Wainwright Building facts for kids
|
Wainwright Building
|
|
Wainwright Building, spring 1986
|
|
| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Built | 1891 |
| Architect | Adler & Sullivan |
| Architectural style | Chicago school |
| NRHP reference No. | 68000054 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
|
| Added to NRHP | May 23, 1968 |
| Designated NHL | May 23, 1968 |
The Wainwright Building is a tall office building in St. Louis, Missouri. It has 10 stories and is about 41 meters (135 feet) high. The building is covered in a special type of clay material called terra cotta.
It is considered one of the very first modern skyscrapers. Famous architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed it. They built it between 1890 and 1891. The building is named after Ellis Wainwright, a local brewer and businessman.
Both local and national groups call the Wainwright Building a "landmark." The National Register of Historic Places says it was a very important design for modern office buildings. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright even called it the "very first human expression of a tall steel office-building as Architecture."
Today, the State of Missouri owns the building. It uses the building for state offices. In 2013, a TV show called 10 Buildings That Changed America featured it. The show said it was "the first skyscraper that truly looked the part." It also called Louis Sullivan the "Father of Skyscrapers."
Building the Wainwright
Ellis Wainwright, a brewer from St. Louis, asked for the building to be made. He needed office space for his brewing business. This was a big project for the Adler & Sullivan architecture firm. They were already well-known for designing the 10-story Auditorium Building in Chicago.
The designers planned the Wainwright Building carefully. The first floor was for shops that people could easily walk into from the street. The second floor had public offices that were also easy to reach. The floors above these were for many smaller "honeycomb" offices. The very top floor held water tanks and machinery for the building.
What Makes it Special
The Wainwright Building shows off Louis Sullivan's ideas about tall buildings. He believed a skyscraper should look tall from top to bottom. He wanted it to be "a proud and soaring thing." He wrote that it should rise "in sheer exultation."
Sullivan's design used a three-part look, like a classic column. It had a base, a main shaft, and a top. Even with this classic idea, the building looked very modern. Sullivan did not like the old-fashioned neoclassical style.
A historian named Carl W. Condit said the building has a strong base. This base supports a screen that looks like it's moving powerfully upwards. The ground floor had shops, so it needed large windows. Sullivan's design made the supporting piers look like strong pillars.
Above the shops, the second floor had offices. These offices had wide windows in a curtain wall. A decorative cornice separates the second floor from the many identical windows above. Each window is like "a cell in a honeycomb." The windows and horizontal lines are set back a bit. This creates a "vertical aesthetic" that makes the building look very tall.
The building has beautiful decorations. There is a wide, detailed band called a frieze below the roof's edge. This frieze has natural leaf patterns that Sullivan often used. There are also decorated panels between the windows on different floors. The main entrance has a very fancy design around its door.
The frieze also has small, round "bull's-eye windows." These windows let light into the top floor. This floor originally held water tanks and elevator equipment. The building uses a lot of terra cotta. This building material was becoming very popular when the Wainwright Building was built.
Sullivan wanted to create a special architectural style. He used simple shapes and natural decorations. The Wainwright Building was the first time he showed this unique style.
Unlike Sullivan, his partner Adler called the building a "plain business structure." He believed buildings were mostly built to make money. He said that owners want to get the most income with the least cost.
The Wainwright Building is seen as the first skyscraper to skip the usual fancy decorations of its time. Some parts of the building have been removed during updates. These pieces are now kept at the St. Louis Building Arts Foundation in Sauget, Illinois.
Building's History
When the Wainwright Building was first finished, people liked it a lot. Critics also thought it was a good design. In 1968, it was named a National Historic Landmark.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation helped save the building from being torn down. Later, the State of Missouri bought it to use for state offices. The St. Louis Landmarks Association also helped save it from a construction project. This was one of their first big wins.
A nearby building, the Lincoln Trust building, was torn down in 1983. This made way for the Gateway Mall. Carolyn Toft, from the Landmarks Association, said that building and the Wainwright Building were part of a special group. She felt it would have been better to save all the buildings together. Architect John D. Randall wrote many letters to officials. His efforts helped make sure the Wainwright Building was restored, not demolished.
After a time of not being well-cared for, the building now holds Missouri state offices.
Images for kids
-
Wainwright Building, spring 1986
-
The piers look like pillars.
-
The detailed frieze and bull's-eye windows at the top.
-
The Wainwright Building in 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Wainwright Building para niños
