Portal:National Register of Historic Places/Portal biography/2

Second Leiter Building, South State & East Congress Streets, Chicago, designed by Jenney

William Le Baron Jenney (25 September 1832—14 June 1907) was an American architect and engineer who became known as the Father of the American skyscraper.

In 1867, Jenney moved to Chicago, Illinois, and began his own architectural office, which specialized in commercial buildings and urban planning. During the late 1870s, he commuted weekly to Ann Arbor, Michigan to start and teach in the architecture program at the University of Michigan. In later years future leaders of the Chicago School like Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, William Holabird, and Martin Roche, performed their architectural apprenticeships on Jenney's staff. Learn more...