April 24, 1913: The Woolworth Building opens, at 233 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, across Broadway from City Hall Park. At 792 feet high, 55 floors, it becomes the tallest building in the world.
The entrepreneur Frank Winfield Woolworth became successful in 1879, because of his "Five-and-Dime" (5- and 10-cent) stores. He began planning a new headquarters for the F.W. Woolworth Company in 1910.
Around the same time, Woolworth's friend Lewis Pierson was having difficulty getting shareholder approval for the merger of his Irving National Bank and the rival New York Exchange Bank. Woolworth, who was looking for funding, mentioned his plans for the building at a lunch with Pierson. Woolworth offered to acquire shares in New York Exchange Bank and vote in favor of the merger if Pierson agreed to move the combined banks' headquarters to the F.W. Woolworth Company's new headquarters. Having received a commitment from the banks, Woolworth acquired the site where he had built the ornate building that became known as "The Cathedral of Skyscrapers."
Woolworth died in 1919. His company lasted until 1997. The Woolworth Building would remain the tallest building in the world until 1929. After the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center, 4 blocks away, the Woolworth Building's elaborate lobby, open to visitors until then, was closed to all except people who work in the building, and those with appointments to see them.
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April 24, 1913 was a Thursday. This was also the day the film The Bangville Police premiered, launching the Keystone Kops to stardom. I have a separate entry for that event.
These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Albert "Chief" Bender outpitched Al Schulz.
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1 at the Polo Grounds.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Boston Braves, 1-0 in 12 innings at the South End Grounds in Boston.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 6-3 at National Park (later Griffith Stadium) in Washington. Tris Speaker went 0-for-2 with a walk, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* The Cleveland Naps beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (It was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938 and Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, Cleveland's manager, 2nd baseman, best hitter and namesake, went 0-for-4. Ty Cobb did not play.
* The St. Louis Browns beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-3 at Robison Field in St. Louis.
* And the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates were not scheduled.
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