Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rival Revivals: Architectural Styles in the Late
19th Century
During the latter half of the 19th century, several architectural styles—
including Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Renaissance
Revival, Second Empire, and even the exotic Moorish and Egyptian
Revivals—existed in Chicago. What these styles share is a certain eclecticism
and picturesqueness. Mid-century architects reasoned that no age had pro-
duced the perfect architectural expression, so why not borrow freely from
the best of the past and even mix different styles on the same building?
Although some of these styles were popular, none became dominant.
In the 1870s, technological advancements and imaginative design came
together in Chicago to create the world's first skyscrapers—
the
style that
would one day dominate America's downtowns.
Fun Fact
House,
1254 N. Lake Shore Dr. (L. Gustav Hallberg, 1889), two side-by-
side residences on the city's North Side, and in
Excalibur,
632 N. Dearborn St.
(formerly the Chicago Historical Society; Henry Ives Cobb, 1892). The most
celebrated example of Richardson's influence is the
Auditorium Building,
430
S. Michigan Ave. (Adler & Sullivan, 1887-89), based on the now-demolished
Marshall Field Wholesale Store and an important early example of the emerging
Chicago skyscraper.
John J. Glessner House
2 Early Skyscrapers (1880-1920)
The invention of the skyscraper can be traced directly to the use of cast iron
in the 1840s for storefronts, particularly in New York and later in cities such
as Chicago. Experimentation with cast and wrought iron in the construction
of interior skeletons eventually allowed buildings to rise higher. (Previously,
buildings were restricted by the height supportable by their load-bearing walls.)
Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, important technical innovations—
involving safety elevators, electricity, fireproofing, foundations, plumbing, and
