Product Description

This meticulous reprint of the Plan of Chicago reproduces all 142 plates from the original, 48 of which are in color. It also contains a color plate of the City Hall that was omitted from the 1909 edition. A new introduction by Kristen Schaffer details those parts of Burnham's draft that were excluded from the published book. The most visible document of the City Beautiful movement, this reprint still holds valuable lessons for today's architects and planners.

Princeton Architectural Press's Reprint Series was established in 1981 to make rare volumes on architecture available to a wider audience. The books' beautiful reproductions and finest quality printing and binding match those of the originals, while their 9-by-12-inch format makes them accessible and affordable. New introductions bring a modern voice to these classic texts, updating them to become invaluable contemporary resources. These critically acclaimed books are an essential addition to any library.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #597185 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 164 pages

Review
The wider public will find this recent edition powerful for addressing many issues of city formation still of relevance today. Kevin Harrington, Design Book Review

Customer Reviews

The American Urban Design Classic
The most notable aspect of the 1909 Plan of Chicago was that the author's (Daniel Burnham) profession was not exclusively city planning. He was a business man. He viewed his plan for the City of Chicago as the best way to create an exceptional business and civic environment. It worked! Many elements of modern downtown Chicago that make it a truly great, world class city, are a direct result of Burnham's vision. For it is the grand vision that stirs the soul of mankind and allows a "planning document" -- normally a thick document, full of data, which sits on a shelf and collects dust -- to be embraced by an entire community. This is a must read for contemporary city planners, business men and government officials that want to "make it happen" in their communities. MAKE NO SMALL PLANS

Great Plan, Subpar Illustrations
It's hard for me to argue with what was said above. As a student of architectural history, I am as smitten with Burnham's plan as the next person. I do have one caveat with this otherwise fine reproduction: Oftentimes I found the illustrations to be a bit washed out. This gave me great difficulty whilst trying to examine them for a research paper I was assembling. As a result I had to get my hands on an original copy, with the beautiful watercolors still wonderfully intact. As it stands, however, this is a fine volume and worthy of anyone's collection.