Broadside advertisement commemorating the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. It took thirteen years to construct. Once complete, it was the largest.

Broadside advertisement commemorating the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. It took thirteen years to construct. Once complete, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and remained one of the tallest structures in New York before 1900.

Shoppers look into the windows of Marshall Field’s Chicago department store in the early 1900s. Marshall Field’s store provided the newly-emergent middle class with cheap, but elegant, consumer goods such as clothes and jewelry. The store also provided many Chicagoans with employment opportunities, including women. New department stores like this and Sears Roebuck fueled the development of a distinct middle-class socioeconomic identity in the 1890s and 1900s. Professional and educated urban men and women sought to distinguish themselves from the droves of new immigrants from Europe as well as the indolent upper-classes, many of whom had simply inherited their wealth instead of earning it through good old Puritanical “hard work.”

Jewish immigrants sewing in a crowded workspace in New York (ca. 1910). Many immigrant women found opportunities for work in cities like New York, but the hours were often long in uncomfortable working conditions like these.

Garbage collection in Manhattan (ca. 1927). City-wide garbage collection was not officially instituted throughout New York City until 1900. Until that time, large amounts of waste would remain open on the streets until the local authorities removed it. The development of public sewer systems and regular sanitation services would not become widespread across American cities until the 1910s and 1920s. The development of these services is lauded by historians as one of the most significant contributions to public health in modern medicine.

One of the defining characteristics of the Gilded Age was the growing disparity in wealth between the richest and poorest Americans. Unencumbered by the lack of an income tax, Americas wealthiest businessmen build massive fortunes faster than they could spend them. Here we see the interior of John Jacob Astor IV’s New York Mansion. This ballroom could host hundreds of guests to gaze at an amazing collection of artistic treasures.

Contrasted with the Astor estate on 5th Avenue, this picture shows the living conditions of many immigrant families in New York. Immigrant groups like the Germans, Greeks, Italians, and others tended to settle in neighborhoods populated with people of a similar ancestry. These sections of towns often lacked adequate sanitation services or basic fire protection. This picture shows Italian immigrant on jersey St. in New York City in the 1890s.

The expansion of large cities like Chicago spurred demand for public transportation assets, such as the Chicago “L” which began operating in 1892 after its construction by the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Company. The first L trains were steam powered and connected outlying areas to the middle of the city, allowing for the development of the “suburb.” Chicagoans complained that the new “Alley L” was a little loud, but within weeks of its first run Chicagoans were already debating about where to expand the L tracks.

The aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is depicted above. The blaze began on the evening of October 8, 1871 and spread quickly throughout the city for the next 36 hours. The close construction of wooden homes, congestion, and poor urban planning allowed the flames to move with ease. One third of the city’s 300,000 residents lost their home and hundreds died. Fortunately, the fire became an opportunity for entrepreneurial architects like John Root and Daniel Burnham to turn Chicago into the model city of the urban beautification movement.

In 1893 Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, which served as a testament to the 400 th Anniversary to Columbus’ discovery of America. One of the greatest attractions of the event was the dramatic display of electric lighting. Prior to 1893 most Americans disdained the filth and vice associated with urban life, but the “White City” at the World’s Fair of 1893 inspired a new hopeful vision for urban life, one brightened by the cleansing splash of electric lighting. Urban architects such as Daniel Burnham, who made Chicago into the architectural Mecca it is today, saw an opportunity to convince Americans that nothing was to be feared by the new “Urban Frontier.” Cities could be healthy and beautiful places to live, work, and play.

The Chicago World’s Fair, 1893