William Le Baron Jenney

"The Father of the Skyscraper"

(1832-1907)

An architect noted for building the first steel framed skyscraper, was born in Fairhaven in 1832, the son of Eliza Le Barron Gibbs and William Proctor Jenney, and grew up here. His interest in architecture may have been inspired by the construction of the First Congregational Church in his neighborhood when he was about 12 years old. After studying in Europe, Jenney moved to Chicago, opening his own architectural firm in 1872. In 1884 he designed the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, the first tall building using a structural steel skeletal frame, earning Jenney the title “father of the skyscraper.”