The Burnham Plan Centennial - Bold Plans, Big Dreams

Calendar & Projects

ALL CALENDAR ITEMS ARE FROM 2009. PLEASE CHECK WITH PROGRAM PARTNERS FOR CURRENT COSTS AND DATES.

Make Big Plans: Daniel Burnham's Dream of an American Metropolis

 Make Big Plans:  Daniel Burnham's Dream of an American Metropolis

Exhibit :

The multi-format exhibition includes a photo-panel exhibit simultaneously displayed at 12 CPL libraries from June - October 2009 and an online exhibition and slide show.The exhibit emphasizes the Plan's relevance to metropolitan development through the 20th century and into the future.

Maps, photographs, and illustrations from the plan and other sources will engage broad audiences in the history and implications of Burnham's regional vision. The exhibit will create a forum for broad public discussion of the 1909 Plan, its impact, continued relevance and the lessons it offers for urban and regional planning efforts in the 21st century. There will be a complementary series of public programs. The exhibition focuses on five central themes:  
 

  • Planners and Reformers offers an introduction to the plan, its historical context and creators, and its impact nationwide.
  • Rerouting the Metropolis focuses on how the plan envisioned Chicago’s transportation infrastructure and how Burnham’s design crystallized the transportation issues that faced American cities throughout the 20th century.
  • Nurturing Open Space explores the role the plan played in expanding metropolitan Chicago’s public parkland and the lakefront, and its national legacy for open space.
  • City and Region examines Burnham’s insistence that the plan address problems of the city and the region as a single unit and the historical challenges to its regional vision.
  • From City Beautiful to Green Metropolis depicts some of today’s bold plans for addressing critical regional issues – including solutions to challenges in areas such as transportation, conservation, energy, water, and sustainable design.
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    "Make Big Plans" is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Deloitte LLP, and Marsh & McLennan Companies.

    Program Partner

    Chicago Public Library

    The Chicago Public Library celebrates the Burnham Plan with the selection of Carl Smith's book, The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City for its award-winning program, One Book, One Chicago. Smith's book will be ...[MORE]


    This program was offered on these dates:
    Exhibit : Friday, June 19, 2009 to Saturday, October 31, 2009

    Chicago Public Library

    Contact: The Exhibit will be at a dozen Chicago Public Library branches. Please click on "12 CPL Libraries" in the text to the left for locations and addresses.

    The Burnham Plan Centennial
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