Wainwright Building
- Architect
- Adler & Sullivan
- Year
- 1891
- Style
- Chicago School
- City
- St. Louis, MO
The Wainwright Building was completed in 1891 to a design by Adler & Sullivan and is widely credited as one of the first steel-framed skyscrapers. It stands as a foundational building in the Chicago School tradition, an early demonstration of how the steel frame could reshape the tall commercial building. Its ornamented street-facing facade remains one of downtown St. Louis's most recognizable.
the building
An early steel frame. The Wainwright is frequently retold as a foundational skyscraper story: it is widely credited as one of the first buildings to use a steel frame to carry a tall commercial structure, a innovation central to the Chicago School approach Adler & Sullivan practiced.
the style
The Wainwright is a landmark example of the Chicago School, the style that emerged around the structural problem of the steel-framed tall building. Its prominent, ornamented street-facing facade is characteristic of the era's effort to give the new building type a dignified public face.
More on Chicago Schoolthe architect
The building was designed by the firm of Adler & Sullivan.
significance
The Wainwright Building is a National Historic Landmark, is listed among the Landmarks of St. Louis, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (OSM heritage=2).
nearby
- Laclede Gas Building
- 700 Market
- Hotel Saint Louis
- Maryland Hotel
- Chemical Building
- United States Customhouse and Post Office