Daniel Burnham
Masonic Temple Building |
Daniel Burnham was the head architect of the World's Fair, and a visionary in city architecture. He was one of the first people that tried to change cities from being crowded and dirty, to places that were beautiful and efficient.Few individuals have had more impact on the American city than architect and planner Daniel Hudson Burnham. In the midst of late 19th century urban disorder, Burnham offered a powerful vision of what a civilized American city could look like. He built some of the first skyscrapers in the world; directed construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition that inspired the City Beautiful Movement; and created urban plans for Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Manila—all before the profession of urban planning existed. In fact, some say that he invented it.
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Burnham and the other architects had their work cut out for them going into the fair. They knew that finishing the project on time and making a profit off the fair was going to be a difficult task.Burnham and Root were being called upon to build what amounted to an entire city in about three years-not just any city, but one that would surpass the brilliance of the Paris exposition. The fair also would have to make a profit. Among Chicago's leading men, profitability was a matter of personal and civic honor. By traditional architectural standards the challenge seemed an impossible one.
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Architects From the Fair |
Map of the Fair Grounds |
Burnham created a new way of planning cities in a more organized way and used it with his design for the fair.The origin of the plan of Chicago can be traced directly backed to the World's Columbian Exposition. The World's Fair of 1893 was the beginning, in our day and in this country, of the orderly arrangement of extensive public grounds and buildings.
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