Ingalls Building

The Ingalls Building, built in 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper. The 16-story building was designed by the Cincinnati architectural firm Elzner & Anderson and was named for its primary financial investor, Melville E. Ingalls. The building was considered a daring engineering feat at the time, but its success contributed to the acceptance of concrete construction in high-rise buildings in the United States.

The Ingalls building is bordered by East 4th Street and Vine Street in the Cincinnati Central Business District.

Prior to 1902, the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the world was only six stories high. Since concrete possesses very low tensile (pulling) strength, many people from both the public and the engineering community believed that a concrete tower as tall as the plan for the Ingalls Building would collapse under wind loads or even its own weight. When the building was completed and the supports removed, one reporter allegedly stayed awake through the night in order to be the first to report on the building's demise.

Ingalls and engineer Henry N. Hooper were convinced, however, that Ernest L. Ransome's system of casting twisted steel bars inside of concrete slabs as reinforcement (patented in 1884) and casting slab, beams and joists as a unit would allow them to create a rigid structure. The architects also prized the cost savings and fireproofing advantages of concrete over steel frame construction. Finally, after two years of convincing, city officials issued Ingalls a building permit and the work began.

Hooper designed a monolithic "concrete box of eight-inch [200 mm] walls, with concrete floors and roof, concrete beams, concrete columns, concrete stairs -- no steel. It consists merely of bars embedded in concrete, with the ends interlaced." (Ali)

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