Wainwright BuildingLouis Sullivan
Exterior · St. Louis, United States · 1890
Photo: w_lemay · 2023-03-23 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Original 2966×3955
Built in 1890-1891, this Chicago School-style skyscraper was designed by Adler and Sullivan for Ellis Wainwright to house the offices of the St. Louis Brewers Association. The building was the first skyscraper to break from traditional architectural styles, utilizing ornament that fit the scale of the building, and taking advantage of the steel frame and masonry curtain wall to create a building that embraced the skyscraper form through its design, rather than trying to make the skyscraper fit the box of previous traditional architectural styles, and is widely regarded as being the most preced