The End of Heavy Timber Construction

Abstract

For the last half of the nineteenth century and into the early-twentieth century, heavy timber construction dominated the built landscape of American industry. However, in the first and second decades of the twentieth century, the availability and economic efficiency of concrete and steel supplanted heavy timber as the preferred construction method for virtually all industrial and commercial applications. While heavy timber lingered into the era of concrete and steel, little in the form of new construction was undertaken. By the middle of the twentieth century, many of these gargantuan structures had been vacated. The era of heavy timber construction was effectively over.