Saint Louis Art Museum, known as the Palace of the Fine Arts, built for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. The Art Museum was the only major building of the fair built as a permanent structure.

• 90 West Street, New York City, 1905–1907. Severely damaged during the September 11, 2001 attacks, the building has since been completely restored.^[5]

• A series of master plans for the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota, 1907.^[6]

• The Spalding Building, Portland, 1911. A 12-story early skyscraper based on the construction principles of a classical column.

• Central Library, St. Louis, 1912. The main library for the city's public library system, in a severe classicizing style, has an oval central pavilion surrounded by four light courts. The outer facades of the free-standing building are of lightly rusticated Maine granite. The Olive Street front is disposed like a colossal arcade, with contrasting marble bas-relief panels. A projecting three-bay central block, like a pared-down triumphal arch, provides a monumental entrance. At the rear the Central Library faced a sunken garden. The interiors feature some light-transmitting glass floors. The ceiling of the Periodicals Room is modified from Michelangelo's ceiling in the Laurentian Library.^[7][8]

• Woolworth Building, New York City, 1913. A Gothic skyscraper clad in glazed terracotta panels, it was the tallest building in the world when built. Bas reliefs in the lobby depict Woolworth and Gilbert, Woolworth holding nickels and dimes.

• Fountain in Ridgefield, Connecticut, at the intersection of Routes 35 and 33, 1914–16. This fountain was designed and donated to the town by Cass Gilbert, who lived there town for a period. In 2004, a drunk driver crashed into the fountain and completely destroyed it; a replica has since been completed.

• Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 1917.

• Brooklyn Army Terminal, Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, NY, 1918.

• The Detroit Public Library, main branch, 1921.

• The First Division Monument, President's Park, Washington DC, 1924.^[9]

• West Virginia State Capitol, Charleston, West Virginia, 1924–1932.

• The James Scott Memorial Fountain, Belle Isle, Detroit, MI, 1925.

• Plans for cladding the George Washington Bridge support towers, New York City, in masonry, 1926. Not carried out.

• New York Life Insurance Building, 1926.

• US Embassy Building, Ottowa, Ontario, 1932.

• United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C., 1932–1935, Gilbert's last major project, guided to completion by his son, Cass Gilbert Jr. He died a year before it was completed. A vast Roman temple in the Corinthian order is penetrated by a cross range articulated with pilasters in very low relief. The central tablet in the richly sculpted frieze reads EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW. His design for the U.S. Supreme Court chambers was based upon his design for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in at the state capitol in Charleston. The pediment sculptures Liberty attended by order and Authority (great lawgivers Moses, Confucius, and Solon are on the West Portico) were executed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil.

