160301-0001 - Asakusa

Asakusa Park at Tokyo.

In the background Ryounkaku (凌雲閣) can be seen. It was Japan’s very first skyscraper, better known as Asakusa Junikai (浅草十二階, Asakusa Twelve Stories).

Designed by Scottish engineer W. K. Burton, the tower was completed in 1890 (Meiji 23). It housed Japan’s first electric elevator.

Ryounkaku was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake (Kanto Daishinsai) of September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12).

This postcard was published sometime between March 1918 (Taisho 7) and September 1923 (Taisho 12).