Invention of the Structural Steel Skyscraper




Timeline

Y/M/D Description Place
1879/00/00 The 1st Leiter building is built at 200-208 W Monroe Street in Chcago as a department store for Levi Leiter. Clad in terra cotta fireproofing materials, the iron frame building features elevators. The 1st Leiter building was razed in 1972. Leiter II Building, Chicago
1884/05/01 Construction begins on the Home Insurance Building (razed 1931) at S La Salle and Adams Strs in Chicago, IL. The 10 story building, designed by William Jenney, uses a weight-bearing iron frame skeleton instead of the standard exterior load-bearing walls.
1885/10/00 The Home Insurance Building (lost) opens at La Salle and Adams Strs in Chicago. Built by the George A Fuller Co, the 10 story building is supported by an iron frame skeleton instead of load-bearing walls. The world's first skyscraper was razed in 1931.
1892/00/00 The Cuyahoga Building (lost) is erected in the Chicago style at 216 Superior Ave NE in Cleveland, Ohio, 1892-1893. The 8-story office building, the first with a complete structural steel frame, was razed in 1982. Cleveland History Center, Cleveland
1892/00/00 Ludington Building is erected, 1891-1892. The steel frame structure was designed to support the weight of the heavy American Book Company presses installed on floors 4 through 6. Ludington Building, Chicago
1894/00/00 The Renaissance Revival style Carter Building opens. The nine-story, brick-and-terracotta, is the first skyscraper in Boston erected on a steel frame. Winthrop Building, Boston
1894/00/00 Dr D T Porter Building, Memphis, TN
1908/00/00 Louis Curtiss designs the Louis Curtiss Studio Building, built 1909 Louis Curtiss Studio Building, Kansas City, MO
1930/05/27 Chrysler Building, the first man-made structure to stand taller than 1,000 feet (305 m), is completed at 1,046 feet (319 m). Chrysler Building, New York City
1931/04/01 Steel framing of the 1250-ft Empire State Building begins. Erected at a rate of more than a story a day, the structure was constructed in 20 weeks. The topping out of the structure was completed by Post and McCord, a division of American Bridge Co. Empire State Building, NYC, New York City
1931/08/00 The completion of Cleveland Stadium inspires Armen Tashjian to write an article on the historical transition from the masonry bearing-wall to the curtain wall, an excellent statement of the application of logic and rationalism in C20 architecture. Cleveland Municipal Stadium (razed), Cleveland

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