America's unmistakable contribution to architecture has been the skyscraper, whose bold, thrusting lines have made it the symbol of capitalist energy. Made possible by new construction techniques and the invention of the elevator, the first skyscraper went up in Chicago in 1884.

Many of the most graceful early towers were designed by Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), America's first great modern architect. His most talented student was Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959), who spent much of his career designing private residences with matching furniture and generous use of open space. One of his best-known buildings, however, is a public one: the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

European architects who emigrated to the United States before World War II launched what became a dominant movement in architecture, the International Style. Perhaps the most influential of these immigrants were Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) and Walter Gropius (1883-1969), both former directors of Germany's famous design school, the Bauhaus. Based on geometric form, buildings in their style have been both praised as monuments to American corporate life and dismissed as "glass boxes." In reaction, younger American architects such as Michael Graves (1945- ) have rejected the austere, boxy look in favor of "postmodern" buildings with striking contours and bold decoration that alludes to historical styles of architecture.

More recently, the impact of computer use on the profession of architecture, combined with new looks at energy conservation and accessibility, events such as the prolonged recession of the early 1990s, devastating earthquakes and floods, and "September 11," has resulted in greater emphasis on design issues.This has been a maturing period for American architecture, and the United States has become an exporter rather than an importer of design.

• Historic Preservation Overview US General Service Administration
• Portrait of the USA: Distinctively American Arts USIA

• The American Institute of Architects
• American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920 US Library of Congress
• Architect of the Capitol - Capitol Complex / Architectural Features and Historic Spaces
• Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America, 1935-1955
• Architecture Resources Internet Public Library
• Architecture Tour National Gallery of Art
• Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, 1933-Present US Library of Congress
• Center for Architecture, Design and Engineering US Library of Congress
• The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design
• Cities and Buildings Database University of Washington Library
• A Digital Archive of American Architecture (17th - 20th century) Boston College
• Glass Steel and Stone: Global Architecture Encyclopedia
• Great Buildings Collection
• Historic House Architecture: Guide to Historic Houses with Emphasis on Late-Victorian and Craftsman Style Bungalows
• The Kidder Smith Slide Archives on American Architecture MIT Libraries
• National Building Museum
• NYPL Digital Gallery Cities & Buildings
• Prairie Styles: An Online Museum of Prairie Style Architecture
• Society of Architectural Historians