central business district masonry buildings

Isaac Kremer/ November 23, 2025/ / 0 comments

The use of cast iron suffered a series of setbacks in the 1880’s that led to a waning in its popularity as a construction material. It became clear after a series of disastrous fires across the country that cast iron was not as impervious as once thought, and in fact melted at high temperatures. For a brief period, load-bearing masonry became once again the preferred method of commercial construction. (St. Louis, 1995)