[8] The World's owner and the building's developer, Joseph Pulitzer, had been thrown out of the same hotel during the American Civil War; at the time, he was a recent Hungarian immigrant who had volunteered to serve in the Union Army's cavalry.

[3] The main elevation on Park Row was clad with red sandstone below the tenth story, and buff brick and terracotta above.

[23][24] On the 3rd story, the three central windows were flanked by four ornamental bronze female torch-bearers carved by Karl Bitter, which represented the arts.

[22][26] A cornice and balustrade ran above the 12th story, with a pediment above the center bays, as well as a terracotta panel containing the carved monogram j. p. and the date "1889".

[3][27] The North William Street facade was similar to that of the original building but had granite facing on the 1st story and brick with terracotta above.

The foundation consisted of a "mat" of concrete, overlaid by a series of large stones that formed inverted arches between them.

[35] Inside was a superstructure of wrought iron columns supporting steel girders, which collectively weighed over 2,000,000 pounds (910,000 kg).

The ribs supporting the dome were placed on top of iron columns that descended directly to the building's foundation without intersecting with the rest of the superstructure.

[3][41] After the annex was completed in 1908, the ground-floor lobby extended 200 feet (61 m) between Park Row and North William Street.

[43] The 11th floor originally contained the editorial department of the Evening World,[44] and a two-bedroom apartment used during "special occasions".

[27] A penthouse on the roof, located at the same height at the first story of the dome, contained the offices of the managing and Sunday editor, the art and photo-engraving departments, and an employee restaurant.

[47] Pulitzer's office was on the second level of the dome and featured frescoes on the ceiling, embossed leather walls, and three large windows.

[50][53] The New York World was established in 1860, and initially occupied a structure two blocks south at 37 Park Row, later the Potter Building's site.

[60][61] The lot was directly across from the headquarters of the New York Herald at the intersection of Park Row, Broadway, and Ann Street.

[8] Numerous professional advisors, including Richard Morris Hunt, were hired to judge the architectural design competition through which the architect was to be selected.

[65] According to the Real Estate Record and Guide, "about half a dozen well-known architects" had submitted plans by August 1888, when French's Hotel was nearly completely demolished.

[34][67] Supposedly, Post had called Pulitzer after submitting his plans, and he had designed the building to "annex" over the Brooklyn Bridge approach.

[1][59] Pulitzer dictated several aspects of the design, including the triple-height main entrance arch, the dome, and the rounded corner at Park Row and Frankfort Street.

[78] During a heat wave in 1900, the World hired a "noted rainmaker" to detonate two dozen "rain bombs" from the building's dome.

[79] By 1906, Horace Trumbauer was hired to design a thirteen-story annex for the building extending eastward to North William Street.

[82][83] A large stained glass window by Otto Heinigke, combining the Statue of Liberty and the New York World banner, was installed over the North William Street entrance to the annex.

In 1911, American Civil War spy Pryce Lewis killed himself by jumping off the building's dome, having been denied a government pension.

[94][95] Another long-term tenant, Negro league baseball executive Nat Strong, occupied the building from 1900 until his death in 1935.

[97] By 1936, there were proposals to demolish the World Building as part of a plan to widen the Manhattan approach to the Brooklyn Bridge.

[98] The Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company, acting as trustee of Pulitzer's estate, sold the building to Samuel B. Shankman in 1941 for $50,000 plus taxes.

[103] The next year, the building became the headquarters of Local Draft Board 1, which at the time was described as the "largest in the United States" of its kind.

The Journal of Commerce, by then the last remaining newspaper to publish from Park Row, moved out of the World Building the day after the Board of Estimate's approval.

[115] Demolition work on the World Building started in mid-March 1955, and the last commercial tenants were required to leave by April 1.

[38] The building's Heinigke stained glass window was bought by a group headed by a Columbia University journalism professor.

[123][124] The box included publications from 1889; Pulitzer family photographs; gold and silver coins; a medallion celebrating the World's having reached a circulation from 250,000; and dedication speeches, recorded in wax phonograph cylinders.