160302-0006 - Ryounkaku Tower

Theater Street in Asakusa, Tokyo. The huge banners promote the theaters.

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).