In keeping with much of downtown's transformation to residential, building has become mixed use with the top 30 floors converted into 33 luxury condominiums including a five-level penthouse dubbed the &ldquo;townhome in the sky.&rdquo; 

F. W. Woolworth, an entrepreneur who had become successful because of his "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores), began planning a new headquarters for the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1910. It was the tallest building in the world when it was completed at 792'. The title lasted 21 years. The skyscraper was unusual because it was financed entirely in cash. The highlight of the opening ceremony featured United States President Woodrow Wilson throwing a switch to illuminate the building. Much of the original terra-cotta cladding has since been replaced with cast stone. The lobby is one of the most impressive in the city. It features a shining mosaic barrel vault, stained-glass skylight, marble walls, bronze fixtures, mezzanine murals entitled Labor and Commerce, and carved gargoyle representations of Gilbert, Woolworth, and other figures key to the design, engineering and construction of this landmark.

It consists of a 30-story base topped by a 30-story tower.&amp;nbsp;  

By September 1910, Gilbert had designed an even taller structure, with a 40-story tower on Park Place adjacent to a shorter 25-story annex, yielding a 550-foot-tall building.After the latest design, Woolworth wrote to Gilbert in November 1910 and asked for the building's height to be increased to 620 feet, which was 8 feet taller than the Singer Building, Lower Manhattan's tallest building. This design, unveiled to the public the same month, was a 45-story tower rising 625 feet, sitting on a lot by 105 by 197 feet.On December&nbsp;20, 1910, Woolworth sent a team of surveyors to measure the Metropolitan Life Tower's,&nbsp;then the tallest building in New York City and the world, height and come up with a precise measurement, so he could make his skyscraper 50 feet taller.By January&nbsp;18, 1911, the final site for the project was acquired at a total cost of $4.5&nbsp;million; the lot measured 152 feet on Broadway, 192.5 feet on Barclay Street, and 197.83 feet on Park Place.&nbsp;In order to fit the correct architectural proportions, Gilbert redesigned the building to its current 792-foot height.

Some of the Woolworth Building's windows are set within arch-shaped openings. Most of the building's&amp;nbsp;spandrels, or triangles between the top corners of the window and the top of the arch, have golden Gothic tracery against a bright blue backdrop. On the 25th, 39th, and 40th&amp;nbsp;stories, the spandrels consist of iconography found in the&amp;nbsp;royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Gold-on-blue tracery is also found on the 26th, 27th, and 42nd&amp;nbsp;floors.  

and installation of the building's terracotta began on February&amp;nbsp;1, 1912. The building rose at the rate of&amp;nbsp;1+1&amp;frasl;2&amp;nbsp;stories a week&amp;nbsp;  

The decision to use terracotta for the facade was based on both aesthetic and functional concerns. Not only was terracotta fireproof, but Gilbert believed it would be a purely ornamental addition, clarifying the Woolworth Building's steel construction.The&nbsp;Atlantic Terra Cotta Company&nbsp;provided the original terracotta cladding.

Woolworth Building

In his later role as U.S. Representative, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, visited the home of one-time New York Mayor Philip Hone, formerly located at the Woolworth Building.