George B. Post: The Process of Design and the New American Architectural Office (1868-1913)

This article deals with an American architect, George B. Post, and the organization of his office. Post's practice was one of the earliest to be conducted as an office rather than an atelier. It was also the first large architectural practice based on what came to be considered the prototypical American building, the office tower. The article examines the organization of Post's office, the way work was done, the building types designed, and the nature of its clients. It concentrates on the design process of one particular building, the Western Union Telegraph Building in New York, which was pivotal not only for this practice but for American architecture. The Western Union Telegraph Building was an early example of the national corporate headquarters and, if it was not the first skyscraper, then it certainly was its immediate precursor.