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GC083.JPG

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Woolworth Mausoleum Woodlawn Cemetery Bronx, New York The Woolworth mausoleum predates the Winter mausoleum which appears to be an exact duplicate of the Woolworth mausoleum. Architect John Russell Pope designed this mausoleum in 1920. Pope later designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. F.W. Woolworth (1852-1919), developed a sales formula based on attractive displays and reasonable fixed prices. He cunningly realized that pricing articles for sale in increments of 5 cents and 10 cents, which were the most commonly used coins at the time, encouraged sales. Woolworth found that these business practices encouraged impulse buying and generated increased sales and revenues. By the time of his death, there were over 1000 of his “five and dime stores”. Poor F.W. took his own frugality a little too far: he died of septic poisoning because he didn’t want to pay to see a dentist. Woolworth’s adventurous architectural tastes were not limited to his eternal home. He also built an architectural gem of a of a building to house his corporate offices in lower Manhattan. He and his architect had a sense of style and humor. Gargoyles incorporated into the decorative elements of the interior are cast with faces of individuals who were instrumental in the building’s construction. Perhaps the incredibly buxom sphinxes on his mausoleum reflect his sense of humor, or maybe wishful thinking. Also entombed in the Woolworth mausoleum, is Woolworth’s granddaughter, the much married, unhappy socialite Barbara Hutton (1912-1979).