Louisville is a city of landmarks — so much so that we've even lost a few over the years.

And as landmarks go, you can't do much better than the tallest building in town. That's why this lost Louisville landmark is worth a look back — and up.

Built in 1890, the Columbia Building was Louisville's first skyscraper, standing as the tallest structure in Derby City for a decade.

Located at the northwest corner of the intersection of 4th + Main Streets, the building was constructed at a cost of $1 million — that's ~$35 million in today's money. It was built just five years after the world's first skyscraper, the Chicago Home Insurance Building.

Designed by Cornelius Curtin — who also designed City Hall's annex in 1909 — its red sandstone Richardsonian Romanesque facade towered over everything around it.

It stood at a height of 10 stories and 162 feet — today, Louisville's tallest building, 400 West Market, is 549-ft, and 35-stories tall. If the Columbia Building were still around, it would be around the 35th-tallest building in Derby City.

In its heyday, the Columbia Building was a focal point of Louisville's bourbon industry — home to distillery offices, stave manufacturers, grain companies, and whiskey brokers — as well as other industries, with offices for lawyers, engineers, and architects.

The Columbia Building was torn down in 1966 amid urban renewal. | Photo courtesty ASC, UofL

The Columbia Building was demolished in 1966 and replaced in 1972 by a 24-story, 312-ft tall tower in the Modernist International style. Today, the only thing that remains is its cornerstone and a historical marker.