Main entry:

Leslie, Thomas, 1967- author.

Title & Author:

Chicago skyscrapers, 1871-1934 / Thomas Leslie.

Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2013]

Description:

xxv, 234 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 27 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-220) and index.
October 1871 -- "Built mostly of itself": Chicago and clay, 1874-1891 -- Iron and light: the "great architectural problem" and the skeleton frame, 1879-1892 -- Steel and wind: the braced frame, 1890-1897 -- Glass and light: "veneers" and curtain walls, 1889-1904 -- Steel, clay, and glass: the expressed frame, 1897-1910 -- Steel, light, and style: the concealed frame, 1905-1918 -- Power and height: the electric skyscraper, 1920-1934 -- Chicago, 1934.

Summary:

"For more than a century, Chicago's skyline has included some of the world's most distinctive and inspiring buildings. This history of the Windy City's skyscrapers begins in the key period of reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1871 and concludes in 1934 with the onset of the Great Depression, which brought architectural progress to a standstill. During this time, such iconic landmarks as the Chicago Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building, the Marshall Field and Company Building, the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Palmolive Building, and many others rose to impressive new heights, thanks to innovations in building methods and materials. Solid, earthbound edifices of iron, brick, and stone made way for towers of steel and plate glass, imparting a striking new look to Chicago's growing urban landscape. Thomas Leslie reveals the daily struggles, technical breakthroughs, and negotiations that produced these magnificent buildings. The book includes detailed analyses of how foundation materials, framing structures, and electric lighting developed throughout the years, showing how the skeletal frames of the Rookery, Ludington, and Leiter Buildings led to the braced frames of the Masonic Temple and Schiller Building and eventually to the concealed frames of the City Opera, Merchandise Mart, and other Chicago landmarks. Leslie also considers how the city's infamous political climate contributed to its architecture, as building and zoning codes were often disputed by shifting networks of rivals, labor unions, professional organizations, and municipal bodies. Featuring more than a hundred photographs and illustrations of the city's physically impressive and beautifully diverse architecture, Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 shows how during these decades, Chicago's architects, engineers, and builders learned from one another's successes and failures to create an exceptionally dynamic, energetic period of architectural progress."--Publisher's description.

ISBN:

9780252037542 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
0252037545 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
(e-book)
9780252094798
0252094794 (e-book)
9780252094798 (e-book)

Subject:

Skyscrapers Illinois Chicago History.
Buildings.
Skyscrapers.
Hochhaus
Chicago (Ill.) Buildings, structures, etc.
Illinois Chicago.
Chicago, Ill.

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 283433
Call No.: BIB 221631
Status: Available