Today in History: Skyscrapers
Today in History–November 8–the Library of Congress features architect skyscrapers. On this day in 1906, cameraman Fred A. Dobson began filming The Skyscrapers of New York atop an uncompleted skyscraper at Broadway and 12th Street. To learn more about how engineering and architectural innovations in the mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries transformed the skylines of American cities, visit the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more primary sources related to skyscrapers, architecture, and engineering.
Skyscrapers primary source set
The Skyscrapers of New York film
More skyscraper films
Perilous Proceedings skyscrapers story map
“The Skyscraper” (song recording)
Select historical newspaper articles
- “New York among the Skyscrapers” chapter from New York; a series of wood engravings in colour and a note on colour (1915)
- “Circling Over Downtown Skyscrapers Harry Atwood Startles All New York” New York Herald 2 July 1911
- “Atwood Flies to New York from Boston; Does Aerobatic Feats Above the Skyscrapers” New York American 2 July 1911
- Skyscraper timeline and select newspaper articles
More historical newspaper coverage of skyscrapers
Additional resources
- Building Big: companion website to the five-part PBS television miniseries on megastructures
- “China’s Tallest Building Gets Even Bigger” Forbes Magazine April 12, 2013 (includes a photo gallery of the world’s 10 tallest buildings)
Related resources