Woolworth Building vs 40 Wall Street Building

Comparing the Woolworth Building and the 40 Wall Street Building is interesting because they both rise in New York, NY, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Cass Gilbert and H.Craig Severance, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of New York across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The 40 Wall Street Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 928ft (283m) with 70 floors above ground, while the Woolworth Building reaches 791ft (241m) with 58 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Woolworth Building and the 40 Wall Street Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Neogothic style.

Both buildings were completed when the Neogothic style was already past its peak. This makes them feel like late echoes of the movement, more reflective of continuity or nostalgia than of cutting-edge design at the time.

The Woolworth Building follows a mixed-use model, combining commercial and residential. In contrast, the 40 Wall Street Building has remained primarily commercial.

Originally, the Woolworth Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to mixed. The 40 Wall Street Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.