The Home Insurance Building was built in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois and demolished in 1931 to make way for the Field Building (now the LaSalle Bank). It was the first building entirely supported by a steel frame, so is considered the first skyscraper. It had 10 stories and rose to a height of 138 feet (42 m) high. The steel frame liberated the exterior walls from supporting the building, the walls were instead thin curtain walls. The architect was William LeBaron Jenney, an engineer. In fact the building weighed only one-third as much as a stone building would have; city officials were so concerned that they halted construction while they investigated its safety. The Home Insurance Building is an example of the Chicago School in architecture.

In 1890, two additional floors were built on top of the original 10-story building.

See also

• Chicago architecture

Skyscrapers in Chicago | Former buildings and structures of the United States

Home Insurance Building | בניין ביטוח הבית | Home Insurance Building | Home Insurance Building | Home Insurance Building | 家庭保險大樓