| This dissertation initiates an alternate understanding of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American architecture by examining how the three stages of an evolving theory of disease between 1840 and 1944 impacted upon the shaping of buildings, interiors, furnishings, the profession of architecture, and the urban environment in general. Beginning in the late 1880's, germ theory had a profound impact upon the early modern movement. Beyond that, this study elucidates how the search for the cure for TB, once thought to be inherited, had an even more significant impact upon early twentieth-century buildings and their interiors, as well as cities. The study highlights the impact the evolving theory of disease had upon high rise buildings, hospitals, schools, high density housing, T.B. Sanitaria, building interiors and furnishings, and urban planning in general. The study ends in 1944 when medical therapeutics through advancements in pharmaceuticals produced a cocktail of drugs that brought tuberculosis under control. Primary sources in the study were based upon historic documents (e.g., annual reports of school committees and hospital boards, and building codes and ordinances) of the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Providence, and St. Louis. The study also draws upon the annual meeting reports, and publications of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA), American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Public Health Association (APH). |
