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| Title | Home Insurance Building Window Frame |
| Coverage / Year | 1883 |
| Description | A window frame from between the third and fourth floors of the Home Insurance Building. It is made of steel and cast iron. |
| Interpretation | This window frame is from the eleven story high Home Insurance Building which was once located in Chicago at LaSalle and Adams Streets. The building was designed by architect William LeBaron Jenney (1832-1907) and completed in 1883. A 1931 Chicago Tribune article credits the Home Insurance Building with the honor of being the "first skyscraper in the world." There is some controversy as to whether the Home Insurance Building or the Tacoma Building in New York City was the first of the "skyscraper" buildings built with the technique of skeleton construction. Skeleton construction consists of a building's metal framework system of vertical columns and horizontal beams support not only the walls but also the floors. The construction of the building was relatively simple and grew directly out of already well-tested techniques used on three bridges. The building was originally nine stories high, with two more added in 1890. Jenny's concept of building would revolutionize urban life and lead to bigger, and taller skyscrapers allowed larger amounts of people to live and work in smaller areas. This method of supporting the outer wall remains the standard technique for tall steel- or concrete-framed structures. Without this building method the skyscraper as we know it would've not been possible. In 1931 the Home Insurance Building was torn down to make room for the Field Building. |
| Lesson Plans / Themes | How we learn about communities; |
| Learning Standards | 16 History; 10-12 Science; 13 Science, Technology and Society; |
| Author or Creator | Jenney, William Le Baron, 1832-1907 |
| Source | Condit, Carl W. The Chicago School of Architecture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964. Thomas Eddy Tallmadge. Architecture in Old Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975; Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Accession File #31.927 |
| Subject / Keywords | Window frames; Steel; Cast ironwork |
| Collection Publisher | Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
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| Further Information | For any further information related to this record, please contact the Collection Publisher. See http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc for more information about this project. |
| Rights Management Statement | http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc/conditions.htm |
| Resource Identifier | 31.927 |
| CONTENTdm file name | 93744181982002_HOMEINSU.jpg |
