Chicago skyscrapers, 1871-1934 /Thomas Leslie.
- Urbana : University of Illinois Press, (c)2013.
- 1 online resource (xxv, 234 pages) : illustrations (some color)
Includes bibliographies 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.
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. Leslie reveals the daily struggles, technical breakthroughs, and negotiations that produced these magnificent buildings.