This tour was provided on a complimentary basis in exchange for a review. All opinions are, as always, my own.
Dante and I love architecture and often we stroll around NYC looking for facades and interiors to capture with our cameras. So when we found out that one of our very favorite buildings was now, finally, open for public tours — we were very excited. We’d been walking by and wishing to go in for years but in all the time we’ve been together, the building was never open to the public. Until, May of this year.
The Facade
What building am I talking about? NYC’s Woolworth Building.
As the name suggests, it was commissioned by Frank W. Woolworth, who was the chief executive of the F. W. Woolworth Company and owner of 318 five-and ten-cent stores across the United States, Canada, and England. The architect was Cass Gilbert.
Tours are now available in 30, 60 and 90 minute increments and I highly recommend the 90 minute especially if you have Lisa Renz as your tour guide. She was absolutely dynamite and both Dante and I really felt her knowledge about + passion for the building were what actually made our experience as wonderful as it was. Though the architecture did live up to our fantasy of what it should be and we left simply put: in awe.
Looking Up Before Entering the Woolworth
The Outside from the Park Across the Street
Above the Historic Elevators
I could not get over the mosaic ceilings!
Relief Sculptures of Faces Depict Men Involved in the Building of the Woolworth
An elaborate Stairway Leading up from the Lobby
Inside the Old Bank Vault in the Basement! Now used for Supplies during the Reconstruction
An Old Photograph of The Woolworth
I loved the Bird Motif of the Mosaic Ceilings
Up Close with Some of the Details
The tour does take you outside the building as well as in, so the one tip I will share is that if you’re doing this tour in the summer, make sure to have bottled water with you.
Not wanting to spoil a tour for you by giving you all the history, I will just direct you to their site so you can learn more and book your visit, and that is: Woolworth Tours.
You can also follow them on social media:
Instagram https://instagram.com/woolworthtours
Twitter https://twitter.com/woolworthtours
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WoolworthTourGroup
The Woolworth Building is located at 233 Broadway in New York City, NY, USA.
All images taken with a Samsung NX500 or NX1 Camera.
Gorgeous! A guy I went to college with is one of the guides. Looks like I’ll need to go on my next trip!
Oh you definitely should, Caroline! It’s a very interesting and informative tour.
Great post babe! I absolutely love the interior of that building, so glad we got a chance to experience it together.
I’m so glad we did too and I wish we could do it again. Did you ever hear back from that tour guide who was going to help with the restoration?
Okay, definitely doing this tour whenever I manage to take a trip to NYC. Those ceilings are incredible.
You should! For sure, Noelle! I think you’d love it as much as we did!