The Washington times., 1902-07-27
" HIRTEEN years ago there was not
a single steel frame building in

IT. HIRTEEN years ago there was not
a single steel frame building in
L the world. Today there are
thousands of them in America
alone.
America has buildings which overtop
the mightiest of the pyramids. They
range from seven to thirty stories in
height. Every city of any size and i'm
portance in the United States has them
by the score, and others are in the pro-
cess Of erection every day. Even less
than generation ago such structures
were undreamed Of.
To the most imaginative minds the
very thought of running up a building
almost as high as the Washington Monu-
ment and, most curious of all, starting
the brickwork upon the tenth or twenti-
eth floor, was utterly absurd. Our
fathers would have scoffed at the very
suggestion of such thing.
The modern steel frame building or
skyscraper is essentially a product OF
the closing decade OF the nineteenth
century. 1t is a silent but forcible
evidence of Yankee inventive genius, OF
the rapid strides of progress in the New
World All Europe, backed by the wis
dom of centuries of experience, had
never dreamed of such thing until the
whole world was set agape by the erec-
tion OF the first skyscraper in Chicago
in 1889. With one stroke the brain and
ability of an American had completely
oyershadowod for all time to come the
wonder of the Biblical Tower of Babel
Civilizati22 was compelled to pause a
moment in It's advance in order to COM
prehend the new order of things.
Reversed the Order of Things.
1t is true that there have been build
ings almost as long as there have been
men. Every large building that the
world has seen for thousands of years
was constructed with enormous walls
of masonry to bear up the inner frame
work of partitions and floors. This
method of construction was satisfactory
and substantial, and there appeared
to be no need of changing it. But one
day man with an idea, daring builder,
astonished the world by completely re-
versing the established order OF things.
and building an inner framework of
steel strong enough to bear the weight
of the building and hold up the outside
walls of masonry
This invention-for an invention It GER
tainly was-proved an instantaneous
success. with the result that today the
construction of a tall building is mot
architecture" as one builder remarked,
but engineering with stone veneer"
Necessity is the mother of inyen-
ton Hence the modern steel frame
skyscraper. In every large city there
had gradually grown up an omnipresent
necessity. 1t was the need for more
room. Great cities had grown up in the
United States with :apidity unknown
anywhere in the world; business centers
were overcrowded the predom!nating
factors in the business and professional
world were voicing an ever-increasing
demand to be within convenient reach of
the districts where money was chang
ing hands most rapidly. Every year the
necessity became more pressing
How are We to gain this necessary
space?" asked the property owners I'VE
can't spread out
You must go up" exclaimed the man
with the idea.
Single acres Of land in the congrested
business centers of New York are worth
mere than $1,000. 900. To cover land
with even the tallesu structures that
could be erected in those days was un-
profitable in the extreme.
The man with his idea solved the
problem. The conclusion was resist
less: I'VE must go up" But how?
Again the daring builder offered the So
luton: Construct your buildings of
steel; they can go as high as you wish"
The value of the idea was instantly
recognized. Brain met capital, and the