Daniel Burnham

For more information on Daniel Hudson Burnham, visit Britannica.com.

(b Henderson, NY, 4 Sept 1846; d Heidelberg, Germany, 1 June 1912). American architect, urban planner and writer. The most active and successful architect, urban planner and organizer in the years around 1900, Burnham, with his partner JOHN WELLBORN ROOT, created a series of original and distinctive early skyscrapers in Chicago in the 1880s. Burnham's urban plans, particularly those for Washington, DC (1901-2), and Chicago (1906-9), made a crucial contribution to the creation of monumental city centres with a great emphasis on parks.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912) was an American architect and city planner whose maxim, "think big," dominated his successful career. The firm of Burnham & Root was important in developing the skyscraper.

Daniel H. Burnham was born in Henderson, N.Y. In 1868 he worked for the architect William Le Baron Jenney in Chicago and then for Carter, Drake & Wight, where he met John Welborn Root. In 1873 the firm of Burnham & Root was established, and Burnham's career until 1891, the year of Root's death, was inseparable from that of his talented, innovative partner.

The firm, which employed as many as 60 draftsmen, moved into the just-completed Montauk Block (1882-1883) in Chicago, which they had designed. Although load-bearing masonry walls were outdated by 1889, Burnham & Root designed the 16-story Monadnock Building in Chicago (completed in 1891) of brick construction. The walls enclosed a portal-braced iron frame consisting of girders riveted to the columns for wind bracing and structural stability; this was the first example of portal bracing. Burnham & Root's further development of this structural innovation was the completely steel structure of the Rand McNally Building (1889-1890) in Chicago. Their four-story Reliance Building (1890; increased to 13 stories in 1895), also in Chicago, with terracotta facing material, gave expression to the steel-and-glass skyscrapers of the 1890s.

Burnham and Root were to have been the coordinators of the World's Columbian Exposition to be held in 1893 in Chicago, but on the day of the first planning conference Root contracted pneumonia, and died. Charles Follen McKim of the noted architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White filled the void left by Root and influenced Burnham in his "think big" attitude. Numerous architectural firms from Chicago, New York, Boston, and Kansas City designed specific buildings, and Frederick Law Olmsted was the landscape architect. The classical style provided the unifying element in the architecture of the exposition.

In 1891 Burnham established the firm of D. H. Burnham, which was replaced in 1896 by D. H. Burnham & Co. In 1894 he became president of the American Institute of Architects.

After the Chicago exposition of 1893 Burnham devoted his efforts to the "City Beautiful" movement of civic planning. "Make no little plans," he said, "for they have no magic to stir men's blood … Make big plans, aim high…. " His city planning aimed at creating beauty in a geometry of streets, with large parks and recreational areas and boulevards leading from a civic center to other nodal points of the city. In 1903 Burnham replanned Manila in the Philippines in this manner, ridding the city of its chaos and yet retaining its picturesque image. Baguio, 160 miles away, was planned as a summer retreat in the hills, with a dominant geometry adapted to the contours. Three days before the great earthquake of April 15, 1906, Burnham submitted his plan for San Francisco. Never implemented, it attempted to circumnavigate the hills and tie the whole street pattern together by an outer ring road. Chicago was replanned, and Burnham's ideas for a coordinated system of surface and subsurface freight distribution, linked to the waterfront activities, were partially realized. Washington, D.C., was "beatified" and railroads were removed from the Mall; Burnham built Union Station there.

Burnham's firm designed over 100 major projects: civic centers, office blocks, department stores, libraries, and numerous stations for the Penn Central Railroad. The station in Pittsburgh has been described as "Burnham baroque," and one critic sees the beginnings of Art Nouveau in its flowing lines.

Further Reading

One biography of Burnham is Charles Moore, Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities (2 vols., 1921). Structural innovations by Burnham and Root are discussed in Carl W. Condit's publications, including American Building Art: The Nineteenth Century (1960) and The Chicago School of Architecture (1964).

Additional Sources

Hines, Thomas S., Burnham of Chicago, architect and planner, New York: Oxford University Press, 1974.

