The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (Chicago Visions and Revisions) [Hardcover]

Carl Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2006 | Series: Chicago Visions and Revisions

Arguably the most influential document in the history of urban planning, Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, coauthored by Edward Bennett and produced in collaboration with the Commercial Club of Chicago, proposed many of the city’s most distinctive features, including its lakefront parks and roadways, the Magnificent Mile, and Navy Pier. Carl Smith’s fascinating history reveals the Plan’s central role in shaping the ways people envision the cityscape and urban life itself. 

Smith’s concise and accessible narrative begins with a survey of Chicago’s stunning rise from a tiny frontier settlement to the nation’s second-largest city. He then offers an illuminating exploration of the Plan’s creation and reveals how it embodies the renowned architect’s belief that cities can and must be remade for the better. The Plan defined the City Beautiful movement and was the first comprehensive attempt to reimagine a major American city. Smith points out the ways the Plan continues to influence debates, even a century after its publication, about how to create a vibrant and habitable urban environment. 

Richly illustrated and incisively written, his insightful book will be indispensable to our understanding of Chicago, Daniel Burnham, and the emergence of the modern city.

(20061114)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The story of Burnham’s plan has been told many times but never in a more appealing or succinct style than in Carl Smith’s modest little book, The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City. . . . What sets this book apart from other Burnham histories is Smith’s attention to the filthy, miserable, nineteenth-century city that repelled and motivated Burnham, and the extraordinary promotional effort led by the Commercial Club of Chicago that sold his plan to the public. . . . A clear-eyed assessment of Burnham.”—Lois Wille, Chicago Tribune

(Lois Wille Chicago Tribune 20070107)

“Carl Smith breathes inspired new life into Daniel Burnham, the major figure behind the 1909 Plan of Chicago. Smith vividly describes both the thoughtful conceptualization and the masterful showmanship of Burnham and his many collaborators in the Plan development. Smith shows that this is a plan that reshaped American notions of the modern city.”—Ann Durkin Keating, coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Chicago

(Ann Durkin Keating 20070401)

“Carl Smith’s The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City is a triumph of meticulous research, clear organization, and accessible writing.  In his hands the story of the Plan, the campaign to promote it, and its influence on generations of Chicagoans come alive.” —Robert Bruegmann, University of Illinois at Chicago, author of Sprawl: A Compact History
 

(Robert Bruegmann 20081211)

"Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago has long been regarded as one of the benchmark documents of American urban and regional planning in the twentieth century.  Carl Smith has now provided the first book-length study of this signal moment in the history of American city, exploring its larger context and helping modern readers understand the role it played in shaping the subsequent history not just of Chicago but of metropolitan America."—William Cronon, author of Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West.

(William Cronon )

“An imaginative, beautifully produced, and visually appealing masterpiece of stirring prose and stunning illustration. . . . Carl Smith’s book is a concise, splendidly accessible, and beautifully constructed introduction to a seminal work of American urban planning and its enduring influence on Chicago and other American cities. He writes particularly well, without padding or academic jargon, and admirable self-restraint: He tells us just enough about the men and the times that created The Plan of Chicago to make us want to learn more on our own. One can offer no higher praise for a writer.”—William Bryk, New York Sun

(New York Sun William Bryk )

“A concise and reader-friendly introduction to the visionary and ambitious plan that helped shape much of the Windy City as we know it today.”—Kevin Nance, Chicago Sun-Times

(Chicago Sun-Times Kevin Nance )

“This well-written book on the 1909 Plan of Chicago, ‘The Burnham Plan,’ excellently summarizes numerous publications about the plan and its influence on Chicago’s development.”–J.W. Stamper, CHOICE

(CHOICE )

"Smith''s storytelling, saturated in engaging fact, gives sharp yet sweeping coverage of how the plan came to be and how certain parts were laboriously implemented. . . . Smith''s addition to the history and architecture of the city gives fresh perspective on where we''ve been and where we''re going."

(Robert Duffer Make )

"Smith takes up where [Pierce''s History of Chicago] left off, and his work may stand alongside hers as the starting point for numerous inquiries into the fascinating city of Chicago."—Elaine Lewinnek, Urban History

(Elaine Lewinnek Urban History )

"Smith has produced a compelling and informative story of a time when the civic realm was still robust. By focusing on the individuals behind the Plan, placing the Plan in the context of Chicago''s history, and offering a wealth of detailed knowledge, Smith has written an important book. One cannot fully understand either city planning or the role of business in urban development without knowing what happened in Chicago in 1909."

(Robert A, Beauregard Enterprise and Society )

“Fascinating. . . . One comes away from this finely written book with the conviction that Burnham is arguably not only the most influential person in Chicago’s history—but also America’s most successful architect and visionary urban planner. . . . The Plan of Chicago tells one of the great American urban stories.”—James Schmiechen, Michigan Historical Review

(James Schmiechen Michigan Historical Review )

About the Author

Carl Smith is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and professor of history at Northwestern University. He is the author of Chicago and the American Literary Imagination, 1880–1920, and Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; First Edition edition (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226764710
• ISBN-13: 978-0226764719
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, tightly written book, December 16, 2006

By 

Rebecca (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (Chicago Visions and Revisions) (Hardcover)

As an architecture tour guide, I've read "The Plan of Chicago" and know some Chicago history. Smith succinctly summarizes prevailing circumstances so the reader knows the context of the development of The Plan, but he deftly includes colorful and precise detail. The book is under 200 pages, reflecting a distinctive self-restraint by this distinguished scholar at Northwestern University. Moving from background of Chicago history and of Daniel Burnham, Smith summarizes the Plan's development, describes the other players, analyzes the Plan's effects, and brings readers quickly up-to-date with urban planning of today. This excellent narrative, supplemented with photographs not commonly seen, ends with a "bibliographic essay" to guide interested readers in their subsequent investigations.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Background, November 21, 2007

By 

M. Mowers (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (Chicago Visions and Revisions) (Paperback)

I liked the book. As someone who recently moved to Chicago, I have a lot to learn about the city's past. This book gives a good overview of Chicago and the part that the Burnham and Bennett Plan played in the formation of the city, up to its present form. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in Chicago, social history, or in urban planning.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking!, August 5, 2009

By 

Pierre Gauthier (Montréal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (Chicago Visions and Revisions) (Paperback)

This concise, well-researched, well-written book tells the story of the first and most famous City Plan in North America. It covers its historical, urban and organizational contexts, its contents as well as its promotion, implementation and heritage.

While subtle and never overtly critical, the author is no blind admirer of the Burnham Plan and provides a mature and balanced description of events prior and after its publication.

The reader is given reference to a scanned copy of the actual 1909 Plan on [...]. He is free to ponder on how much _ and in a sense, how little _ planning documents have evolved in the past 100 years.

This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in urban planning, especially of course to those familiar with Chicago.