The Winthrop Building, originally known as the Carter Building, was Boston’s first steel-frame office building and led the way to later skyscrapers. Designed by Clarence H. Blackall, it was built in 1894 facing Washington Street, with its long curving side following Spring Lane, where a spring provided water to the early English settlers. The building was constructed on the 1644 site of Governor John Winthrop‘s second house in Boston.