Minnesota State Capitol, 1895–1905 Photo taken by uploader. ... Photo taken by uploader. ... Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The buildings facade underwent renovation during the summer of 2006. ... St. ... State capitol building in Saint Paul Saint Paul is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Minnesota in the United States of America. ... Cretin Hall from the original front Cretin Hall is one of the male undergraduate (and most historic) residence halls at the University of St. ... James J. Hill at about age 35, ca. ... Minnesota State Capitol at Night The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesotas capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor. ... For an overview of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, see Minneapolis-Saint Paul. ... Tempietto di San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502, by Bramante. ... The United States Capitol is the capitol building that serves as the location for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. ... For other uses, see Marble (disambiguation). ... Interior view, with the nave of the Cattedra in the back St. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Largest metro area Little Rock Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,002 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ... The central rotunda of the Alexander Hamilton Custom House The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (originally U.S. Custom House) is a building in New York City, built 1902 - 1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port of New York. ... Bowling Green, shown in a composite photograph taken from the steps of the U.S. Custom House looking north along Broadway. ... Woolworth Building, looking south along Broadway Lower Manhattan, from the Brooklyn Bridge, 2005 Rigid airship the USS Akron over Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. ... The façade of the St. ... Entrance to Creation Exhibit on the Pike Map of the St. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area  - City  66. ... 90 West Street or West Street Building is a building in Lower Manhattan designed by architect Cass Gilbert for the West Street Improvement Corporation. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... “Minneapolis” redirects here. ... This article is about the oldest and largest campus of the University of Minnesota. ... The Spalding Building, formerly the Oregon Bank Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. ... Nickname: Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: , Country State County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter[1]  - Commissioners Sam Adams Randy Leonard Dan Saltzman Erik Sten  - Auditor Gary Blackmer Area  - City 376. ... For other uses, see Skyscraper (disambiguation). ... A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental archway, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. ... It has been suggested that Biblioteca Mediceo Lauenziana be merged into this article or section. ... The Woolworth Building, at sixty stories, is one of the oldest — and one of the most famous — skyscrapers in New York City. ... Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ... Elmslea Chambers in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia - built in 1933, it was one of the first buildings in Australia to use coloured polychrome terracotta in its façade which features a fine relief of birds, flowers, leaves and typical Art Deco sunbursts under the windows. ... Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. ... Drunk driving is the act of operating and/or driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. ... The Allen Memorial Art Museum (abbreviated AMAM) is located in Oberlin, Ohio and is affiliated with Oberlin College. ... Oberlin College is a small liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, in the United States. ... Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, to the south and west of Cleveland. ... Brooklyn Army Terminal consists of large complex of piers, docks, warehouses, cranes, railroad sidings and cargo loading equipment. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... Detroit Public Library logo. ... Presidents Park, located in Washington, D.C., includes the White House, a visitor center, Lafayette Park, and the Ellipse. ... The West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of West Virginia. ... Nickname: Home of Hospitality, The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North, Chemicalville, The Capitol City C-Town Location of Charleston in West Virginia. ... Interior of the Nature Center at Belle Isle Belle Isle is a 982 acre (3. ... This article is actively undergoing a major edit. ... The term cladding can have a number of meanings: Regarding optical fiber in telecommunication, cladding is one or more layers of material of lower refractive index, in intimate contact with a core material of higher refractive index. ... For the bridge in New York that crosses the Harlem River, see Washington Bridge. ... The New York Life Insurance Building as taken from the observation deck at the Empire State Building The New York Life Insurance Company has commissioned two major skyscrapers. ... Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The buildings facade underwent renovation during the summer of 2006. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... The Temple of Hercules Victor, near the Teatro di Marcello in Rome (a Greek-style Roman temple) // Pagan history and architecture Originally in Roman paganism, a templum was not (necessarily) a cultic building but any ritually marked observation site for natural phenomena believed to allow predictions, such as the flight... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... The front of the Supreme Court Building, including the West Pediment. ... Nickname: Home of Hospitality, The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North, Chemicalville, The Capitol City C-Town Location of Charleston in West Virginia. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Confucius (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu), lit. ... For other uses, see Solon (disambiguation). ... The Standing Liberty Quarter has the initial of designer Hermon Atkins MacNeil on its face above the date Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947) was an American sculptor born at Chelsea, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1984x1282, 415 KB) en:Minnesota State Capitol, photo taken on June 22, 2005 by User:Mulad. ... Minnesota State Capitol at Night The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesotas capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor. ...	New York Life Insurance Building, 1926. Image File history File linksMetadata New_York_Life_Building_2. ... The New York Life Insurance Building as taken from the observation deck at the Empire State Building The New York Life Insurance Company has commissioned two major skyscrapers. ...	St. Louis Art Museum (detail), built for the 1904 world's fair. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2580x1932, 1896 KB) Summary Taken by Colin Faulkingham on 02/05/2006 at the St. ... The façade of the St. ...	Detroit Public Library on Woodward Ave. Image File history File links Detroit_Library. ... Detroit Public Library logo. ...
Spalding Building, 1911 Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (768 × 1024 pixel, file size: 319 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Spalding Building in Portland, Oregon File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Spalding Building, formerly the Oregon Bank Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. ...

Archives

Gilbert's drawings and correspondence are preserved at the New-York Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society and the Library of Congress. The New-York Historical Society is an American organization located in New York City and dedicated to the preservation of the citys history. ... The Minnesota Historical Society is a Minnesota instutution dedicated to preserving the history of the state. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ...

References

Geoffrey Blodgett (1931-November 15, 2001) was Robert S. Danforth Professor of History at Oberlin College, located in Oberlin, Ohio. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Cass Gilbert at the archINFORM database

ArchINFORM is an online database for international architecture, originally emerging from records of interesting building projects from architecture students from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. ...

Architecture

• Architectural tour of the US Supreme Court Building
• New York Architecture Images-Cass Gilbert
• History of the Buildings at the University of St. Thomas
• Cass Gilbert Ohio Historical Marker

Archival collections

• Cass Gilbert Collection, 1897-1936 Archives Center, National Museum of American History
• New York Historical Society: Guide to the Cass Gilbert collection, 2005 Abstract of the Gilbert papers.
• Cass Gilbert Papers, Minnesota Historical Society.