Final answer:
Skyscrapers weren't built until the Gilded Age due to technological advancements such as steel-frame construction and the electric elevator, the increased urban population, and the high value of downtown real estate. They represented economic feasibility, the necessity for space in expanding urban centers, and the prestige for businesses that occupied them.
Step-by-step explanation:
Skyscrapers were not created until the Gilded Age because several technological innovations and social changes converged during this time to make their construction possible and desirable. Innovations in engineering technologies like steel-frame construction and safety elevators allowed buildings to rise much higher than the previous limit of 10 to 12 stories that brick buildings could achieve.
This period also saw a massive shift from a largely rural, agrarian society to an urbanized, industrial one, with significant growth in city populations. By 1900, about 30% of Americans lived in cities, and the demand for office space and the value of urban real estate soared, making upward growth both economically viable and prestigious. Furthermore, eastern cities facing geographical constraints could not expand outward indefinitely, making vertical expansion the preferred solution.
The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain, witnessed both the rapid growth of industry and the rise of major urban centers. This era's architecture had to accommodate an increasingly urban population, resulting in the construction of the first skyscrapers, including the iconic Home Insurance Building in Chicago.