Wilder Building is a historic office building located in Rochester, New York. It is an eleven-story steel or iron framed brick clad structure built between 1887 and 1888 in a modified Romanesque style. It is considered Rochester's first modern skyscraper, and is considered to be among the oldest of the early skyscrapers. It was designed by noted Rochester architects Warner & Brockett.[2]

Wilder Building
Wilder Building is located in New York
Wilder Building
Wilder Building is located in the United States
Wilder Building
Location1 E. Main St., Rochester, New York
Coordinates43°9′19″N 77°36′44″W / 43.15528°N 77.61222°W / 43.15528; -77.61222
Arealess than one acre
Built1887
ArchitectWarner & Brockett
Architectural styleRomanesque
MPSInner Loop MRA
NRHP reference No.85002863[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 04, 1985

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[1]

The Wilder Building originally contained spires at each corner of its roof, but they have since been removed.[3]

Mail Chute

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James Goold Cutler received U.S. Patent 284,951 on September 11, 1883 for the mail chute. The first one was installed in 1884 in the Elwood Building. Then, during its 1887 construction, Cutler installed a perfected mail chute in the Wilder Building.[4] With the Elwood Building having been demolished in 1965, the Wilder Building's mail chute is currently the oldest surviving one.

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)" (Searchable database). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2016-03-01. Note: This includes Ted Bartlett (August 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Wilder Building" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-01. and Accompanying three photographs
  3. ^ "Walking Tour of Rochester's One Hundred Acre Plot". www.lowerfalls.org. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
  4. ^ Palmer, Daniel J. (2010). Rochester's Downtown Architecture, 1950-1975. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738572505.
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