The Skyscraper Museum

The Skyscraper Museum is devoted to the study of high-rise building, past, present, and future. The Museum explores tall buildings as objects of design, products of technology, sites of construction, investments in real estate, and places of work and residence. This site will look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Located in New York City, the world's first and foremost vertical metropolis, The Skyscraper Museum celebrates the City's rich architectural heritage and examines the historical forces and individuals that have shaped its successive skylines. Through exhibitions, programs and publications, the Museum explores tall buildings as objects of design, products of technology, sites of construction, investments in real estate, and places of work and residence. For a description of the gallery and for photos of the space, please visit our Photo Slideshows page.

The Skyscraper Museum is located in lower Manhattan's Battery Park City at 39 Battery Place. Museum hours are 12-6 PM, Wednesday-Sunday. General admission is $5, $2.50 for students and seniors. Click here for directions to the Museum.

Call 212.968.1961 for information on upcoming lectures, exhibitions, walking tours, and membership. Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing programs[at]skyscraper[dot]org.

CURRENT EXHIBITION

THE WOOLWORTH BUILDING @ 100

woolworth at night
Woolworth Building at Night,
April 24, 1913. Library of Congress.

In 1913, the “Cathedral of Commerce”–the great Gothic tower of five-and-ten-cent store king Frank W. Woolworth and his architect Cass Gilbert–became the dominant silhouette on the New York skyline and took the title of world’s tallest office building. At 792 feet to the tip of its spire, the skyscraper was a marvel of early 20th-century technology and a masterpiece of the architectural arts. The Skyscraper Museum's centennial celebration examines the many dimensions of the skyscraper’s novelty and the achievements of its designers and builders–from the advanced technology of its engineering and construction to the extraordinary abundance and intricate variety of its handmade terra-cotta ornament. More

Click here for the press release for WOOLWORTH @ 100

Click here to see ARTINFO's video featuring the Woolworth Building's lobby

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

June 14, 2013 1PM-5PM

Medieval or Modern?

WOOLWORTH BUILDING CENTENNIAL

In conjunction with the current exhibition The Woolworth Building @ 100, the Skyscraper Museum will present an afternoon of illustrated talks, inquiry, and dialogue inspired by the centennial of New York City’s great Gothic tower, “The Cathedral of Commerce.”

Our distinguished speakers include Mary Beth Betts, Gail Fenske, Joanna Merwood-Salibury, Kevin Murphy, Dietrich Neumann, Suzanne Stephens, and Mary Woods.

This program will be held in the rear lobby of the Woolworth Building.

Click here for further details.

Building Manager's Tours of the Woolworth Building: TBA

We will be taking RSVPs for members only. For information on Museum membership click here.

UPCOMING FAMILY PROGRAMS

BODY BUILDINGS: WOOLWORTH
May 25, 2013
10:30 - 11:45 AM
Starting with the 100-year-old Woolworth Building, subject of our current exhibition, kids will work together to make a New York City skyline with their silhouettes. Come learn about all different skyscraper shapes and designs by using poster paper to turn your "skeleton frame" into a drawing of your very own building! Ages 3-9.

Click here for more Family Programs.

IN THE MEDIA

April 24, 2013

ARTINFO got an inside look at The Woolworth Building on its centennial and our current exhibit dedicated to its legacy. Click here to view.

March 01, 2013

The opening day of the Woolworth Building @ 100 was covered by NY1. Click here to watch. (video access is limited to Time Warner subscribers)

October 26, 2012

Museum Director and Curator Carol Willis and Kate Ascher, author of The Heights: The Anatomy of a Skyscraper discussed the history and future of skyscrapers on WNYC's The Leonard Lopate. Click here to listen.

JOIN OR MAKE A DONATION TO THE SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM

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The Museum is a participating member of the Downtown Culture Pass. For more information, click here.

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