A Brief and Surprisingly Interesting History of Brick Architecture in Chicago

When Chicago burned down in 1871, it was rebuilt as a city of brick, mostly using bricks made from the clay right underneath the young city's feet. But as much as we may think of a brick as a simple rectangle that holds our buildings up, it is actually so much more--it is an object of design, each brick a brushstroke in the canvas of a building. Journey across Chicago and architecture history and learn how fashion in brick changes just as much as fashion in clothing, from monolithic temples covered in solid red bricks to english cottages bedecked with bark-textured multicolored bricks, to sleek towers clad in rich, iron-flecked bricks and more. Illustrated by more than 100 gorgeous photographs, this history will leave you looking at the humble brick with wonder.