We have grown helicoidal nanowire assemblies on a variety of topographic substrates with regular microlithographic patterns, thereby demonstrating that sculptured thin films with transversely latticed architecture can be grown by physical vapor deposition. The transverse feature-separations are as low as 100-300 nm, and mesa regions are circular posts as small as 60 nm in diameter. The initial as well as the subsequent stages of growth on topographic substrates can be understood using simple geometric shadowing arguments. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.