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99% Invisible
99% Invisible

(Not Just) Another Brick in the Wall

October 06, 2026 • 28m

Summary

⏱️ 9 min read

Overview

Roman Mars explores Chicago's brick architecture with historian Will Quam, tracing the evolution of brick from essential structural material to decorative element. The conversation covers the Great Chicago Fire's role in creating a brick city, the geography of American brick-making, the transition from load-bearing masonry to steel-frame construction, and the crucial but often overlooked importance of proper mortar in preserving historic buildings.

The Monadnock Building: A Monument to Masonry

The episode opens with Roman Mars describing Chicago's Monadnock Building, built in 1891 as the world's tallest masonry skyscraper. Standing 16 stories tall with walls six feet thick at the base, the building represents the pinnacle of brick construction before steel frames took over. Every detail, from the smooth curves to deeply recessed windows, reflects the unique properties and limitations of stacked brick construction.

  • The Monadnock building is the tallest masonry skyscraper in the world, built entirely of stacked brick
  • The building required hundreds of special molds and careful firing to achieve consistent color and appearance
  • Walls are six feet thick at the base to support the 16-story structure's weight
  • The building has needed shoring up to keep it from sinking beneath its own weight
" My version of the analogy is that bricks are like brushstrokes in a van go. Each one is a beautiful part of a more beautiful whole. You get up close and you can appreciate it in a different way than if you step all the way back. "
" I give tours of 12 different neighborhoods around Chicago that start from a place of brick architecture of I'm going to make you passionate and excited about a brick. And then once you're passionate, excited about a brick, what else can I make you start to see and care about? "

From Ashes to Brick: The Great Chicago Fire's Legacy

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 transformed Chicago from a wood city into a brick metropolis. A third of the city burned and a third of the population became homeless, creating enormous demand for rebuilding materials. Fortunately, Chicago sat on vast clay deposits left by ancient glaciers, and new brick-making machinery could produce bricks at unprecedented scale—36,000 per hour compared to a skilled hand-maker's 5,000 per day.

  • Before the Great Fire, Chicago was primarily built of cheap, abundant wood
  • The 1871 fire destroyed a third of the city and left a third of the population homeless
  • Chicago sat on enormous clay deposits left 14,000 years ago by a glacial lake
  • New mechanized brick presses could produce 36,000 bricks per hour versus 5,000 per day by hand
  • Chicago rebuilt itself using locally sourced clay from directly beneath the city
" if Adam from the Bible had been a brickmaker, he would have caused the fall of man by making a brick as ugly as those they make in Chicago. "
" when Boston can show as fine buildings as Chicago, when Boston can show as many people as Chicago, when Boston can show as much enterprise in Chicago, then we will listen to all the criticisms that Mr. Fisk has to make about the brick in Chicago. "

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