3 History - 6

Front 1

Eads Bridge

Back 1

• crosses the missisissppi river. A major engineering achievement—it’s still there. Ead’s plan called for 3 spans, each spans 500 ft long, pioneered the use of steel in suspension bridges. A very controversial bridge, 27 diff consulting engineers predicted it would collapse. He succ, but managed to kill at least 14 workers afflicted by the benz, muscle illness due to atmospheric pressure, the physiological risks incurred by peeps who worked on them.
• opened on uly 4, 1874 to a 15 mile parad

Front 2

Brooklyn bridge

Back 2

The most famous 19th century urban suspension bridge was the east river bridge, which linked america’s largest n 3rd largest cities, NY and Brooklyn.
Brooklyn bridge
• In 1852 john robling found himself stuck in the ice as he was crossing, in 1867 he published his version of a network of massie steel cables that would be suspended from enormous towers, published it in NY newspaper. His idea was received w/ some interst but got a major boost by the weather cuz in 1867 did appear only it was not manmade it was caused by the freezing of the river

Front 3

Steve broodie

Back 3

A jumping crze began in 1882, bridge officials managed tof oil most attempts but in 1885 a manamed named Robert odlem succeeded n died from severe hemorrhaging.
Steve broodie
• claimed to survive the jump, became a celebrity, then opened a bar then starred in a bowery play in which he reenacted his jump on stage.

Front 4

Williamsburg, manhattan, Q-boro

Back 4

The 3 bridges built btwn 1903 n 1909 were the
Williamsburg, manhattan, Q-boro
• how quickly in the first decade of 19th centuryt he East river became dominated by bridges. 30 years later after the Brooklyn bridge was built, the east river was a passageway marked by numerous bridges. The distance between the Brooklyn n manhattan isn’t great, so it’s striking the number of options, the ovlume of traffic that those 3 bridges provided access to.
• despite all thes bridges the Brooklyn bridge itself would continue to occupy a priviledge place, not as apractical transportation option but a cultural icon that would be seized upon artists as a symbol of progress, industrialization n urban growth. After half a century of its construction, such figures as the poet and painter, photographer would canonize the Brooklyn bridge as the symbol of the modern age

Front 5

Skyscraper

Back 5

Up until the 1960s, it was primarily an American phenomenon, identified overwhelmingly w/ NY n Chicago.
The potential of structural steel n drop in the price of steel is aprt of the answer to why it is tall buildignsb egan to appear when they did

Front 6

Burnham and root

Back 6

t he first building was built in 1884, the leading visionaries of the skyscraper movement include the firm of
Burnham and root
• they would design many of the buildings of that time. why weren’t these skyscrapers popular in other countries? Economic n demographic pressures. The questiont o ask is not what made it possible to bild tall bui ldings but what made it desirable n profitable.

Front 7

masonic temple (1891-92)

Back 7

a 21 story building was built in time for the columbian exposition of 1892. Tallest building in the world. Claimed to provide a view that was 230 miles away. A major tourist attraction
. Chicago’s considered the birthplace of the skyscraper both because of its innovations n use of steel skeletons but also because Chicago provided the headquarts for many of the architectural firms that are identified w/ skyscrapers
, the early history of Chicago skyscraper construction is an interplay btwn innovative designers na regulatory system trying to keep it under control. In NY, the regulations were more lenient

Front 8

building zone resolution

Back 8

The overall height limit is set by the width of the street, but everytime you set part of the bui lding back by a feet you get 4 feet more on top. Which contributed to the famous wedding cake structure of many NY structures. The tiering has quite a bit to do w/ the fact that it allowed developers to go higher. Why NY had so many more skyscrapers<the more lenient regulations of building height.

Front 9

woolworth building

Back 9

. 1913—the
woolworth building
• opens, it was 792 feet hight. It cost 13.5 $ to built the, the president pushed a uilding that illuminated 80,000 lightbulbs, the flash of these bulbs could be seen at adistance of 100 miles. It wasn’t jus the height of individual buildings that was so conspicuous it was also the cumulative effect of all of them, the mayor of NY in 1909 “… you take them together, the general effect of the city, the contrast of the blotches of vivid color w/ water n sky in the background… make lower manhattan a city that’s set on the hill.” Involves the words n imagery of the idealist puritan settlers was applied not to the tall buildings themselves but the cumulative effect they had as a cluster. This artifical typograph the mountain ranges of concrete n steel allowed NY to the eye to fulfill thig longstanding American vision of creating a city on the hill

Front 10

skyline

Back 10

• it came into general use in 1890s to describe the collective impact of so many distinct acts of construction, so many unintentionally concerted exertions of will and money. How to read the city skyline, how to make sense of it: each building is designed esp in NY to promot ehte private interests of a particular company. This urban skyline was about the exchange of info, tall buildings were part of this network, they were vehicles for conveying messages.

Front 11

newspaper row

Back 11

The dominant NY skyline during ht elaster quarter of 19th century was clustered around newspaper row. The real foregroiunded skyline of manhattan was this trio fo unusually tall buildings all of which were in the ne wspaper business.
Newspaper ravlariesi shaped the vertical growth of SF’s city scape.