Ellis Wainwright
Encyclopedia
Ellis Wainwright was an American capitalist, brewer
, art collector and socialite from St. Louis, Missouri
. He was President of the St. Louis Brewing Company and Director of the St. Louis and Suburban Company
. He is best known for the Wainwright Building
in Downtown St. Louis which was one of the first skyscrapers in the world and one of the most important office buildings of the period.
, he grew up in nearby St Louis, where he also spent much of his adult life. The son of a prominent brewer and building contractor, an English immigrant named Samuel and Catherine Dorothy, Wainwright studied at the École des Beaux-Arts
in Paris
. He returned to Missouri and began a career as a capitalist, building contractor and financier.
In November 1884 he was named chairman of the committee on bylaws of the Western Association of Architects
in Chicago
. He also became an important figure in railway development in the region. In 1889, he consolidated his father's Wainwright Brewery Company (in which Samuel Wainwright had successfully doubled the profits)with a brewing syndicate and established the St. Louis Brewing Asssociation.
Wainwright visited Europe in the summer of 1890. Meanwhile his plans for the Wainwright Building
, named in his honor, and designed by Dankmar Adler
and Louis Sullivan
were put into effect. It was to be built on the corner of Seventh Street and Chestnut Street in Downtown St. Louis on a plot of land which had been purchased by his mother Catherine. On November 7, 1890, a drawing by Charles K. Ramsey of how the building would look appeared in the Globe-Democrat. It was a nine or ten storey red-terracotta cuboid
structure, being 114 feet by 127 feet, and held 225 offices when completed in 1892. On November 11, 1890, Sullivan received planning permission to build the office building which would cost over £500,000 (US$ in dollars). The building was among the first skyscraper
s in the world and is described as "a highly influential prototype of the modern office building" by the National Register of Historic Places
. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright
called the Wainwright Building "the very first human expression of a tall steel office-building as Architecture."
Before the building was completed, his wife Charlotte died of Peritonitis
, aged just 34. Wainwright commissioned Louis Sullivan to erect the great Wainwright Tomb
for her within the Bellefontaine Cemetery, in which his parents and he would also later be buried.
In 1902, Wainwright was indicted for conspiracy to bribe members of the state legislature in the Suburban Railway boodle
scandal and subsequently became a fugitive in Paris. He was said to have co-signed a $75000 bank loan for the bribe money.
In 1904, his name appeared in The Shame of the Cities
, a muckraking expose by Lincoln Steffens
which exposed his shady dealings and other public corruption within the United States.
After over 20 years in Paris, with health failing, Wainwright returned to St Louis and died on November 6, 1924 in his suite in the Buckingham Hotel
in St. Louis of a stroke, caused by the deterioration (hardening) of his arteries.
He is buried in the Wainwright Tomb in the Bellefontaine Cemetery, commissioned by Wainwright after the death of his wife; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on June 15, 1970 and became a St. Louis Landmark in 1971. Like several other grand tombs within the cemetery, the tomb has been described as "over-the-top" and either "reflecting the atmosphere of the times", or revealing that "ego prevails regardless of the time frame" and that "wealthy businessmen and families attempted to remain as large in death as they were in life". The tomb is a domed cubic building with walls of concrete covered in limestone on the exterior. On the northeast (front) side of the tomb is the entrance with a double-leafed bronze grill and double-doors. The sides of the tomb each have windows, also covered in bronze grills. The interior of the tomb has two burial slabs and a mosaic
floor and ceiling. The Wainwright Tomb has been described as "the most sensitive and the most graceful of Sullivan's tombs" and as "one of Sullivan's masterpieces." After Wainwright's death, an endowment was established that provided for the reconstruction or renovation of the tomb in case of earthquake or vandalism.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, art collector and socialite from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. He was President of the St. Louis Brewing Company and Director of the St. Louis and Suburban Company
East St. Louis and Suburban Railway
The East St. Louis and Suburban Railway was an interurban railroad that operated in Illinois.-Route:It served Madison County, St. Clair County, and Monroe County as part of the great "East Side Electric Railway System." It stretched from the Eads Bridge, which crossed the Mississippi River from...
. He is best known for the Wainwright Building
Wainwright Building
The Wainwright Building is a 10-story red brick office building at 709 Chestnut Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The Wainwright Building is among the first skyscrapers in the world. It was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in the Palazzo style and built between 1890 and 1891...
in Downtown St. Louis which was one of the first skyscrapers in the world and one of the most important office buildings of the period.
Biography
Wainright was born on August 3, 1850, and although the family hailed from Godfrey, IllinoisGodfrey, Illinois
Godfrey is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18000 at the 2010 census. Godfrey is located within the Greater St...
