author
Daniel Hudson Burnham
1846–1912
A driving force behind the modern American city, this architect and planner helped shape Chicago’s skyline and gave urban design one of its most famous rallying cries: think big. His work joined practical ambition with grand public vision, from landmark buildings to influential city plans.
1 Audiobook
Plan of Chicago
by Commercial Club of Chicago, Edward H. (Edward Herbert) Bennett, Daniel Hudson Burnham
About the author
Born in Henderson, New York, in 1846, Daniel Burnham became one of the most influential American architects and urban planners of his era. After moving to Chicago, he rose to prominence through the firm Burnham & Root, which played an important role in the development of early skyscraper architecture during the city’s explosive growth after the Great Fire.
Burnham became nationally famous for directing the construction of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The fair’s grand classical design helped popularize the City Beautiful movement and showed how architecture and planning could shape the way people experienced an entire city.
Later, he turned more fully toward urban planning, helping create major plans for Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities. Published in 1909, the Plan of Chicago became one of the best-known planning documents in American history, and Burnham’s belief in bold, large-scale civic vision has kept his name alive long after his death in 1912.