Which demolished Wright building in Buffalo, New York was a mail-order company headquarters?

The demolished Wright building in Buffalo that served as a mail-order company headquarters was the Larkin Administration Building.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the building for the Larkin Soap Company, a national mail-order business founded in Buffalo in 1875. Construction took place from 1904 to 1906, making it Wright’s first major commercial commission and one of his earliest large-scale nonresidential designs.

The building was notable for its inward-facing, five-story interior, skylit central court, steel-frame construction, built-in furniture, suspended toilet fixtures, and an early form of air conditioning. Its design emphasized efficiency and cooperation, reflecting the Larkin Company’s belief that disciplined work had moral value.

The building was demolished in 1950 after the company declined and the property was foreclosed for back taxes. It is often confused with Wright’s surviving office and industrial projects, such as the Johnson Wax Administration Building, but the Larkin structure is the Buffalo landmark that no longer exists.