|
Overview:
The 1920s, popularly known as the roaring twenties,
was an era of dramatic change. Among the most enduring
manifestations of this change was the rise of the big
city. In fact, the centrality of urban growth to the
social, political and economic changes of the 1920s
gives it a special place in the study of that decade,
the twentieth century, and the United States in the
modern century. The changes that took place in New York
City, America’s largest city by this time (see
the "Map
of Urban Expansion" in this issue of History
Now), were in response to the changes that were
taking place in the nation. The city would become the
symbol of the nation during this exciting decade.
Rapid urban growth was the source of a whole new range
of problems and challenges. The solution to increased
population density and demand for office space came
from new buildings that enabled the cities to grow upward.
New technologies and innovations—steel framing,
concrete, improved heating and plumbing, and elevators—each
played a role in the construction of taller-than-ever-before
buildings. In America’s preeminent city of the
twentieth century—New York City—the skyscraper
came to be a symbol of its modernity.
Objectives:
1. Students will examine images from the 1920s in order
to analyze the influence of technology on America in
the first decades of the twentieth century.
2. Students will examine the rise of the city in the
1920s.
3. Students will be able to compare and contrast new
values with traditional values as exemplified by images
of the era.
Activity One: Photographs of the City
1. Divide the class into small groups. Direct the groups
to look at the following websites (or other websites
on the skyscrapers of NYC that they might find). As
the groups look at the photographs, they should consider
the following:
- What economic changes prompted the need for NYC to look upward in building
construction?
- In what ways do the skyscrapers symbolize both New York City and the United
States in the first decades of the twentieth century?
- Do these photographs help us to understand the changes of this era? Groups
should be specific when responding to this question.
Skyscrapers
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1925485.jpg;
(Flatiron Building)
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_2159832.jpg;
(Chrysler Building)
http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_2163539.jpg;
(Empire State Building)
Building the Empire State Building
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/
empire_state.html
http://www.popartuk.com/photography/new-york/fp0606-large.asp;
http://www.iflipflop.com/uploaded_images/empirestateconstruction-735580.jpg
2. Student groups should share their findings and conclusions
in a class discussion.
3. Have the class consider this Danny O poster: http://www.dannyoart.com/shop/images/products/192.jpg
Is this a valid portrayal of New York City in the twentieth
century?
If so, in what ways? And if not, why?
|