American architect. A first-class administrator and entrepreneur, he was also gifted in that he could bring out the best in those with whom he collaborated. Born in Henderson, NY, he entered the office of Loring & Jenney (1867–8) where he acquired some architectural experience, and in 1873 formed a partnership with John Wellborn Root. As Burnham & Root, the firm was significant in the creation of the Chicago School: their first skyscraper was the (demolished) Montauk Building, Chicago, IL(1881–2), and other tall buildings followed in which load-bearing walls were mixed with framed structures. Then came the sixteen-storey Monadnock Building, Chicago (1889–91), with load-bearing walls, tiers of canted bay-windows, and huge crowning coved cornice, and then the (demolished) Masonic Temple, Chicago (1890–2), with twenty-two storeys and a steel skeleton. After Root's early death Burnham set up with Atwood in 1891, and built up one of the largest practices in the USA. With Atwood the firm produced the Reliance Building, Chicago (1891–4), which further developed architecture using a metal skeleton: a fourteen-storey tower with glass and terracotta cladding, it looked forward to C20 developments in which structural frames would be clearly expressed. Burnham was appointed the co-ordinator of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1890–3), and began to promote a Beaux-Arts Classicism as the favoured style for the buildings, which had a profound effect on American architecture and planning for many years to come. In Burnham's firm's own work (e.g. the Fuller (‘Flat-Iron’) Building, NYC (1902–3), and Wanamaker's Store, Philadelphia, PA (1909)), elements of Renaissance architecture were grafted on. Burnham's fame, connected with his impressive Beaux-Arts Classicism, caused him to be employed as consultant to Self-ridges Store for the new building (1907) in Oxford Street, London (by Atkinson and Swales): it was as innovative and as grand as Burnet's contemporary extension to the British Museum. The Beaux-Arts principles of powerful axes, symmetry, and confident use of Classical motifs were adopted by Burnham for his proposals for the City Beautiful in which he attempted to bring uniformity and an academic approach to urban America: his plan for Washington, DC, attempted to restore the eroded parts of L' Enfant's design. The firm's Union Station, Washington, DC (1903–7), was its first fully developed Beaux-Arts design, with a façade of five huge bays and a triple-arched entrance leading to a barrel-vaulted space worthy of Roman thermae. Burnham's plan for Chicago (1906–9), informed by his success with the Exposition, was influential at the time. His publications include The World's Columbian Exposition: The Final Report of the Director of Works (1898), and (with Edward H. Bennett) (1874–1994)) Plan of Chicago (1909). When he died Burnham's name was widely respected, and his plans for Chicago and Washington, DC, determined the development of both until the 1950s. However, as International Modernism gained the upper hand after the 1939–45 war, his reputation fell, but in C21 his work seems greatly preferable to the urban deserts created by those who decried his work.

Bibliography

• Condit (1952, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1973)
• Hines (1974)
• D. Hoffmann (1973)
• C. Moore (1968)
• Placzek (ed.) (1982)
• Roessel (1996)
• Jane Turner (1996)
• Zukowsky (ed.) (1987, 1993)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

Quotes:

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die."

Daniel Hudson Burnham
Portrait of Daniel Burnham
Personal information
Name	Daniel Hudson Burnham
Nationality	American
Birth date	September 4, 1846(1846-09-04)
Birth place	Henderson, New York
Date of death	June 1, 1912 (aged 65)
Place of death	Heidelberg, Germany
Work
Practice name	Burnham and Root
Significant buildings	Flatiron Building, Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Postal Square Building
Significant projects	World's Columbian Exposition

Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and designed several famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building in New York City and Union Station in Washington D.C.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 World's Columbian Exposition 1.2 City planning and "The Plan of Chicago" 2 Notable commissions 2.1 Philippines 2.2 Chicago 2.3 Detroit 2.4 Pittsburgh 2.5 Washington, D.C. 2.6 Others 3 Appearances In Popular Culture 4 References 5 External links

Biography

Burnham was born in Henderson, New York and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His parents brought him up under the teachings of the Swedenborgian Church of New Jerusalem,^[1] which ingrained in him the strong belief that man should strive to be of service to others.^[2] After failing admissions tests for both Harvard and Yale, and an unsuccessful stint at politics, Burnham apprenticed as a draftsman under William LeBaron Jenney. At age 26, Burnham moved on to the Chicago offices of Carter, Drake, and Wight, where he met future business partner John Wellborn Root (1850–1891).

Masonic Temple Building in Chicago

Burnham and Root were the architects of one of the first American skyscrapers: the Masonic Temple Building^[3] in Chicago. Measuring 21 stories and 302 feet, the Temple held claims as the tallest building of its time, but was torn down in 1939. Under the design influence of Root, the firm had produced modern buildings as part of the Chicago School. Following Root’s premature death from pneumonia in 1891, the firm became known as D.H. Burnham & Company.

