2004 Volume 69 Issue 584 Pages 83-90
Chicago, the birth place of "skyscrapers," had witnessed a number of change in building height limitations and attempts in changing during the early part of the 20th century. It is assumable that the control on tall buildings had accompanied a number of interests of people who had different positions and that resulted in such a change. This paper is to review the change in building height limitations in Chicago from 1902 to 1920 and their social backgrounds. Specifically, this paper is to focus on: 1) motives in changing the limitations, 2) remarkable issues or concepts emerged in the series of arguments in controlling tall buildings, and 3) peoples' expectations or assumptions in the result of change in height controls and if the results were as they imagined.