Brooklyn Bridge and the Chicago School
After the Civil War the cities grew rapidly. Engineers built bridges of steel, and the skyscraper was born in Chicago.
The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, with a span of almost 490 metres, was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Henry Hobson Richardson gave libraries, churches and offices a heavy, Romanesque form.
After the fire of 1871 Chicago was rebuilt with steel frames and lifts. Louis Sullivan, who wrote that form follows function, designed the Wainwright Building in St Louis, whose façade emphasises its height. The white, classical World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 showed an entirely different path.