World's Columbian Exposition

Court of Honor and Grand Basin — World's Columbian Exposition

Burnham and Root had accepted responsibility to oversee construction of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago’s then-desolate Jackson Park on the south lakefront. The largest world's fair to that date (1892), it celebrated the 400-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' famous voyage. After Root's death, a team of distinguished American architects and landscape architects, including Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim and Louis Sullivan, radically changed Root's modern and colorful style to a Classical Revival style. Under Burnham's direction, the construction of the Fair overcame huge financial and logistical hurdles, including a worldwide financial panic and an extremely tight timeframe, to open on time.

Considered the first example of a comprehensive planning document in the nation, the fairground was complete with grand boulevards, classical building facades, and lush gardens. Often called the "White City", it popularized neoclassical architecture in a monumental and rational Beaux-Arts plan. The remaining population of architects in the U.S. was soon asked by clients to incorporate similar elements into their designs.

City planning and "The Plan of Chicago"

Burnham's plan for central Chicago

Initiated in 1906 and published in 1909, Burnham and his co-author Edward H. Bennett prepared "The Plan of Chicago", which laid out plans for the future of the city. It was the first comprehensive plan for the controlled growth of an American city, and an outgrowth of the City Beautiful movement. The plan included ambitious proposals for the lakefront and river and declared that every citizen should be within walking distance of a park. Sponsored by the Commercial Club of Chicago,^[4] Burnham donated his services in hopes of furthering his own cause.

Plans and conceptual designs of the south lakefront^[5] from the Exposition came in handy, as he envisioned Chicago being a "Paris on the Prairie". French-inspired public works constructions, fountains, and boulevards radiating from a central, domed municipal palace became Chicago's new backdrop. The plan set the standard for urban design, anticipating future need to control unexpected urban growth.

City planning projects did not stop at Chicago though; Burnham helped shape cities such as Cleveland (the Group Plan), San Francisco, Washington, DC (the McMillan Plan), and Manila and Baguio in the Philippines, details of which appear in "The Chicago Plan" publication of 1909. The Plan for Manila was not fulfilled, except for a shore road, which became Dewey boulevard, now known as Roxas boulevard.

Much of his career work modeled the classical style of Greece and Rome. In his 1924 autobiography, Louis Sullivan, considered by many to be the greatest architect from the Chicago School, chastised the late Burnham for his lack of original expression and dependence on Classicism. Sullivan claimed the neoclassical example of the World's Fair had "set back architecture fifty years"—a sentiment edged with bitterness, as corporate America of the early twentieth century had demonstrated a strong preference for Burnham's architectural style over Sullivan's.

Burnham was quoted after his death as saying, "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." (Moore 1921) This slogan has been taken to capture the essence of Burnham's spirit, although there is no documented evidence that he actually used those words.

Burnham and Bennett's plan for San Francisco

A man of influence, Burnham was considered the preeminent architect in America at the turn of the twentieth century. He held many positions during his lifetime, including the presidency of the American Institute of Architects.^[6] Other notable architects began their careers under his aegis, such as Joseph W. McCarthy. In 1912, when he died in Heidelberg, Germany, D.H. Burnham and Co. was the world's largest architectural firm. Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright eulogized, "(Burnham) made masterful use of the methods and men of his time... (as) an enthusiastic promoter of great construction enterprises... his powerful personality was supreme." His firm continues its work today under the name Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, which it adopted in 1917.

Almost as a tribute to his urban planning ethos, Burnham's final resting spot is given special attention, being located on the only island in the park-like Graceland Cemetery, situated in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.

Because he was the planner and architect of Baguio City in the Philippines, the city's Burnham Park was named after him. In his honor, the American Planning Association named a major annual prize the Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan.^[7] An alley in San Francisco, formerly Hemlock Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street, was renamed in Burnham's honor.

Collections of Burnham's personal and professional papers, photographs, and other archival materials are held by the Ryerson and Burnham Archives at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Daniel Burnham Memorial Competition (Chicago) was held in 2009 to create a memorial to Daniel Burnham and his Plan of Chicago.

