Here, apparently, is the opportunity for the advent of a new and characteristic style. There is great ingenuity displayed in the arrangement and internal finish of these buildings. But besides the somewhat novel application of iron, the most notable circumstances regarding them are the tendency to make them of greater and greater height, and the wonderfully short time in which, upon occasion, they can be run up. Chicago has recently been noted for its tall edifices, among which may be named _The Reliance Building_, erected upon a site only 55 feet in breadth, but rising in fourteen stories to the height of 200 feet, and presenting the appearance of a tower. There are no cast iron pillars, but the whole metal framework is of rolled steel, the columns consisting of eight angle-sections, bolted together in two-story lengths, adjoining columns breaking joint at each floor, and braced together with plate girders, 24 inches deep, bolted to the face of the columns, with which they form a rigid connection. Externally, the edifice shows nothing but white enamelled terra-cotta and plate glass. This building was originally a strongly-built structure of five stories, the lower one being occupied as a bank. The foundations and the first story were taken out, and prepared for the lofty edifice, the superstructure being the while supported on screws. Then the three upper stories were taken down, and the building was continued from the second story, which was filled with tenants while the building was in course of erection above. [Illustration: FIG. 26_e_.—_Manhattan Insurance Co.’s Building, in course of erection._ ]