Woolworth Building Columbia Records. Columbia Records moved into the building in 1913 and housed a recording studio in it. In 1917, Columbia made what are considered the first jazz recordings, by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in this studio. During World War II, the Kellex Corporation, part of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons, was based here. Notes Bibliography Woolworth Building The Woolworth Building, at 233 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, designed by architect Cass Gilbert and constructed between 1910 and 1912, is an early US skyscraper. The original site for the building was purchased by F. W. Woolworth and his
Cass Gilbert has since rebounded because of "respect for the integrity and classic beauty of his masterworks". Gilbert was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the middle of three sons, and was named after the statesman Lewis Cass, to whom he was distantly related. Gilbert's father General Samuel A. Gilbert was a Union veteran of the American Civil War and a surveyor for the United States Coast Survey. His uncle was Union Gen. Charles Champion Gilbert. When he was nine, Gilbert's family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was raised by his mother after his father died. He attended preparatory school but dropped