renovation, the Washington Building was described by the Real Estate Record and Guide as "one of the handsomest office structures in the world", and due to its location at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, "probably the first building to attract the foreigner who comes to our shores." So prominent was the building that visitors to New York City would often climb to the building's roof before checking into their hotels. A Times article in 1919, prior to the Washington Building's renovation, called the planned remodel "a great white stone structure of classic dignity and proportion". After the project was completed, the Real Estate Record and Guide called it "a beautiful, harmonious structure, which few would recognize as the old Washington Building, known for two generations as the first skyscraper of lower Manhattan." In a book published in 1932, W. Parker Chase wrote that the building was "one of the most magnificent buildings in New York". See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street References Notes Citations Sources See also: Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Neoclassical architecture in New York City Office buildings completed in 1919 Office buildings in Manhattan Financial District, Manhattan Broadway (Manhattan) New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Bowling Green (New York City) Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state)