April 24, 2013 (Wednesday)
“Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure, there your heart; where your heart, there your happiness”-St. Augustine of Hippo
The Woolworth Building in New York City is 100 years old today.
The building–especially the upper floors and roof–resembles European cathedrals and so it was called a “Cathedral of Commerce” by the minister during the opening ceremonies. At 792 feet and 57 stories, it was the tallest building in the world until 1930. Before the World Trade Center’s twin towers were destroyed by terrorists, many photographs were made at an angle that placed the Woolworth building between the two towers.
The title of “tallest” shifted to a building named, “40 Wall Street” in 1930, but was soon lost to the Chrysler building, which had a stainless steel spire hidden in the top floors and when completed won the title of “tallest.” “40 Wall Street” owners protested that theirs was the tallest building if only usable floors were counted, and they had 71. The discussion ended, however, in 1931 when the Empire State Building was completed as unquestionably the world’s tallest building at 1,250 feet.
The title of tallest no longer remains in the United States. The tallest buildings are unbelievably high and are located elsewhere in the world.
Woolworth paid 13.5 million dollars in cash for the building. That’s nearly 309 million in today’s currency. The top 30 floors have been purchased for 68 million dollars and will be converted into luxury apartments that will sell for $3,000 per square foot. The five-floor penthouse will sell for more. I can get the address in case any of my readers are interested in purchasing an apartment or two.
Happy 100th Birthday, Woolworth Building. See you at your bi-centennial in 100 years.
Devotional Thought:
The giant skyscrapers around the world today are symbolic of the fact that there is a vast amount of wealth in this world. I cannot think of them without thinking of the poor widow who had only two mites to give to her church. And she gave it all. I think about that first Christian congregation in Jerusalem and how the people shared with each other. No one went without the necessities of life, especially the widows. The church saw its wealth as a means of blessing God’s work as they helped others. On the other hand, earlier in history, people got together and tried to build a tower to the heavens, but God was displeased because of their pride. As Christians, we must remember that we are stewards of the possessions that God has entrusted to us. “God so loved that He gave..” We can do the same.