science and urban life kerstin cecil. technology and city life by 1890 chicago and philidelphia...
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Science and Urban Life
Kerstin Cecil
Technology and City Life
• By 1890 Chicago and Philidelphia claimed more than one million people.
• By 1900 New York had a population of 3.5 million people.
• As the population increased the cities had to improve the amount of space, transportation, and communication.
• The only solution for the small amount of space was to build upwards.
Skyscrapers
--Sky scrapers became Americas greatest contribution to Architecture
--Skyscrapers solved the problem of how to make the most out of a limited and expensive space.
In 1980 an architect named Louis Sullivan designed the ten – story wainwright building in St. Louis
--Daniel Burnham designed the 285 foot tower in 1902 named the Flatiron Building
--Architects were able to design taller buildings because of two things
» invention of elevators» Development of internal steel skeletons
Electric Transit
• Before the civil war horses had drawn street cars
• During the 1870’s and 1880’s underground moving cables controlled street car lines
• Electricity changed urban transportation greatly
• Richmond, Virginia(1888) was the first city to electrify its urban transit
• New rail road lines also fed suburbs, so residents could now commute downtown to their jobs.
Electric transit cont.
• When congestion on the streets got too bad some larger cities moved the transportation above street level.
• These elevated street cars were called “el” trains.
• Other cities like New York moved it under ground these were called subways.
New technologies transform communications
• In addition to a railroad network that now spanned the nation, advances in aviation, printing, and photography helped speed the transmission of information.
Appliances and mail delivery
• In the 20th century Orville and Wilbur Wright, two brothers experimented with engines to keep objects aloft that were “heavier than air”
• Their first successful flight was on December 17th 1903 at Kitty Hawk covered 120 ft. and lasted 12 seconds
• Not much attention was paid to the borthers success.
• Until the government saw its potential.• The first transcontinental airmail
service was created in the 1920’s
A revolution in printing
• The literacy rate had risen to nearly 90% by 1890.
• There was an increasing interest in books, magazines , newspapers etc.
• A series of technological advances in printing aided there efforts.
• William Bullock created the web perfecting press which printed o both sides of a continous paper roll.
Printing cont.
• The Linotype Machine created by Ottmar Mergenthaler also helped speed up the tedious process of typing.
• Chemical engraving helped to recreate paintings and photographs cheaply.
Photography
• Before the 1880’s photography was a professional activity.
• George Eastman developed a paper-based film as an alternative to the heavy glass plates previously used.
• In 1888 Eastmen invented his Kodak camera.
• It prompted millions of americans to become photographers.