Plate 114 from The Plan of Chicago, 1909: Chicago. Proposed Boulevard and Parkway on Michigan Avenue and Pine Street
Medium
Graphite, watercolor, and chalk on paper
Dimensions
72.7 × 154.3 cm (28 3/4 × 60 3/4 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Architecture and Design
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196354
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Although only portions were put into effect, the 1909 Plan of Chicago remains one of the largest and most comprehen- sive proposals for the transformation of an American city. One of its main goals was to enrich the city through the addition of expansive lakefront parks and lagoons. Grant Park, for example, began as a piece of land between the lake and the Loop commercial district that was to be redesigned to host a prestigious roster of cultural institutions, including the existing Art Institut...
About the Artist
Daniel Hudson Burnham · 1846–1912
Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846–1912) was one of the most influential American architects and urban planners of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Born in Henderson, New York, he twice failed the entrance examinations for Harvard and Yale, eventually finding his calling through an apprenticeship in architecture. His transformative partnership with John Wellborn Root, formed in Chicago in 1873, establ...