The invention of steel-girder skyscrapers enabled architects to move away from the constraints of load-bearing walls and towards steel-framed structures that granted more freedom and creativity. The first of these buildings was architects William Le Baron Jenney’s ten-story Home insurance company building, completed in 1885. As soon as it was built and proved a success, the technology proliferated rapidly, and soon rival architects tried to outdo each other, designing ever taller and more complex buildings.
