Download Revivalism and Early American Skyscrapers

Revivalism Architecture and
Early American Skyscrapers
of the late 19th C & early 20th C
Reviving styles from the past as a way to provide a high culture look to growing industrial centers.
Styles included the following:
Neo-Baroque, Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic & Neo-Renaissance
Early American skyscrapers turned to cast-iron construction to build upward.
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Baroque
Looking at these two images and the next slide,
how would you describe the Neo-Baroque style?
Charles Garnier
Casio Theater, Monte Carlo
1890s
Charles Garnier
L’ Opera House, Paris
1861-74
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Baroque
Stokes, Graham & Duboy
Ansonia Hotel, NYC 1899-1904
Lyceum Theatre, London mid 19th C
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Baroque
Bertram Goodhue &
Carleton Winslow
Casa de Balboa
Balboa Park 1915
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Gothic
rose window
National Cathedral
Washington, D.C.
1907-90
Our country’s national cathedral took 83 years
to complete, even with modern technology
because the designer wanted to follow the traditional
hand-cut stone quality of the original cathedrals in Europe.
John Roebling Brooklyn Bridge, NYC 1869-83
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Gothic
Patrick Keely
Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago 1874
James Gable Rogers
Yale University, New Haven, CT 1921
Even though a “gothic” style would reference
cathedrals and churches, other types of structures
could be designed in a Neo-Gothic style.
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Classical
Apotheosis of George Washington
U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C.
1793-1830
Crypt under rotunda
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Classical
New York Stock Exchange
1903
Corinthian columns with carved figures
in the pediment representing
Integrity Protecting the Works of Man
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Classical
Arthur Brown Jr.
Bakewell & Brown
San Francisco War Memorial Opera House
1932
San Francisco City Hall
1915
Fifth largest dome in the world
Early American Skyscrapers / Cast-iron construction
Due to the weight of cast-iron, architects designed these
early skyscrapers with an atrium center to help lighten the
load or weight of the building. These buildings may
appear as solid floors from the exterior, yet interior lobbies
could be quite spectacular and surprising upon entering.
H.H. Richardson
Marshall Field Department Store
Chicago 1851
Interior atrium
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Renaissance
William Burnet Tuthill
Carnegie Hall 1891
Revivalism Architecture
Neo-Renaissance
Richard Morris Hunt, architect
with Jules Allard & Sons and
James Codman, Jr., interiors
Cornelius Vanderbilt II
The Breakers
Newport, Rhode Island
1893-1895
Great Hall
Library
Early American Skyscrapers
Architects and engineers in Chicago developed the skyscraper.
Chicago, to this day, remains at the cutting edge of
architectural designs and innovative ideas.
Early American Skyscrapers
Louis Sullivan was one of several architects to design early
skyscrapers in Chicago. Other cities, such as New York
and St. Louis quickly followed.
The saying or dictum “Form follows Function” was coined
from Sullivan’s statement below.
The principle is that the shape of a building or object should
be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose.
Louis Sullivan:
It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function. This is the law.
1896
Louis Sullivan
Wainwright Building
St. Louis, Missouri 1890-1891
Early American Skyscrapers
The Rookery Building interior was redesigned in 1905 by then
assistant architect to Louis Sullivan, was Frank Lloyd Wright.
This is Wright’s only work within a downtown cityscape.
Burnham & Root
Rookery Building
Chicago
1885-1888
Early American Skyscrapers
Baumann & Huehl
Chamber of Commerce Building
Chicago
1888-1890
Daniel Burnham
Monadnock Building
Holabird & Roche
Chicago
Chicago Building
1891
Chicago
1904-1905
Early American Skyscrapers
Daniel Burnham
Flatiron Building
or
The Fuller Building
Madison Square,
New York City
1903
A famous and uniquely designed skyscraper,
built on a triangular piece of land, which is
why it was able to rise higher than most
cast-iron constructions.
Early American Skyscrapers
As skyscrapers became taller and were built to the edge of sidewalks,
cities require a set-back on the buildings after so many floors.
This 1916 Zoning resolution paved the way for unique
“wedding-cake style” tops on early skyscrapers.
The set-back was design for better air circulation at the street level
and to not block out to much sunlight.
Ralph Walker
Barclay-Vesey Telephone Building, NYC
1926
Rapp & Rapp
Paramount Building, NYC
1926