Cass Gilbert Gilbert was a conservative who believed architecture should reflect historic traditions and the established social order. His design of the new Supreme Court building (1935), with its classical lines and small size, contrasted sharply with the large federal buildings going up along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which he disliked. Heilbrun says "Gilbert's pioneering buildings injected vitality into skyscraper design, and his 'Gothic skyscraper,' epitomized by the Woolworth Building, profoundly influenced architects during the first decades of the twentieth century." Christen and Flanders note that his reputation among architectural critics went into eclipse during the age of modernism, but
Federal Building (Providence, Rhode Island) of the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is virtually unchanged, and the lobby and two major courtrooms have been restored. Located at the east end of Kennedy Plaza (formerly known as Exchange Place), in downtown Providence, the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is a notable example of the Beaux Arts style. The design seems to owe aspects of its form and detail to the New York Custom House (1900–1907), designed by Cass Gilbert. Completed in 1908, it is a five-story, rectangular structure, faced in New Hampshire granite over a steel frame, with a rusticated base. The building is almost perfectly