The Chicago Tribune Tower Competition: Skyscraper Design and Cultural Change in the 1920s

The Chicago Tribune Tower Competition: Skyscraper Design and Cultural Change in the 1920s
ISBN-10
0226768007
ISBN-13
9780226768007
Category
Architecture
Pages
388
Language
English
Published
2003-11-15
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Author
Katherine Solomonson

Description

In 1922, the Chicago Tribune sponsored an international competition to design its new corporate headquarters. Both a serious design contest and a brilliant publicity stunt, the competition received worldwide attention for the hundreds of submissions—from the sublime to the ridiculous—it garnered. In this lavishly illustrated book, Katherine Solomonson tells the fascinating story of the competition, the diverse architectural designs it attracted, and its lasting impact. She shows how the Tribune used the competition to position itself as a civic institution whose new headquarters would serve as a defining public monument for Chicago. For architects, planners, and others, the competition sparked influential debates over the design and social functions of skyscrapers. It also played a crucial role in the development of advertising, consumer culture, and a new national identity in the turbulent years after World War I.

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