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
Melnea Cass and Indian girls in Rock Castle, Virginia. Cass graduated in 1914 as valedictorian of her class. She returned to Boston to the home that her Aunt Ella had established for the girls. Cass looked for work in retail, but finding few opportunities for blacks in Boston, she was instead forced into “domestic” work. She did this type of work until her marriage in December, 1917 to Marshall Cass. While her husband was in the service, their first child, Marshall, was born. After his return from the war, they had two other children, Marianne and Melanie. Her husband died in 1958.