sometimes disasters can become new opportunities. that was more or less the case of Chicago when in 1871 the Great Chicago Fire turned into ashes 18.000 structures, leaving one third of the population, at that time around 300,000, homeless. the reconstruction of the city though, was remarkable and after less then a year most of the visible signs of the destruction were erased. moreover, the Great Fire is a turning point in Chicago's early history as it symbolizes opportunity, renewal, and future promise. one decade after the Great Fire the city had more then one million inhabitants and it became a center of innovation for architecture and construction technologies.
by the end of the 19th century a group of active architects in the city started to define a new style of design which will later be known as the Chicago School. one of the most important features of the 'school', was the use of steel frame structure with usually masonry cladding. together with the invention of the elevator, it allowed the construction of the first skyscrapers. This new technology, while costly, had overwhelming advantages. It was almost fireproof, the thin curtain walls hung from the steel frame allowed for more interior rental space, new floors could be added easily; and since the exterior walls were no longer essential, they could be replaced by larger windows. sounds familiar? well, few years later this new technology was adopted by the Modernist movement in Europe and the 'free facade' became one of Le Corbusier's Five Points. however while in Europe the Modernist movement was against any ornaments on the facade, in the Chicago School some Neoclassical elements were used and the buildings were usually divided in three, according to the classical column order.
Architects whose names are associated with the Chicago School include Henry Hobson Richardson, Dankmar Adler, Daniel Burnham, William Holabird, William LeBaron Jenney, Martin Roche, John Root, Solon S. Beman, and Louis Sullivan.
