Regardless of these potential advancements, American architects were still focused stylistically on
Europe for direction; thus, the new tall buildings resembled neoclassical or gothic structures
stretched in the middle. The first building to demonstrate these qualities and the first true skyscraper
was the Home Insurance Building designed by William LeBaron Jenney in Chicago, 1883 – 1885.
Other tall buildings followed including Richardson’s Marshall Field Wholesale Store in Chicago,
1885 – 1887 , and Sullivan’s Wainwright Building in Missouri, 1890 – 1891. The architectural critic Paul
Goldberger suggests that in Chicago, architects were more interested in structural honesty, while in
New York City their concern was the historic appearance of the buildings ( 1982 ). Two buildings that
predicted a modern approach were the Monadnock Building in Chicago and the Reliance Building,
both by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root. These structures substantially eliminated orna-
ment, and the Reliance Building’s façade was designed with a large amount of glazing.
The tall buildings of Chicago and New York City were not entirely commercial. Architects such as
Hunt were designing tall apartment buildings and for many years the tallest building in New York City
was Trinity Church. The wealthy industrialists, desiring vacation homes, initiated a contrasting scale
of building in seaside communities such as Newport, Rhode Island. Influenced by Japanese architec-
ture, these architects were building wood domestic architecture in the period between 1840 and 1876.
Much of this was basically Queen Anne style. Vincent Scully describes this architecture as ‘stick style,’
identified by their rambling asymmetrical shape, large wrapping porches, gabled roofs and, most dis-
tinctive, a complex wooden frame and wall surface divided into panels ( 1955 ). Richardson expanded
this repertoire, using a shingled exterior for his Newport houses from the early 1870 s. The shingle
style houses, often with recessed porches, were popularized by the architectural firm of McKim,
Mead, and White during the 1880 s. Many were published in magazines such as Harpers. Additionally
published as picturesque sketches in American Architect, two 1880 sketches by Emerson capture the
fluid, painterly technique, expressing his design intent. They presented an illusion of modeled light on
the shingles. Scully suggests the style of sketching used to represent these buildings by White and
Emerson resembles the blurred forms and reflective light of the French impressionist painters.EDUCATIONAmerican architects were looking to Europe for inspiration. A few of them had traveled to France for
education, either at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts or a technical school such as Jenney. The number actu-
ally trained abroad were few, as the vast majority were apprenticed with architects influenced by
French neoclassicism. William Rotch Ware, editor of American Architect, was an advocate for the neces-
sity of architectural schools that would teach precedent. Having attended the Ecole himself, Ware’s
purpose was ‘to raise the standing of the architectural profession, to draw a sharp line between builders
and architects, and to make it clear to the world that the architect was an educated gentleman’ (Scully,
1955 , p. 51 ). He was concerned about the self-educated architect, reflective of the newly formed
American Institute of Architects which was established with the role of the professional architect at its
foundation. In response, several schools of architecture were formed at this time, the first being
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1868 , followed by the University of Illinois ( 1870 ), Cornell
( 1871 ), Syracuse ( 1873 ), University of Pennsylvania ( 1874 ) and Columbia ( 1881 ) (Roth, 1979 ). In most
cases the system of education in these schools reflected beaux-arts tradition.
The gentleman architect, especially those educated in this system, viewed architecture primarily as
an artform and depended heavily on builders’ knowledge of construction and structure. Leland Roth
writes concerning the relationship between architect and builder, especially considering the houses of
the shingle style: ‘It was then common practice to leave much to the discretion of the contractor, and
the clause in building contracts, “to be finished in a workmanlike manner,” expressed what was to
builders like the Norcross brothers a sacred duty which they executed with exacting care’ (Roth,
p. 167 ). Architects’ drawings did not include explicit details, so understanding between a builder andH5719-Ch04.qxd 7/15/05 3:34 PM Page 98