News Releases

June 6-June 12, 2007
www.streetwise.org

Father of the skyscraper gets centennial honors
By Kimberly Lindstrom

On June 9, Chicago will celebrate the life and career of one of the most influential architect of the 19th century. With events hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, Chicago History Museum and Graceland Cemetery, Mayor William Le Baron Jenney will finally get his time in the spotlight. June 15 marks the 100th anniversary of his death, and thus, a reason to commemorate his legacy with a proper memorial. William Le Baron Jenney has been called “a pioneer of modern architecture” and the “father of the skeleton frame.” He is most well known for his work on the Home Insurance Building, completed in 1885 (razed 1931), as it is well documented to have been the first “skyscraper” to use iron and steel construction as the sole support system for the building. Up until that point, steel had been used to reinforce masonry construction, but never has a building relied on steel in this way. Jenney, modest as he was, claimed that he was just evolving the technology that was already there. Little did he know his name would become forever connected to skeleton frame construction, paving the way for modern skyscrapers.

Jenney, with his partner William Mundie, designed an array of buildings in Chicago’s Loop including Leiter II (1891), the Ludington Building (1891), the Manhattan (1891), the Central YMCA (1893) the New York Life Insurance Building (1894), and the Morton Building (1896). The first three of these historic buildings have been designated as landmarks by the City of Chicago. Major buildings which have been lost include the first Union League Club (1886, razed c.1926), Leiter I (1879, razed 1972), and the Fair Department Store (1891, razed 1985). Jenney and Mundie designed the Horticultural Building and Mackaye’s Spectatorium (not finished) for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In addition to Jenney’s advancements in engineering and architecture, he was also involved in park design and town planning. The Chicago West Park Commission hired him as engineer and landscape designer for Humboldt, Douglas, and Garfield Parks. He also worked with Fredrick Law Olmsted to develop the town layout for Riverside, Illinois and designed many of the buildings and homes there.

Trained at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris, Jenney was an engineer first. He served as the Chief of Engineers of the Fifth Army Corps during the Civil War, helping to preserve the Union. He is recognized for saving half of General Grant’s Army at Shiloh and for fashioning a bridge that enabled General Sherman’s March to the Sea. Jenney’s engineering prowess has also been credited for the fall of Vicksburg.

For all of these accomplishments, Jenney never acted like he was above any other person. To those who knew him, he was considered a joy to be around, a character and a storyteller. He was a visionary who believed in progress. To that end, he took pride in being a patient teacher and had a wealth of talented young architects pass through his office on the way to successful careers of their own. The most noteworthy of these architects were Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, William Holabird, Martin Roche and Howard Van Doren Shaw. Two others of note, William Mundie and Elmer Jensen, spent their entire careers in the firm, including long-term positions as principals.

Jensen & Halstead Ltd., the successor firm of William Le Baron Jenney, is the co-sponsor for the upcoming events. Founded in 1868 under the name of Loring & Jenney, Jensen & Halstead Ltd. is the oldest continuously operating architecture firm in Chicago and one of the oldest in the nation. Although the name has changed numerous times, the tradition of innovative design has continued. 2008 will mark the 140th anniversary of the firm with and exhibition to celebrate its accomplishments over the years. Visit them online at www.jensenandhalstead.com.

The Jenney Celebration events include a series of lectures over the next two months, Chicago Loop walking tours highlighting Jenney’s innovation and design, and bus tours of Chicago’s West Parks and Riverside, Illinois. The capstone of the celebration will be on June 9. It will include a 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. symposium at the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark St. (cost $10, $5 for members); at 2:30 p.m. a new monument will be dedicated on his previously unmarked grave at Graceland Cemetery. Please visit the Chicago Architecture Foundation website for more information and a full listing of events – www.architecture.org.