(light music) - Homemade playthings like marbles and hoops gave way to building sets called construction toys, designed to train young minds.

(toy clicking) - Construction toys were thought to build spatial intelligence, understanding of math, basically general building principles that you could apply in the real world.

(bright music) - [Announcer] In the average American family today, children are the object of more concentrated thought and concern than the young of any previous generation.

- [Narrator] In 1914, (light music) 39-year-old stonemason Charles Pajeau of Evanston, Illinois was looking to break into the growing toy business.

- He was working for his father's stone monument business, and he was not particularly happy doing that.

- They made headstones, not very fun or playful.

So on the side, he was working on a couple of inventions.

- Pajeau had seen children playing with wooden spools and sticks, building different things, and he decided to make a toy based on this principle.

- [Narrator] Using a few simple materials, the children had discovered endless possibilities.

(screen whooshing) Pajeau was inspired and created Tinkertoys, a wooden set of sticks and spools that, with nimble hands and a little imagination, could become anything.

- With Tinkertoys, you can build incredibly large structures.

(toy whirring) - Houses, airplanes, windmills, it was really anything you could think of.

(playful music) - [Narrator] Sales of Tinkertoys soared in 1915, (screen whooshing) when Pajeau landed a spot in the coveted Marshall Field's Christmas windows, visited by wide-eyed children every season.

(playful music continues) - They hired people to dress as elves and to demonstrate the various models you could build and how the toys worked.

And this was during the holiday season, so it immediately took off.

- The Sears Wishbook was a huge part of Christmastime.

So even children in rural areas who didn't have access to the toy stores can see advertisements for dolls or Tinkertoys and decide that they want those too.

- [Narrator] Within a year, (screen whooshing) 900,000 Tinkertoy sets were sold.

(door clicking) The distinctive tube packages delivered to eager children everywhere.

- [Demonstrator] So this is a collection of Tinkertoys.

It also shows the mailing label.

And this way, the department stores could ship it to children around the country very easily.

- [Narrator] Over the years, Tinkertoys has evolved, from the materials to the mechanics to adding color.

And the set continues to be produced today.

(screen whooshing) (light music) Another iconic construction toy, Lincoln Logs, hails from the Chicago suburb of Oak Park and was designed by John Lloyd Wright, son of the famous architect.

- So Frank Lloyd Wright was a pretty progressive father for the day, and he was deeply invested in his children's education.

He gave them access to his library and his design studio.

And John and his sisters had this magical playroom growing up.

- [Narrator] That seemingly idyllic childhood was shattered when Frank walked out on his wife and six kids.

- His father, Frank Lloyd Wright, abandoned his family and left for a client's wife, which was a huge social scandal and was incredibly traumatic for the family.

- [Narrator] Though estranged, 18-year-old John would follow in his father's footsteps, finding work as a draftsman.

(train whooshing) Five years later, in 1917, Frank Lloyd Wright took his son under his wing, offering him an apprenticeship designing the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

(cars whooshing) John admired the building's interlocking timber beams designed to withstand the region's powerful earthquakes.

But the apprenticeship, like their rekindled relationship, didn't last long.

(light music fades out) - They got into a disagreement about his salary, and Frank fired John.

When John arrived to Chicago, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.

So he started selling wooden toys, mostly to Marshall Field's, and he also started coming up with the concept for a construction toy.

- And he bases what becomes Lincoln Logs on the interlocked beam design that he was working with in Japan.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] With pieces of notched redwood, children could build sturdy structures of all shapes and sizes.

- Not only could you build the traditional cabin that we think of today, you could also build giant cathedrals.

You could build wooden forts.

- [Narrator] Named after President Abraham Lincoln, the set came with instructions to build Lincoln's Kentucky boyhood home.

- It was the all-American childhood, being able to build and be free.

Just this idealized romantic idea of what it was like to grow up in America.

- [Narrator] The toy became an instant success.

- So John Lloyd Wright was still very much interested in being an architect, and he eventually decided to sell off Lincoln Logs to Playskool in the 1940s.

- [Narrator] John reportedly sold Lincoln Logs, one of the most cherished toys of all-time, (screen whooshing) for just $800.

Today, (screen whooshing) more than 100 million sets have been sold worldwide.

- It is not typical for toys to last as long as Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys have.

- Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs allow children to use their imaginations to build whatever world that they want to.

And I think that that allows a toy to be relevant throughout time.