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
Woolworth Building the United States as well as one of the 30 tallest buildings in New York City. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966, and a New York City landmark since 1983. The Woolworth Building was designed in the neo-Gothic style by the architect Cass Gilbert. Originally designed to be high, the building was eventually elevated to . When completed in 1913, the Woolworth Building was 60 stories tall and had over 5,000 windows. Given its resemblance to European Gothic cathedrals, the structure was called "The Cathedral of Commerce" by the Reverend S. Parkes Cadman in a booklet of