http://www.officemuseum.com/office_buildings.htm
https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3310266428?profile=original
The need for higher buildings arose in the late 1800’s. Land had gotten more expensive. The amount of money needed to build on another floor was actually less then purchasing more land. Until the late 1800’s, this was not the case. Building the buildings upward created more office space which increased profits of businesses who owned these buildings.
The architectural procedure that made these great heights possible was internal steel skeletons. Using a strong steel structure was just one of the inventions that made these buildings possible. Did you really expect people to walk all the way up the stairs! No way! Elevators were invented to satisfy this need.
Two of the major skyscrapers built during this time period was the Wainwright building and the Flatiron building. The Flatiron building was designed by Daniel Burnham. It was skinny and had a wedge shaped base. It reached the height of 235ft. This building gave a more modern look to the city of New York, New York. The Wainwright building was designed by Louis Sullivan. It had the traditional rectangular base, but it was the 10 story stack-up that brought uniqueness to this 19th century building in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1885, the highest buildings ever got were five stories other than in Manhattan because at that time it was less expensive to build out rather than up. By 1899, one building even reached up to 30 stories high. Personally, I think that skyscrapers are awesome. The higher the better in my opinion. As you know, many more skyscrapers have been built since then. New York is filled with them. That is how Americans “reached new heights” in the 19th century.
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