<P> The early skyscrapers were a range of tall , commercial buildings built between 1884 and 1939 , predominantly in the American cities of New York City and Chicago . Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low - rise buildings , but significant economic growth after the Civil War and increasingly intensive use of urban land encouraged the development of taller buildings beginning in the 1870s . Technological improvements enabled the construction of fireproofed iron - framed structures with deep foundations , equipped with new inventions such as the elevator and electric lighting . These made it both technically and commercially viable to build a new class of taller buildings , the first of which , Chicago 's 138 - foot ( 42 m ) tall Home Insurance Building , opened in 1885 . Their numbers grew rapidly , and by 1888 they were being labelled skyscrapers . </P>
<P> The early skyscrapers were a range of tall , commercial buildings built between 1884 and 1939 , predominantly in the American cities of New York City and Chicago . Cities in the United States were traditionally made up of low - rise buildings , but significant economic growth after the Civil War and increasingly intensive use of urban land encouraged the development of taller buildings beginning in the 1870s . Technological improvements enabled the construction of fireproofed iron - framed structures with deep foundations , equipped with new inventions such as the elevator and electric lighting . These made it both technically and commercially viable to build a new class of taller buildings , the first of which , Chicago 's 138 - foot ( 42 m ) tall Home Insurance Building , opened in 1885 . Their numbers grew rapidly , and by 1888 they were being labelled skyscrapers . </P>
where was the first skyscraper built in the united states
where was the first skyscraper built in the united states
Chicago
Chicago