Preview
Source Collection
Alan Karchmer collection, Special Collections Department, University of Memphis Libraries
Identifier
16_11.B2
Description
Lincoln American Tower (formerly Columbian Mutual), Main and Court Square, Memphis, Tennessee. Built in 1924. Photographer: Alan Karchmer. © Alan Karchmer.
A period of Gothic-inspired towers followed earlier skyscraper concepts. The tower, atop the lower mass of the building, while inefficient in terms of usable floor space, is symbolically effective as it gives the building truly sculptural qualities. It is modeled after the famed Woolworth Building in New York.
At the beginning of this century increasing urban density and escalating land values provided impetus for the evolution of the skyscraper. The development of steel skeleton construction and the high-speed electric elevator made this truly American building type possible. While the Porter Building was Memphis' first, soaring an impressive eleven stories, it was soon overtaken in size by many others built during the post-WWI boom.
Date Created
2021
Date
undated
Recommended Citation
"Lincoln American Tower, Memphis" (2021). Images. 84.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-karchmera2/84
Keywords
Architecture--Tennessee--Memphis.