, he grew up in nearby St Louis, where he also spent much of his adult life. The son of a prominent brewer and building contractor, an English immigrant named Samuel and Catherine Dorothy, Wainwright studied at the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He returned to Missouri and began a career as a capitalist, building contractor and financier.
In November 1884 he was named chairman of the committee on bylaws of the Western Association of Architects
Western Association of Architects
The Western Association of Architects was an American professional body founded in Chicago in 1884 separately from the American Institute of Architects by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Dankmar Adler, and Louis Sullivan, because they felt slighted by East Coast architects of the AIA...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He also became an important figure in railway development in the region. In 1889, he consolidated his father's Wainwright Brewery Company (in which Samuel Wainwright had successfully doubled the profits)with a brewing syndicate and established the St. Louis Brewing Asssociation.
Wainwright Building
The Wainwright Building is a 10-story red brick office building at 709 Chestnut Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The Wainwright Building is among the first skyscrapers in the world. It was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in the Palazzo style and built between 1890 and 1891...
, named in his honor, and designed by Dankmar Adler
Dankmar Adler
Dankmar Adler was a celebrated German-born American architect.-Early years:...
and Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
were put into effect. It was to be built on the corner of Seventh Street and Chestnut Street in Downtown St. Louis on a plot of land which had been purchased by his mother Catherine. On November 7, 1890, a drawing by Charles K. Ramsey of how the building would look appeared in the Globe-Democrat. It was a nine or ten storey red-terracotta cuboid
Cuboid
In geometry, a cuboid is a solid figure bounded by six faces, forming a convex polyhedron. There are two competing definitions of a cuboid in mathematical literature...
structure, being 114 feet by 127 feet, and held 225 offices when completed in 1892. On November 11, 1890, Sullivan received planning permission to build the office building which would cost over £500,000 (US$ in dollars). The building was among the first skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s in the world and is described as "a highly influential prototype of the modern office building" by the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
called the Wainwright Building "the very first human expression of a tall steel office-building as Architecture."
Before the building was completed, his wife Charlotte died of Peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
, aged just 34. Wainwright commissioned Louis Sullivan to erect the great Wainwright Tomb
Wainwright Tomb
The Wainwright Tomb is a mausoleum located in Bellefontaine Cemetery at 4947 West Florissant Avenue north of the Walnut Park East neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Originally constructed for Charlotte Dickson Wainwright in 1892, the tomb now also contains the remains of her husband, Ellis...
for her within the Bellefontaine Cemetery, in which his parents and he would also later be buried.
In 1902, Wainwright was indicted for conspiracy to bribe members of the state legislature in the Suburban Railway boodle
Boodle
Boodle, or boodler, was a bar-room or street term for money or booty applied by the yellow press to members of the New York Board of Aldermen who were charged with accepting bribes in connection with the granting of a franchise for a street railroad on Broadway...
scandal and subsequently became a fugitive in Paris. He was said to have co-signed a $75000 bank loan for the bribe money.
In 1904, his name appeared in The Shame of the Cities
The Shame of the Cities
The Shame of the Cities was a work published in 1904 by Lincoln Steffens that sought to expose public corruption in many major cities throughout the United States. The work consists of articles written for the magazine McClure's in one collection. His goal was to provoke public outcry and thus...
, a muckraking expose by Lincoln Steffens
Lincoln Steffens
-Biography:Steffens was born April 6, 1866, in San Francisco. He grew up in a wealthy family and attended a military academy. He studied in France and Germany after graduating from the University of California....
which exposed his shady dealings and other public corruption within the United States.
Death
Buckingham Hotel
Buckingham Hotel, later the Ambassador Hotel, was an upmarket hotel which existed in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in the early twentieth century. It was located on the northeast corner of Kingshighway and West Pine Boulevards...
in St. Louis of a stroke, caused by the deterioration (hardening) of his arteries.
He is buried in the Wainwright Tomb in the Bellefontaine Cemetery, commissioned by Wainwright after the death of his wife; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on June 15, 1970 and became a St. Louis Landmark in 1971. Like several other grand tombs within the cemetery, the tomb has been described as "over-the-top" and either "reflecting the atmosphere of the times", or revealing that "ego prevails regardless of the time frame" and that "wealthy businessmen and families attempted to remain as large in death as they were in life". The tomb is a domed cubic building with walls of concrete covered in limestone on the exterior. On the northeast (front) side of the tomb is the entrance with a double-leafed bronze grill and double-doors. The sides of the tomb each have windows, also covered in bronze grills. The interior of the tomb has two burial slabs and a mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
floor and ceiling. The Wainwright Tomb has been described as "the most sensitive and the most graceful of Sullivan's tombs" and as "one of Sullivan's masterpieces." After Wainwright's death, an endowment was established that provided for the reconstruction or renovation of the tomb in case of earthquake or vandalism.