Why is the GUINNESS STOREHOUSE® building architecturally important?
At the end of the 19th Century, a ‘new’ or ‘modern’ architecture had emerged in America. This development followed the Great Fire of Chicago in1871. The fire had destroyed most of Chicago City centre and the rebuilding work gave rise to a new style of architecture known as ‘The Chicago School.’ The Chicago School was the work of a group of architects led by H. H. Richardson, Frederick Bauman and William le Baron Jenny. These were bold new structures with multi-storey steel frames. It was these steel frames that supported the roof, rather than the walls – the first skyscrapers. The Market Street Storehouse, built in the style of The Chicago School, was completed in November 1904 and predates the Ritz hotel in London (also steel-framed). The Market Street Storehouse is therefore the first major, steel-framed, multi-storey building in the British Isles.
