1884 Diagram of the Highest Buildings of The Old World

This drawing is from an 1884 issue of Cram’s Unrivaled Family Atlas of the World, and it depicts the Principal High Buildings of the Old World. What’s striking about the composition is how many domes and steeples are featured. Aside from the hulking pyramids in the middle ground, there is a forest of slender steeples running along the background, along with a bunch of bulky domes that dominate the middle of the diagram. Steeples and domes were our most popular methods for achieving verticality throughout history, with each form pushing up towards the sky and announcing its presence, and therefore importance, to the surrounding landscape.

The main difference between steeples and domes in Buildings of The Old World is what they represent for us. Steeples represent a singular vertical form, defying gravity and standing alone in the landscape. This ties back to our upright, bipedal bodies, which function much the same. Domes are mound-like in their appearance, and they raise up from a broad base to a small summit, much like a mountain does. This connection to mountains ties the dome all the way back to the mound-builders of the ancient world in the diagram of the buildings of The Old World.

Another difference between steeples and domes is their interior experience. Steeples are meant to be viewed from the exterior, and their interior is rarely accessible to building visitors. Domes are meant to be viewed from the interior as well as the exterior, and most examples from history are meant to recreate Heaven on Earth in some way. The interior of a dome is meant to be viewed from below, with people looking up at them, much like they look up at the sky. Most Buildings of The Old World were decorated with ornate works of art, meant to evoke the heavens. Both steeples and domes use verticality to establish themselves as landmarks to their surroundings, but only the dome is meant to be experienced from the interior.