Presentation punch bowl

On April 24, 1913, 900 men gathered on the twenty-seventh floor of the Woolworth Building to enjoy an extravagant dinner celebrating the skyscraper’s opening and honoring its architect, Cass Gilbert. The New York Times touted the event as the “highest skyscraper dinner ever held in the world.” Indeed, the “Cathedral of Commerce,” as the Woolworth Building was dubbed, held the distinction of being the tallest building in the world until 1930.

During the dinner, five-and-dime magnate Frank W. Woolworth presented this monumental punch bowl to Cass Gilbert as a "small token” of his regard. The lavish bowl incorporates neo-Gothic details drawn from Gilbert’s architectural ornament and is inscribed in gold lettering, “Presented to Cass Gilbert by Frank W. Woolworth as a Mark of Appreciation at the Formal Opening of the Woolworth Building on the 24th of April 1913.” A chased scene showing the Woolworth Building from City Hall Park ornaments the inside of the bowl.