3. The age of the city, 1860–1900

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Americans united in an impulse to commemorate the lives lost and to coordinate that effort with new campaigns for civic beautification. “The age of the city, 1860–1900” describes how the new titans of industry, such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, sponsored the erection of new monuments and statues and endowed lavish facilities for parks, cemeteries, railroad stations, universities, museums, office buildings, and hotels. Yet this monumental display of sumptuous wealth hid new depths of poverty and squalor, as well as new heights of social unrest. In this tumultuous environment, a new set of cultural experiences and institutions provided a semblance of order against a backdrop of conflict and chaos.