The Cliff Dwellers and the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, in co-sponsorship with the Friends of Downtown and the Chicago Chapter of the AIA, are pleased to present another in their series of architectural events on Thursday March 12, 2020: Thomas Leslie presents, “Mythbusting the ‘Chicago School:’ Technology, Politics, and the Evolution of the Skyscraper, 1871-1934.”

This talk will show how traditional histories of Chicago skyscrapers haven’t fully accounted for the variety of forms and types that emerged in the city between the Great Fire and the Great Depression. Using digital reconstructions, archival documents, and contemporary articles from the professional press, Leslie will demonstrate the influence of emerging technologies such as pressed brick, riveted steel, and plate glass combined with economic and political influences to suggest new approaches that were developed and exploited by architects and clients looking for any possible advantage in the city’s explosive real estate market.

Prof. Leslie has taught building design, history, and technology at Iowa State University since 2000. He has degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Columbia University. Prior to teaching he spent seven years with Norman Foster and Partners, London, where he worked on projects in the United States and the Middle East.

Leslie is the author of Louis I. Kahn: Building Art, Building Science (Braziller, 2005), Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 (University of Illinois, 2013), and Beauty’s Rigor: Patterns of Production in the Work of Pier Luigi Nervi (University of Illinois, 2017). He has held visiting positions at the University of Technology-Sydney, Australia, the Bauhaus-Universität in Weimar, Germany, the Università di Bologna, Italy, and the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, where he currently holds an adjunct position.  

In 2013-2014, Leslie was the Booth Family Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome, and in 2018 he was elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for his contributions to architectural education and research.

Additional Info: 

Cocktails: Cash bar opens at 4:30 p.m.
Free Program: Begins 6:15 p.m.
Dinner: Available after the program, a la carte.

Reservations for dinner are requested: reservations@cliff-chicago.org or call 312-922-8080. Discount parking is available after 4:00 at the garage located at 17 E. Adams – enter on Adams between Wabash and State.  Ask for a discount coupon at the check-in desk.