Gilbert, Cass, 1859–1934, American architect, b. Zanesville, Ohio, studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in Europe. In 1880 he entered the employ of McKim, Mead, and White, New York City, and three years later opened his own office in St. Paul, Minn. He returned in 1899 to New York, where he became widely known for the design of the Woolworth Building (1913). This 60-story office building, with its Gothic trim, exerted considerable influence in its time on the development of the skyscraper skyscraper, modern building of great height, constructed on a steel skeleton. The form originated in the United States.

Development of the Form

Many mechanical and structural developments in the last quarter of the 19th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among Gilbert's other conspicuous works are the New York Life Insurance Company Building and the Federal Courts Building, New York City; the U.S. Treasury Annex, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.; and public libraries in Detroit, St. Louis, and New Haven, Conn. He was consulting architect for the George Washington Bridge.

Gilbert, Cass

(born Nov. 24, 1859, Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.—died May 17, 1934, Brockenhurst, Hampshire, Eng.) U.S. architect. He briefly attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then worked briefly for the firm of McKim, Mead & White. For some years his 60-story Woolworth Building (1910–13) in New York City, with its Gothic detail in terra-cotta over a steel frame, was regarded as a model of tall commercial building design (it was for years the tallest building in the world). Other works include the U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. (completed 1935), and the campuses of the universities of Minnesota and Texas. Though not highly original, Gilbert was an acknowledged leader of his profession in the U.S. during a period in which monumental architecture predominated.

Gilbert, Cass (1859–1934) architect; born in Zanesville, Ohio. Trained in St. Paul, Minn., and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he worked with McKim, Mead and White (1880–82) and James Knox Taylor in St. Paul (1884–92). In New York (1900–30) he became known for Americanized beaux arts designs, including the U.S. Custom House (1899–1907) and the Woolworth Building (1908–13). He was president of the American Institute of Architects (1908–09) and the National Academy of Design (1926–33).