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 20 th 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 17 th 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 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.