Daniel Burnham's Enduring Vision for the Philippines

Exhibit :

Architectural and landscape photographer Tim Long shot photographs that document the buildings and streets -- built according to a Burnham Plan -- that still stand and still play an important role in the landscape of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
 
In 1904 the United States government sent Daniel Burnham, a prominent Chicago architect and city planner, to the Philippine Islands to modernize the capital city and a second smaller city to be used as the summer capital. Plans were drawn for Manila and Baguio and building began. And though shifting political and economic interests in the U.S. eventually disrupted the projects, Burnham's plans continues to exert and influence on architects and city planners, even building codes, well into the 1940s.
 
The greatest concentration of Burnham's legacy can still be found in Metro-Manila, an urban continuum of more than 10 million people. Clustered around a large city park designed by Burnham in an old section of the city are several graceful Beaux Arts buildings designed by Burnham proteges. Street systems typical of Burnham's "City Beautiful" plans drawn for San Francisco and Chicago emanate outward from the park to eventually fade into the fabric of a remarkably chaotic urban landscape.
 
The exhibition is supported by Columbia College Chicago and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The project is supported in part by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Sutdies in the Fine Arts.