|
 Wainwright Building - St. Louis, Missouri Posted by:  BruceS
N 38° 37.608 W 090° 11.518
15S E 744446 N 4279104
Historic building is viewed as the "father" of today's skyscrapers. The Wainwright Building was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
Waymark Code: WM2Z3C
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/13/2008
Views: 81
From Missouri - A Guide to the "Show Me" State - St. Louis
section:
The WAINWRIGHT BUILDING, 105 N. Seventh St., one of the first important
skyscrapers, was completed in 1891. Designed by Louis Sullivan, Chicago
architect, it is an expression of Sullivan's belief that steel-frame
construction demanded a new type of design to replace the classic styles then
popular. The ten-story structure, faced with stone, brick, and terra cotta
in rich shades of reds, has an unbroken sweep of vertical line from its base to
its top story. Decoration is restricted to the narrow carved bands framing
the main doors of the entrance, and to the richly designed cornice. The
influence of this building on contemporary architecture was immediate. For
25 years architects used Sullivan's formula; accent by vertical lines, volume
through undifferentiated facades, line by leaving the shaft of the building
sheer and uninterrupted.The Wainwright Building had fallen on hard times
and was threatened with demolition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation
took an option on the building saving it from demolition. The building is now
owned by the State of Missouri, has been renovated and is now a state office
building. The building was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
Book: Missouri
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 313
Year Originally Published: 1941
|
Visit Instructions:
To log a Visit, please supply an original image of the Waymark.
|