While Chicago can be defined by many different things, such as the corruption, the hot dogs, its Polish heritage, or simply turning the River green every year, there is one thing that stands out amongst all others. When you look at the skyline, you see one thing, and ONE thing right away. Skyscrapers. The idea of building ultra-high buildings wasn't invented in Chicago(Actually, not even close. In fact, there were residential towers in 12th Century Italy that stood over 300 feet tall) However, once we exited the days of antiquity, super-tall buildings fell out of vogue.
In pre-Civil War America, cities were populated with mostly low-rise structures. A couple of things served to turn this trend around by 1884. First off, the Civil War came to an end, which brought about an economic boom which sparked innovation. Also, there were multiple innovations that took place in the field of tall buildings(such as electric lighting, fire-proofing made for taller buildings, and deeper foundations) The big breakthrough came in 1852 when Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator, which made the construction of multi-floored buildings more realistic. After that, the path to the skyscraper was quickly embarked upon by Daniel Burnham, who in 1884 completed the Home Insurance Building, generally accepted as the first skyscraper in the world.
From there, the skyscraper quickly became ensconced in the pantheon of the American way of building cities. And Chicago wasn't left out of that renaissance. Today, Chicago is home to more than 1,200 high-rises, 105 of which come out at taller than 500 feet, Additionally, Chicago has the tallest skyline in the entire nation. One of the newest entrants into the Skyscraper Club is the Trump Tower in the heart of downtown. Completed in 2009, its structure features an homage to the tubed construction of the Sears Tower.
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