Chicago, The Windy City, Chi-Town, or The Second City. It’s a place that is known by many names, but to architects and urban planners alike, it’s famous for its history which has given us some of the best-known buildings and important advancements that have helped to shape other cities across the United States. From its inception, Chicago has long served as an architectural hub for innovation.
Located on the South West shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago began as a small settlement in 1830 with a population of only 200 residents. Over the next decade, its population grew to nearly 5,000. Many emigrants saw the economic opportunities and potential of Chicago, with trade routes that included ports in the Great Lakes and railroads that went all across the United States. Cattle imports formed the city’s enormous meatpacking district which, in turn, expanded the railways and employed more than 25,000 Chicagoans. Despite its rapid rise, Chicago was hit by tragedy in October of 1871 when a fire swept through the city, killing 300 people and destroying 17,500 buildings. During the aftermath and the city’s recovery, many people stepped into the spotlight with bold ideas about how the urban cores should be planned, and buildings constructed.
Powered by new inventions like safety elevators and the Bessemer Convertor, Chicago architects felt emboldened to design buildings that were taller than ever. Chicago is the site of the world’s first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Company designed by William Le Baron Jenney. Although much different than the skyscrapers we know today, the 138-foot, the ten-story building was constructed with steel beams and cast iron and clad with terracotta. Previously, most buildings in the city were only about five stories high and weighed three times as much as the Home Insurance Company building.
In 1893, Chicago was the host of the World’s Fair, which drew in 27 million people from around the world. This period was rather tumultuous, as many designers saw the World's Fair as an opportunity to design the city of the future. Daniel Burnham, who had famously proclaimed to “make no little plans”, was responsible for much of the fair’s organization and planning. As a result, he produced a city plan for Chicago, based on many of the ideals that helped form Paris. While his plan was widely celebrated, many architects were more focused on continuing to push the envelope on skyscrapers that emphasized verticality. Louis Sullivan, who studied under William Le Baron Jenney, played a significant part in shaping the aesthetics of skyscrapers and training the next generation of Chicago-influenced architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was famous for his Prarie-style homes which he designed on the outskirts of Chicago. He also proposed “The Illinois”, a skyscraper that could reach over a mile high. Although it was never realized, it represented the significant ambition of architects during that time.
In the 1920s and 30s, a new style of architecture was emerging in Europe. Many architects, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, fled to America because of the war, bringing with them their invented International Style. These buildings were elegant, symmetrical, and free from any significant ornamentation, and were constructed with steel and reinforced concrete, allowing buildings to be taller than ever. The International Style prototyped high-rise apartments, corporate offices, civic centers, and educational facilities that still serve important roles in Chicago's urban lifeblood to this day.
In the present day, Chicago is still very much a modernist playground. Many architects have continued to contribute to its ever-evolving skyline. Major firms such as SOM, who built the 108-storey Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower, and Studio Gang, who is responsible for the iconic Aqua Tower and the newly constructed waterfront Vista Tower. More buildings are on the horizon, continuing to rise near the waterfront and in the city's newly developed Fulton Market district. Still true to Burnham's words spoken 100 years ago, Chicago is making no little plans.
