Evolution Of Architecture

Architecture

If you can imagine it, you can accomplish it. The evolution of architecture in the late 1890’s through the early 1900’s affected modern U.S. cities positively. Have you ever wondered how skyscrapers were designed? From an article about architecture, in New York, the Rockefeller Center was the base for the famous Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building (The Story of Architecture). The Rockefeller Center would not likely be considered a skyscraper today, but to early 1900’s standards, it was touching the sky. The beauty of architecture is it is a social art (Weis). There is a lot more to it than just the designing factor. It all begins with imagination. If you can imagine it, you can accomplish it. As a social art, it brings

population positively, but negatively. Changes in architecture didn’t always come in a positive way some may say. Why it would be negative you may ask? Architecture use in buildings means you have to cut down the trees in the surrounding area of the building being built. The same can also be said about railroad tracks being laid across the nation. Cutting down trees means this is not an eco friendly process. Also, locomotives used to not be kind to the environment because of the dirty pollution coming out of the steam engines and the depletion of coal, a fossil fuel. All this infrastructure building also took away from land from our farm fields and natural forests. This didn’t help the quality of life back in the nineteenth century. While this is all true, the positive factors far outweigh the negative factors. Alternatively, American lives have been affected positively because of the many opportunities architecture and the construction of railroads offered. In fact, many job opportunities also became available in the careers of construction and architecture. From the article of railroads,“Not only did the railways provide greater opportunity through extending markets, they also stimulated more people to start businesses and thereby enter the markets. An extended marketplace provided a greater number of individuals the opportunity to produce and sell goods.” (Kelly) Opportunity overpowers the negative factor of the architecture and locomotives being unfriendly to the environment. Another positive factor that outdoes the negative is the advantages of mass production. In the article about nineteenth century architecture,“While the battle of styles was engaging the energies of the architects, great changes were introduced in industry. Mass production became possible in glass, iron and later steel” (19th Century Architecture). Mass production came about in the early 20th century by way of Henry