A Flexible Structure
[Levi Z. Leiter Building (1889-91) Chicago; William Le Baron Jenney, architect /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Most people have never heard of architect William Le Baron Jenney. Yet he is known as
the "Father of the Skyscraper," and this is one of the buildings that made Jenney, well Jenney. Designed in 1889, and built as a speculative commercial structure by Chicago real estate baron Levi Z. Leiter, the building was one more leap for the architect into the world of a new, modern architecture.
[Leiter/Siegel & Cooper/Sears Roebuck Building /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Leiter had no tenant for his property on south State Street when he decided to build
there, so he asked Jenney for a building that would have as flexible a floor plan as possible. This way construction could start and no matter who Levi found as a lessee, the open floor plan would serve any tenant's needs. Jenney was perfect for the job. He had been experimenting with skeletal, metal-frame construction for a few years and his client's request gave him the opportunity to push the envelope even a little farther.
[Facade detail, Leiter Building/Robert Morris University, November 27, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
It's hard to understand what's actually going on behind that rather heavy looking stone
facade. But if you look closely at the pictures above just imagine a skinny, steel framework hidden behind those horizontal and vertical sections of masonry. It is also hard to imagine in today's technologically advanced world how revolutionary this type of building was in 1889. People were actually afraid that buildings "made like birdcages" would collapse, or that the steel and iron would "snap" in cold winter weather, which Chicago has plenty of. And they were tall. Without heavy masonry walls to support them, how could they possibly stand up?
The stonework gave the building a visual heft that belies its bony structure. But the metal
needed to be wrapped in masonry for fireproofing, and those big granite blocks may have given the average citizen some comfort - from the outside it didn't look like this building was going to fall down.
Jenney's building worked perfectly for his client. Over its 119 year history, the Leiter
has been home to retailers Siegel, Cooper & Co. and Sears Roebuck. It once served as offices for the Federal government and now provides classrooms for Robert Morris University. Jenney and his pioneering use of the skeletal frame has also served the Levi Leiter estate well, providing Levi's heirs with 100 years of rental income from their south State Street property.
Posted by designslinger at 4/8/2010 2:45 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago Levi Z. Leiter William Le Baron Jenney Leiter Building
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Chicago Levi Z. Leiter William Le Baron Jenney Leiter Building
Comments