For those of you in Chicago, you may be familiar with the impact Daniel H. Burnham had on the city (and the country) back in the late 18- early 1900's. Daniel Burnham was an architect and urban planner who is credited with designing America's first skyscraper in Chicago, along with several other historic buildings in the US including the FlatIron building in New York and Union Station in Washington, DC. He was also very influential in the success of the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago, from which several Chicago institutions got their start, including The Field Museum and The Museum of Science and Industry.
But what Daniel Burnham is perhaps most famous for, is his 1909 Plan of Chicago, a book wherein he outlines plans for the development of Chicago. It was the first of it's kind designed to guide the growth of a major US city. In the book, he stresses the importance of the people and their use of the city. At the forefront: the Lake. He's quoted as saying, "The lake by right, belongs to the people." He also strongly believed that every Chicago citizen should be within walking distance of a park.
This year is the 100th anniversary of Burnham's Plan of Chicago and the city is currently celebrating The Burnham Plan Centennial.
As part of the celebration, The Field Museum is hosting a small exhibition called Burnham Memorial Design Competition. The exhibition is on display now until November 1 and consists of 19 modern day architects' designs for a Burnham Memorial to someday be built on the Museum's north terrace. The exhibition also discusses Burnham's impact on the city and contains two original artifacts from Burnham himself: a copy of the 1909 Plan of Chicago, and a large framed blueprint of Daniel's vision of the lakefront. I'm proud to say that I had a small part in the completion of the exhibition and encourage you to attend if you are in the city.
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