Life In Cities Will Change

Life In Cities Will Change

• Apartment buildings begin to spring up all over cities– Hot water, heat,

kitchens, flushing toilets, telephones

– 1880s: electric lighting & appliances)

– Elevators invented

Building Boom– Cities begin to run out of room for expansion– Building up versus building out

Skyscrapers: tall building with many floors supported by a lightweight steel frame

- 1st: Chicago 1885: nine stories tallElevators make a skyscraper convenient & intriguing

Building Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvhP2CJac-Ev

Moving PeopleTraffic begins to become a problem in cities• Trolleys from center of cities outward

– This creates the first suburbs

Suburbs: residential area on or near the outskirts of a city

• Steam-driven passenger trains on overhead tracks• Subways• Bridges

Public Parks

– Parks could offer open land to calm busy, crowded city dwellers (Central Park)

– Zoos & gardens (green grass and trees)

Department StoresDepartment stores: large retail store offering a variety of goods organized in separate departments• Macy’s: 9 story department store – clothes, furniture, jewelry,

window-shoppinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=C6aYPVaHOy8

Sports– A way to escape the pressures of work & city life– Baseball: most popular sport in nation (first played in NY) • 1870s: many cities have pro teams• Gives rise to a whole new pastime! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI-

Ij5AQC9k

– Football: Grew out of European soccer • U.S. played since 1700s• No helmets, little skill • 1908 = 33 college player died from injuries

– Basketball: 1890s starts at the YMCA

YMCA: Young Men’s Christian Association

• Wanted a sport that could be played indoors in winter– 2 bushel baskets to gym walls– Soccer ball thrown into baskets

Theaters & Music

– Music: different cultures sang the same songs – sense of new community

– Theater: spreads “American” culture (Wild West) & builds sense of new community as well

– Circuses: family fun entertainment

Shows– Symphonies, operas – usually reserved for the wealthy– Vaudeville: variety show that included comedians, song &

dance routines, acrobats – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcRRaXV-fg

– Provided “breakout” opportunities to immigrants/ talent (think American Idol or X-Factor)

Ragtime– New kind of music with a lively, rhythmic sound• Scott Joplin – “Maple Leaf Rag” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_dI6BZt06U

• John Philip Sousa – “Stars & Stripes Forever” – 4th of July http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl17svmZKso

Looking to the Future…

NOW we’ve set the scene for…- Cleaner cities & better living conditions- Recreational activities- An educational awareness of other classes- An improved schooling system- A platform for women’s rights