Notable commissions

Philippines

Burnham's Plan for Manila

• Burnham Park
• Manila
• Baguio City
• Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Building Bacolod City

Chicago

• Union Stock Yard Gate
• Kent House
• Rookery Building
• Monadnock Building (northern half)
• Reliance Building
• Fisher Building
• Heyworth Building
• Marshall Field and Company Building
• Boyce Building, on the National Register of Historic Places^[8][9]

Detroit

• Dime Building
• Ford Building
• David Whitney Building
• Majestic Building

Pittsburgh

• Union Trust Building 1898 (337 Fourth Avenue - Not the 1917 structure of the same name on Grant Street)
• Pennsylvania Union Station 1900-1902
• Frick Building 1902
• McCreery Department Store (now offices - 300 Sixth Avenue Building) 1904
• Highland Building 1910 (121 South Highland Avenue)
• Henry W. Oliver Building 1910

Washington, D.C.

• Union Station
• Postal Square Building

Others

• Flatiron Building, New York City
• Citizens Bank Building. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Wyandotte Building, Columbus, Ohio
• Columbus Union Station of 1897
• Gilbert M. Simmons Memorial Library, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
• Ellicott Square Building, Buffalo, New York
• Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Richmond, Indiana
• Cleveland Mall with Arnold Brunner and John Carrère, 1903
• Union Station, El Paso, Texas
• Fayette Bank Building (now Fayette Building), Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 1902
• John Wanamaker department store (now Macy's), Philadelphia
• John Wanamaker department store, New York City
• Selfridge & Co. Department Store, London
• Filene's Department Store, Boston
• Terminal Arcade, Terre Haute, Indiana

Appearances In Popular Culture

• Make No Little Plans - Daniel Burnham and the American City, ^[10] is the first feature length documentary film about noted architect and urban planner Daniel Hudson Burnham, produced by the Archimedia Workshop. National distribution in 2009 will coincide with the centennial celebration of Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett’s 1909 Plan of Chicago.
• The Devil in the White City, a non-fiction book by Erik Larson, intertwines the true tale of two men: H.H. Holmes, a serial killer famed for his 'murderous hotel' in Chicago, and Daniel Burnham.
• In the role-playing game Unknown Armies, James K. McGowan, the True King of Chicago, quotes Daniel Burnham and regards him as a paragon of the Windy City's mysterious and magical past.

References

1. ^ The New Church, a Swedenborgian Faith
2. ^ Carl Smith, The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City, p. 56
3. ^ "Masonic Temple, Chicago". Old Chicago in Vintage Postcards. http://patsabin.com/illinois/masonic.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
4. ^ "The Commercial Club of Chicago: Purpose & History". http://www.commercialclubchicago.org/purpose/. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
5. ^ American Memory Digital Item Display - 2007660861
6. ^ "AIA Presidents". American Institute of Architects. http://www.aia.org/history_presidents. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
7. ^ "National Planning Awards". American Planning Association. http://www.planning.org/awards/. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
8. ^ "Illinois - Cook County". National Register of Historic Places. http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/il/Cook/state.html. Retrieved 2008-11-02. 
9. ^ Randall, Frank Alfred; John D. Randall. History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago. Urbana and Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. pp. 286. ISBN 0252024168. http://books.google.com/books?id=gYLlF61yeYEC&pg=PA286&lpg=PA286&dq=%22boyce+building%22+history+500&source=web&ots=6yYaovSvH6&sig=C3zRwXKDpRZN5NJFdwjh-vEKihU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA286,M1. Retrieved 2008-11-02. 
10. ^ "Daniel Burnham Film". The Archimedia Workshop. http://www.thearchimediaworkshop.org. Retrieved 2009-04-06. 

• Moore, Charles (1921). "XXV "Closing in 1911–1912"". Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities, Volume 2. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 1921. 
• Larson, Erik (February 2003). The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. New York, New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-609-60844-4. 
• Stolze, Greg (February 2002). Unknown Armies. St Paul, MN: Atlas Games. ISBN 1-58978-013-2. 
• Burnham, Daniel H., and Edward H. Bennett, Plan of Chicago, the Commercial Club, Chicago MCMIX
• "Daniel Burnham". Chicago Landmarks. http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/Architects/Burnham.html. Retrieved September 21 2004. 
• "Daniel Hudson Burnham". Chicago Stories. http://www.wttw.com/chicagostories/burnham.html. Retrieved September 24 2004. 
• Jameson, D. "Daniel Hudson Burnham". Artists Represented. http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/artists_pages/daniel_burnham_bio.html. Retrieved December 14 2005. 
• "Today In History: September 4". American Memory. The Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/sep04.html. Retrieved September 24 2004. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Daniel Burnham

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Daniel Burnham

• Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at The Art Institute of Chicago
• Burnham, Beaux-Arts, Plan of Chicago, & Fairs
• Daniel Burnham at the Open Directory Project

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