31 October 2019
9:10 AM – 11:00 AM

The first two sessions of the Symposium seek to separate popular myth from settled scholarship in the debate over “the first skyscraper.” Each presentation provides a formative thesis about the type of criteria that should be set when determining which buildings are to be considered as “firsts.” Some venture further, proposing a candidate for the “first skyscraper” title based on the criteria set forth. The merits of all were considered in the final panel.

Session Chair: Geoffrey Baer
Producer & Program Host, WTTW, Chicago
Gail Fenske
Professor of Architecture, Roger Williams University
Mir M. Ali
Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana
Gerald Larson
Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati
Thomas Leslie
VIsiting Professor, Iowa State University, Des Moines