Monadnock Building: The Last Brick Skyscraper

(via Amusing Planet)  The Monadnock Building, a sixteen story skyscraper standing in the south Loop area of Chicago, was built during a period when bricks were the building material of choice. Bricks are easy to manufacture, they are cheap and versatile. There was one problem, however, with bricks—they are very heavy. If you make a building too tall with bricks, it will collapse under its own weight. Modern buildings, hence, use columns and beams made of reinforced concrete or steel to bear the weight.