Skyscraper
By day, the skyscraper looks out between the smoke and the sun and has a soul.
Meadow and valley, city streets, for people to enter it and
Mix among its twenty floors…
They are the men and women, boys and girls who come and go all day
That gives the building a soul of dreams and thoughts and memories…
–Carl Sandburg’s Chicago Poems (p. 325)
Pure chance led me to the formal facilities planning and management activities that I directed for many years. In many ways, however, it was fused with an instinctive love of architectural form in all its beauty. Therefore, for me, Joseph Korom’s The American Skyscraper will become much more: a “coffee table” book to pick up and read again and again.
In reality, however, it is a comprehensive text on the history of the creation and use of skyscrapers in the United States with detailed information and over 300 images highlighting buildings in the United States. Includes over 60 pages for bibliography, index, footnotes, and tabular presentations of famous skyscrapers! The author notes: “Among its covers are the stories of 287 American skyscrapers that were, or still are, located in seventy-one cities and towns…” (p. 21) Reflections of exterior details or interior shots, as well as The personal photographs of the architects create an important historical contribution to the libraries of students and professionals in the fields of architecture and engineering, as well as to all those who, like me, are in awe of the majesty and beauty of structures.
Architect Joseph Korom earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he also served as a mentor. He is an accomplished artist whose paintings are represented in many private collections and is a freelance writer, architecture critic, and photographer. He is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Joseph Korom, also author of Look Up Milwaukee (1979) and Milwaukee Architecture A Guide to Notable Buildings (1995).
“Very tall buildings, what are now known as ‘skyscrapers’, were invented here in the United States… Human beings built tall buildings for many reasons: doing so was a community satisfaction, a personal satisfaction and perhaps, above all, it was an act of celebration for all Building tall was challenging, risky and terrifying, but inherent in these anxieties was the conquest of height itself, piercing the sky with a man-made object while still tethered to the ground was simply irresistible. .” (pp. 14-15) Korom thus introduces his impressive text with a brief historical perspective of the brave men who began to build tall and narrates “this country’s unique contribution to architecture…” (p. 16) .
Introducing Chicago’s Sear Tower as his first image, he notes that “it is the pinnacle of skyscraper technology and is the embodiment of vertical manifest destiny. It is 110 stories, 1,454 feet tall, and is the tallest skyscraper in America.” from North”. The author includes interesting factual information, such as when he notes: “When the sun goes down, the pedestrians at the base of the Sears Tower are plunged into shadow. But due to the curvature of the earth, the shadow covers the floors of the tower.” from below moving upwards at the rate of one floor per second, consequently those at the top of the building enjoy about two more minutes of sunlight…” (p. 21)
When I explored the buildings on the West Virginia University campus, working to better manage the utilization of those facilities and then planning what was needed to meet future needs, it was always the older buildings that I found the most intriguing. Exploring Woodburn Hall to the clock tower, or walking through Chitwood and Martin Halls, before they were torn down and renovated, I was thrilled with the basic beauty we wanted to preserve while creating up-to-date classrooms and offices. and teaching laboratories that were needed for our School of Journalism and many departments within our College of Arts and Sciences.
Therefore, while reading A Celebration of Height, I was not surprised that he enthusiastically studied buildings in the older styles that were used during the “bold beginnings” after 1850 (p. 22). Zachary Taylor was president “during the planning and construction of the famous Jayne Building in Philadelphia. Knowing that “Old Rough and Ready” was in charge helps place the birth of the American skyscraper in historical context.” (p. 23)
The following buildings included in the celebration are just a few that this former facilities pro/reviewer particularly enjoyed! I’m sure others will choose the more modern ones.
the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago; built in 1872 by “Chicago’s first merchant prince, Potter Palmer, at a cost of $200,000. (pp. 49-50)
Madison Square Garden Tower, 16 stories, 304 feet, New York. (p. 158)
Women’s Temple, Chicago, 1892, headquarters of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. (p. 166)
· Columbus Memorial Building, topped by a gigantic bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, built in 1893. “In an absolutely wanton act, this lovely skyscraper was demolished in 1959.” (p. 179)
Trinity Church, New York City. Its steeple once ranked it as the tallest structure on the island of Manhattan. (p. 190)
· The main entrance of the Carson Pirie Scott Store is marked by a very robust example of foliage. This twisted mix was executed in iron and then painted a forest green. This building, completed in 1904, immediately went into the annals of architectural immortality. The Chicago Loop now housed a large department store, rising twelve stories, 168 feet. The building featured some of the most attractive ornamentation in the world. (pp. 231-232)
· City Investing Building, New York City, 1908, 487 feet and contains half a million square feet, making it the largest office building in the world. “If ever there was a skyscraper that evoked the romance, historicism, capitalism and optimism of the early 20th century, it was the City Investing Building. Here was a tower that drew inspiration from French Baroque fountains and in doing so , cut a lovely profile on the New York skyline (p. 271)
· Bromo-Seltzer Tower, Baltimore, 1911, 15 stories, 280 feet tall, with a facsimile of the original Bromo-Seltzer bottle atop its tower! (pp. 294-295)
Peter Cooper first fabricated a structural beam for the Cooper Union Building in New York, thus setting the stage for the construction of the skeleton and, ultimately, the skyscraper. (p. 25). Also in New York, the mid-19th century marked the era of cast iron architecture and is still concentrated in the “Cast Iron District” as a living museum near Greenwich Village. (p.28)
And of course the history of the skyscraper must also include the invention of the elevator. The Haughwout Building in Manhattan was the first commercial building to employ a passenger elevator. “It was capable of lifting half a ton at a rate of forty advances per minute and was the first of its kind anywhere” when it was installed in 1857. Any installation professional will not be surprised to hear that Elisha Graves Otis, who eventually Otis Elevator Company installed it. (pp. 28-29)
In addition to the detailed facility information, I also enjoyed the smaller details Korom added to show interest, such as “Probably for the first time, unrelated men and women worked together for eight or more hours in the same room.” .skyscrapers, probably from their inception, were places where such behavior was ‘taken advantage of’ or rumored…” (p. 137) and the various interior shots of these men and women dressed as they were at the time. Truly, The American Skyscraper 1850-1940: A Celebration of Height is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in American history.
For its buildings great in influence and power…
His philosophy where, in “Form Follows Function”
Sullivan has earned his place as one of the greatest
Architectural forces in America…
–Memorial Mark to Louis Henri Sullivan (p. 195)
The American Skyscraper 1850-1940:
A celebration of height
By Joseph J. Korom, Jr.
Branden Books 2008
540 pages
ISBN: 13: 978-0-8283-2188-4
