Month: October 2020

In Louis Sullivan’s article “The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered” one of the main things he focuses on is simply, everything must be tall. He claims “It must be tall, every inch of it tall” p. 3. It’s very obvious to have a skyscraper you need height, that is what makes a skyscraper after all. Sullivan then goes into the architecture of office buildings, and even though they are tall they arent beautiful or groundbreaking. Sullivan seems very critical of the architects. He explains to us that even though each floor has a purpose that it’s plain and repetitive. For example he says “fourth and above this an indefinite number of stories of offices piled tier upon tier, one tier just like another tier, one office just like all the other offices” p.2.  What I think he means by this, is it takes no design skill to build office builds, there is no creativity involved. However, office buildings are very necessary, and when bunched together they do look beautiful. For example New York City is filled with very tall office buildings, which when they are alone are boring and unsightly. But when you bunch them all together, they make an interesting and different skyline. So to Louis Sullivan’s point, yes they are plain and repetitive, but because they are so tall they have the ability to create a beautiful and unique city.

From Dark to Light

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson is a coming of age story for the city of Chicago. Chicago in the 1890s was filled with crime and death mostly due to diease, train accidents, robbery, and murder. The city was seen as a dark place, and not as respected as other east coast cities like New York. But with the growing population, especially of young women the city wanted to change, the city of Chicago wanted to be highly regarded. They wanted to change their dark skies into the “white city”. 

On February 24, 1890 was the day before the winning of the World’s Fair, this was something that was “So big and glamorous and so exotic that visitors came away believing no exposition could surpass it.” p 15 It is where Paris reveleved the Eiffel Tower for the first time. So for Chicago to be in the running for the World’s Fair was a big deal, the city was proud of the archtetical accomplishments made, and they wanted to be recognized for it. 

Fast forward Chicgo wins the ticket to have to fair there, now they just need to decide in what part to have it. Winning the placement for the World Fair is a big deal, that is why the board of directors secretly seeks the help of Frederick Law Olmsted who is an architect for help. Unfortunately a recession is coming and the World Fair may have to be put on hold. 

In conclusion, I believe because the city of Chicago is so gritty and crime filled with the honor of having the World Fair there is what will help bring the city together. The people are proud of their home and want to show it off. This is what motivates Chicago, to change into a “white city”.

 

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