Ellis Wainwright

Ellis Wainwright
File:Ellis Wainwright LCCN2014685959 (2) (cropped).jpg
Born	Template:Birth date Godfrey, Illinois, US
Died	November 6, 1924(1924-11-06) (aged 74) St. Louis, Missouri, US
Occupation	Capitalist

Ellis Wainwright (August 3, 1850 – November 6, 1924) was a prominent American capitalist, brewer, art patron, and social figure based in St. Louis, Missouri. He held the position of President at the St. Louis Brewing Company and was also a Director of the St. Louis and Suburban Company. He is most notably associated with the Wainwright Building in downtown St. Louis, recognized as one of the earliest skyscrapers and a significant office building landmark of its time.

Biography

Ellis Wainwright was born on August 3, 1850, and although his family originated from Godfrey, Illinois, he was raised in St. Louis. His father, Samuel Wainwright, an English immigrant, was a distinguished brewer and contractor. Ellis played an instrumental role in advancing local railway projects. In 1889, he combined his father's Wainwright Brewery Company with other breweries to establish the St. Louis Brewing Association.

During a European trip in 1890, final arrangements were made for the construction of the Wainwright Building—bearing his name and designed by architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. The building was erected on property acquired by his mother, Catherine, located at Seventh and Chestnut streets. This red terracotta edifice stood nine or ten stories tall, measuring 114 by 127 feet, and contained 225 office spaces when completed in 1892. Sullivan obtained approval to proceed in November 1890; construction expenses surpassed £500,000 (equivalent to over US$ today). The structure is celebrated as a groundbreaking skyscraper and an influential model for modern office design. Frank Lloyd Wright lauded it as "the very first human expression of a tall steel office-building as Architecture."

Tragically, before the building's completion, Wainwright's wife Charlotte passed away at age 34. In her memory, he commissioned Sullivan to create the ornate Wainwright Tomb at Bellefontaine Cemetery, where he and his parents would eventually be laid to rest.

In 1902, Wainwright faced indictment for allegedly conspiring to bribe state legislators amid the Suburban Railway corruption scandal and subsequently fled to Paris. Reports indicate he co-signed a $75,000 bank loan that facilitated the bribery. His role in this scandal was exposed in Lincoln Steffens' influential 1904 investigative work The Shame of the Cities, which revealed extensive municipal corruption.

Death

After residing in Paris for over two decades and experiencing deteriorating health, Wainwright returned to St. Louis where he died on November 6, 1924. He was interred in the Louis Sullivan-designed Wainwright Tomb at Bellefontaine Cemetery, commissioned following his wife's death. The tomb gained recognition on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and was designated a St. Louis Landmark in 1971.

This tomb is a domed cubic monument with concrete walls clad in limestone. It features bronze-grilled double doors at its entrance along with similarly grilled windows. Within are two burial slabs accompanied by mosaic flooring and ceiling decorations. The tomb has been acclaimed as "the most sensitive and graceful of Sullivan's tombs" and regarded as "one of Sullivan's masterpieces." Following Wainwright’s passing, an endowment was created to support future preservation efforts against damage from earthquakes or vandalism.