America’s Lost Ambition

When it comes to our built environment, the U.S. no longer thinks big

The Golden Gate Bridge. Photo by Joonyeop Baek on Unsplash

What do the Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, and Hoover Dam have in common? All were built in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, and all were the biggest structures of their type in the world for decades. These were not isolated examples. America dominated the construction of…