The Old Chronicle Building (sometimes called the De Young Building), which is now part of the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, is the oldest skyscraper in the Western part of the United States. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons (Red Brick Section is Original Old Chronicle Building) Height: 218 ft (66 m) (originally) 312 ft (95 m) (w/current additions)įloor Count: 10 Stories (originally) 24 Stories (currently) Did You Know?Ĭompleted in 1891, the Manhattan Building is the oldest surviving skyscraper in the world to use a purely skeletal supporting structure and was the first 16-story building in the world. In 1976, the Manhattan Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and it was designated a Chicago Landmark two years later. Since its completion, the Manhattan Building has always been used as commercial office space. The façade of the Manhattan building features granite on the lower floors and brick on the upper levels, which helped lighten the building’s load on its internal structure it also gives the building a unique aesthetic. It was designed by architect and engineer William LeBaron Jenney, who built the world’s first skyscraper in 1885 and is considered the Father of the American skyscraper. The Manhattan Building is one of Chicago’s oldest standing skyscrapers and at the time was one of the best examples of early skyscraper architecture. The facade of the Ames Building features extensive masonry work and it is the tallest masonry building ever constructed in the United States. In 2007, after several years unoccupied, the Ames Building was converted into a luxury hotel. The exterior structure of the Ames Building was completed in 1889, but interior work was not finished until 1893.Īfter its completion, the Ames Building served as the headquarters for Ames families’ agricultural tool company as well as the offices of its architects Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Ames, heir to a fortune in railroads and shovel manufacturing, who commissioned the building in the late 19 th century. The Ames Building was the first skyscraper built in Boston and was the tallest building in the city until the Custom House Tower was built in 1915.

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