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The Dark Truth Behind the Woolworth Tower

Frank Woolworth built the world's tallest skyscraper in 1913 using nothing but nickels and dimes — $13.5 million in cash, no mortgage, no loans. Architect Cass Gilbert designed a stunning Gothic Revival tower dubbed the "Cathedral of Commerce," but behind its gleaming 792-foot terracotta facade hid a web of deception. Tiffany elevator ornaments were cheap cast iron painted to look like brass, "Greek marble" was secretly mined in Vermont, and Woolworth himself is immortalized in a lobby gargoyle counting coins. President Woodrow Wilson flipped the lights on opening night, but the triumph was short-lived — Woolworth died just six years later from an infected tooth, his will unsigned, leaving $30 million in chaos.