Manhattan Building
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| Manhattan Building | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Register of Historic Places) | |
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| Location: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built/Founded: | 1888 |
| Architect: | William LeBaron Jenney |
| Architectural style(s): | Skyscraper |
| Added to NRHP: | March 16, 1976 |
| Reference #: | 76000697 [1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Manhattan Building is a 16-story building at 431 South Dearborn Street in Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by architect William Le Baron Jenney and constructed from 1889 to 1891[2]. It is the oldest surviving skyscraper in the world to use a purely skeletal supporting structure[3]. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976, and designated a Chicago Landmark on July 7, 1978.[4]
[edit] Architecture
The distinctive bay windows provided light into the building's interior spaces, and the combination of a granite facade for the lower floors and brick facade for the upper stories helped lighten the load placed on the internal steel framework.[4] The north and south walls of tile were supported on steel cantilevers that carried the load back to the internal supporting structure.
The versatility and strength of metal frame construction made the skyscraper possible, as evidenced by this structure, which reached the then-astounding height of 16 stories in 1891. Its architect was a pioneer in the development of tall buildings. The distinctive bay windows provide maximum light to the building's interior spaces, while the combination of a granite (lower three floors) and brick facade (upper stories) help carry and lighten the load of the internal steel framework.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- ^ Manhattan Building. Chicago Landmarks (URL accessed 9 July 2006).
- ^ Manhattan Building, Chicago. Emporis Buildings (URL accessed 9 July 2006).Manhattan Building, 431 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL. American Memory from the Library of Congress (URL accessed 9 July 2006).
- ^ a b Manhattan Building. Retrieved on March 2, 2007.
[edit] See also
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