Chapter 8 Life at the Turn of the Century Part 1 Pages 278-281 Science and Urban Life.

Chapter 8Life at the Turn of the Century

Part 1

Pages 278-281

Science and Urban Life

Terms to Know

• Louis Sullivan

• Daniel Burnham

• Frederick Law Olmsted

• The Wright Brothers

• George Eastman

Technology Changed City Life

• Urbanization

• 1870 only 25 American cities had populations of more than 50,000

• By 1890 50 cities did

• By 1900 4 of every 10 Americans lived in cities

New Technology and the Brooklyn Bridge

• 1883 The Brooklyn Bridge connedted Brooklyn to Manhattan

• Took 14 years to build

• Was the world’s largest suspension bridge

The Skyscraper

• Taller buildings were now possible due to:

• The invention of the elevator

• Internal steel structures could now hold the weight of tall buildings

Louis Sullivan

• 1890-1891 archetect

• Designed the 10-story Wainwright Building in St. Louis

• This was an American contribution to archetecture

The Flatiron Building

• In New York in 1902

• Designed by David Burnham

• 285 feet high

Electric Transit

• 1888 in Richmond, Va.

• First to electrify urban transit

• By 1900 trolleys (electric streetcars) wre all over

• New railroad lines made living in the suburbs practical

Elevated trains (the “El”

• Some cities had elevated trains (above street level)

• Others had trains underground called subways

Urb an Planning

• There was a desire for serenety, nature with modern urban planning

• Folks wanted the benefits of urban life with easy access to nature

Frederick Law Olmsted

• At the forefront of urban planning

• 1857 made plans for Greenswood Park

• Became Central Park in NY

• Incorporated plans for boating, tennis courts, zoo, Bike paths

By the 1870’s

• Olmsted was hired to landscape Washington D.C., St. Louis, and the Boston Parks System

City Planning: Chicago

• 1850 population 50,000

• 1870 population 300,000

• All unregulated expansion

• A nightmare

Daniel Burnham

• Archetect who transformed Chicago

• Added neighborhood parks, harbors for shipping in the Great Lakes, civic centers

• Chicago was ready for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition: Exhibition Halls, statues, world’s first ferris wheel, elegant parks

New Technologies

• Printing:• Cheaper paper from wood pulp• High speed printers• Electricity adapted to machinery

• American literacy rate at 90%• Big demand for newspapers, books,

magazines

Aviation: The Wright Brothers

• They were bicycle manufacturers in Dayton, Ohio

• First a glider

• Then adapted a 4-cylinder internal combustion engine and a propeller to a biplane

The Wright Brothers

• First successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903

• 12 seconds at 120 feet

• December 17, 1903

• By 1920 the U.S. had the first transcontinental mail service

Photography

• Before 1880s only professional photographers

• Took much time

• Had to develop film immediately

• Carried “dark room” and chemicals to t\the site

• Heavy equipment

George Eastman

• Developed a new, flexible film that could wait to be developed

• By 1888 The Kodak Camera

• Cost $25 and came with film for 100 pictures

• Cameras sent to the Eastman Kodak factory in Rochester NY

Kodak

• The film was developed, the camera filled with film for 100 more pictures and sent back for $10