Iron+and+Steel

**"... the old cast iron buildings died out. I'm not really sure whether the new skyscrapers killed them, or the new esthetics."**
In the podcast "Iron Buildings" made by John H. Lienhard, he talks about how iron was the primary material for constructions until it came steel. Almost every structure, at least in America was made out of cast iron; it was stronger and easier to quarry and use than stone or wood. After the terrible fire in Chicago, when they started to rebuilt the city, they've already been manufacturing steel, so they started using it for structures and realize that it was stronger and better for built much taller buildings, such as skyscrapers. The quote at the begining of this page, express that cast iron buildings where replaced by steel buildings, supposedly because steel is so strong that with it you can be designed much taller buildings, but the true reason can be because with steel, structures can be hidden and its considered esthetically more beautiful than a building that shows the structure. I think the reason can be both; the functionality and the esthetics. I think once they realized that steel was stronger in taller structures, they started to design beautiful buildings taking into account all of the steel advantages.
 * In my opinion...**