An Ongoing Legacy: The Burnham Plan from the City Beautiful Movement to Daley's Post-Modernist Chicago

In this illustrated Friends of the Library Signature Showcase presentation, Dr. Dominic Pacyga explores the roots and impact of the Plan of Chicago from its conception to present day.
 
The Burnham Plan remains a central document for those who would build and rebuild this great city. Most importantly it has shaped Chicago’s lakefront and guaranteed that the city will preserve it for generations to come. Yet the 1909 Plan is much more; it provides an ongoing inspiration for planners as Chicago continues to evolve as a world-class city. Pacyga explores the early roots of planning in the city especially in Baron (Georges-Eugène) Haussmann’s Paris and George Mortimer Pullman’s utopian manufacturing city and shows how current Mayor Richard M. Daley is, in many ways, reclaiming Chicago’s “City Beautiful” past as first laid out by Burnham and Bennett 100 years ago.
 
A book signing featuring Pacyga's latest book, Chicago: A Biography will be held immediately after his presentation. This presentation is free and open to the public.