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Tracing the History of the Skyscraper

As Buildings and Towers "Scraped the Skies"

Sep 3, 2008

Empire State Building, New York, Wikimedia Commons

The history of the Skyscraper from the 1800s when taller buildings became a necessity in the United States.

The term "skyscraper" was not coined in New York or even in the US. It dates back to 13th- century Italy where several buildings and towers of heights approaching 300 feet seemed to "scrape the skies."

Although many tall structures had been raised throughout history such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Tower of Babel, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and even the Pagodas, they were constructed of stone and brick. These architectural devices limited useful space.

Need for Taller Buildings in the 1800s

A change happened in the 1800s when a combination of factors made multi-storied buildings become a necessity. Populations began shifting towards seaports like New York, Boston, and London, and available land for commercial and residential space became limited in the cities. The "Industrial Age" dictated that the only way was up.

Construction Methods and Materials

Soon construction materials and building methods became an issue in terms of cost and weights of materials. Cast iron construction came up, then iron girders were used to create "skeleton" construction which distributed weight more evenly and allowed higher building methods. Fires also played a role in the skyscrapers's birth.

Chicago, the Birthplace of the Skyscraper

In 1871, a huge destructive fire decimated a large portion of downtown Chicago. The need to rebuild made Chicago, not New York, the birthplace of the "skyscraper." Three years later, the edifice traditionally known as the first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in downtown Chicago, at La Salle and Adams Streets.

Designed by William Le Baron Jenney, from Massachusetts, it was a ten-story building with marble outer walls and four large columns of polished granite over the steel framework. Although the building was demolished in 1931, the concept created by Jenney influenced the later "Chicago School" that included Louis Sullivan and his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright.

The famous Flatiron triangular structure building in the intersection of Fifth Avenue an Broadway at 23rd Street, was built in 1902, the future New York skyscraper, originally known as the Fuller Building.

Earliest New York Landmarks

The first of these imposing landmarks was in the 1920s, which was the Woolworth Building whose Gothic tower rose to 800 feet over lower Broadway. It was incredible in its day.
Automobile giant, Walter P. Chrysler, was determined to erect the tallest building bearing his name. In 1928, he bought a property at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue and got the services of William van Alen, learned in French architecture. With an added spire design, the Chrysler Building attained a height of 1046, then the tallest building.
In 1929, work began on the Empire State Building, planned as early as 1920s. The site was Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets and continues to attract tourists worldwide.
Many other tall structures were built in New York skyline from 1930s onwards, including the Rockefeller Center, and the ill-fated World Trade Center in the 1970s.

The Glass-Box Style

The Great Depression and World War II halted the skyscraper construction both in the US and other countries. After the war, there was a change of direction in designs of the tall buildings. New designers advocated the "glass-box" style by using a smaller proportion of available space, creating an open, light and almost weightless look.

The World Trade Center will be forever remembered for the tragic events of September 11, 2001, when two jet airliners crashed into the towers that caused their collapse in less than two hours later.

The Skyscrapers Now

Many more buildings have competed to attain heights enough to be considered tallest in the world. Currently, Burj Dubai, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is considered the tallest man-made structure, while the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as the world's tallest completed freestanding structure on land.

Source:

The 100 Greatest Invention of All Time by Tom Philbin, New York, Citadel Press, 2003

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