What is the nickname of New York City’s Woolworth Building?

New York City’s Woolworth Building is nicknamed the Cathedral of Commerce.

The phrase refers to the skyscraper’s Gothic Revival architecture and its association with retail magnate Frank W. Woolworth. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the building, which opened in 1913 in Lower Manhattan.

Its richly decorated lobby contains marble, mosaics, sculpture, and caricatures of people involved in the project. Those ecclesiastical visual references helped inspire the “Cathedral of Commerce” nickname, even though the building was created for commercial use rather than religious worship.

The Woolworth Building was the world’s tallest building when completed, but it later lost that title to 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building. It remains one of New York’s best-known early skyscrapers.