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Historical Development of Skyscrapers in the US

Historical Development of Skyscrapers in the US. A Brief Presentation on The Rise of Tall Buildings By Daniel J. Bornt. Up until the mid 1800’s the maximum height for buildings was four to six stories due to several factors: Too many stairs to climb up and down every day.

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Historical Development of Skyscrapers in the US

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  1. Historical Development of Skyscrapers in the US A Brief Presentation on The Rise of Tall Buildings By Daniel J. Bornt

  2. Up until the mid 1800’s the maximum height for buildings was four to six stories due to several factors: • Too many stairs to climb up and down every day. • Masonry walls had to be thicker at base, eating up floor space. • Framing could only go up so high before becoming unstable in wind.

  3. The processing and manufacture of standardized iron components freed architects from having to depend on heavy masonry or timbers to support their buildings.

  4. The invention of the elevator allowed the vertical transportation of people and goods without using stairs.

  5. Iron became even stronger with its refinement into steel through the Bessemer process.

  6. Chicago, needing to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1871, became the first city where architects put these new technologies to use in a tall building. (Father of skyscrapers: 185’ tall Home Insurance Bldg. 1885)

  7. As space in urban areas became scarce, constricted by geography and previous development, the need to be close to shipping ports, transportation hubs, and the city center instigated vertical development in buildings…

  8. …And as engineers and architects developed new structural designs and construction techniques, they became confident in going higher and higher.

  9. Now the race was on as Big Business vied to build even taller and taller buildings in Chicago and New York and other major cities.

  10. The completion of the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1973 at 1454’ gave us the tallest building in North America and remains so until this day.

  11. New York’s 1776’ Freedom Tower replacing the World Trade Center towers will eclipse the Sears Tower as the United States’ tallest when completed in 2008.

  12. How high will we go? In 1956 Frank Lloyd Wright proposed the mile-high Illinois tower for Chicago.

  13. We’re getting there! Burj Dubai in the UAE will be nearly half a mile high, at 2,313’ tall.

  14. Illinois Tower (Proposed 1956) • Burj Dubai (2008) • Freedom Tower (2008) • Tapei Financial Center (2004) • Petronias Towers (1998) • Sears Tower (1974) • World Trade Center (1973) • Empire State (1931) • Woolworth Building (1913) • Home Insurance Chicago (1885)

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