DSST Art of the Western World Exam Prep

Answer - A - The elevator is the single most significant invention in the development of the contemporary skyscraper.

Key Takeaway: In the late nineteenth century, architects began a general movement toward skeletal architecture, with a great emphasis on vertical structures. Although many great advances were made in building in this period (including the movement away from iron after the Great Fire in Chicago), but by far, the elevator was the single most important invention of the period, allowing for buildings of ever-increasing heights.