99-798: Daniel Hudson Burnham Jr. (1886–1961), was an architect and urban planner based in Chicago and one of the sons of the renowned architect and urban planner Daniel H. Burnham . Burnham Jr. was director of public works for the Century of Progress 1933-34 World's Fair in Chicago, the same role his father held for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Burnham trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and worked in his father's firm, D. H. Burnham & Company , until after Burnham's death. In 1917 he and his brother, Hubert Burnham, left
198-628: A Plan of Chicago which laid out plans for the future of the city. It was the first comprehensive plan for the controlled growth of an American city and an outgrowth of the City Beautiful movement . The plan included ambitious proposals for the lakefront and river. It also asserted that every citizen should be within walking distance of a park. Sponsored by the Commercial Club of Chicago , Burnham donated his services in hopes of furthering his own cause. Building off plans and conceptual designs from
297-415: A claim by Cohn to have been present at the start of the fire. According to Cohn, on the night of the fire, he was gambling in the O'Learys' barn with one of their sons and some other neighborhood boys. When Mrs. O'Leary came out to the barn to chase the gamblers away at around 9:00, they knocked over a lantern in their flight, although Cohn states that he paused long enough to scoop up the money. The argument
396-418: A cow owned by Sullivan's mother. Bales's account does not have consensus. The Chicago Public Library staff criticized his account in their web page on the fire. Despite this, the Chicago city council was convinced of Bales's argument and stated that the actions of Sullivan on that day should be scrutinized after the O'Leary family was exonerated in 1997. Anthony DeBartolo reported evidence in two articles of
495-536: A dry summer, so that winds from the front that moved in that evening were capable of generating rapidly expanding blazes from available ignition sources, which were plentiful in the region. On that hot, dry, and windy autumn day, three other major fires occurred along the shores of Lake Michigan at the same time as the Great Chicago Fire. Some 250 miles (400 km) to the north, the Peshtigo Fire consumed
594-409: A fire swept through the city of Urbana, Illinois , 140 miles (230 km) south of Chicago, destroying portions of its downtown area. Windsor, Ontario , likewise burned on October 12. The city of Singapore, Michigan , provided a large portion of the lumber to rebuild Chicago. As a result, the area was so heavily deforested that the land deteriorated into barren sand dunes that buried the town, and
693-523: A meal eaten in Heidelberg. At the time of his death, D.H. Burnham and Co. was the world's largest architectural firm. Even legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright , although strongly critical of Burnham's Beaux Arts European influences, still admired him as a man and eulogized him, saying: "[Burnham] made masterful use of the methods and men of his time ...[As] an enthusiastic promoter of great construction enterprises ...his powerful personality
792-401: A more old-fashioned way of life, and that the fire was caused by people ignoring traditional morality. On the other hand, others believed that a lesson to be learned from the fire was that cities needed to improve their building techniques. Frederick Law Olmsted observed that poor building practices in Chicago were a problem: Chicago had a weakness for "big things", and liked to think that it
891-424: A move to the top floor of The Rookery , another of their designs. Then, in 1888, a Kansas City, Missouri , hotel they had designed collapsed during construction, killing one man and injuring several others. At the coroner's inquest, the building's design came in for criticism. The negative publicity shook and depressed Burnham. Then in a further setback, Burnham and Root also failed to win the commission for design of
990-408: A small barn belonging to the O'Leary family that bordered the alley behind 137 W. DeKoven Street . The shed next to the barn was the first building to be consumed by the fire. City officials never determined the cause of the blaze, but the rapid spread of the fire due to a long drought in that year's summer, strong winds from the southwest, and the rapid destruction of the water pumping system explain
1089-480: A tornado-like effect. These fire whirls are likely what drove flaming debris so high and so far. Such debris was blown across the main branch of the Chicago River to a railroad car carrying kerosene . The fire had jumped the river a second time and was now raging across the city's north side. Despite the fire spreading and growing rapidly, the city's firefighters continued to battle the blaze. A short time after
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#17328765914021188-410: A very successful firm. Their first major commission came from John B. Sherman, the superintendent of the massive Union Stock Yards in Chicago, which provided the livelihood – directly or indirectly – for one-fifth of the city's population. Sherman hired the firm to build for him a mansion on Prairie Avenue at Twenty-first Street among the mansions of Chicago's other merchant barons. Root made
1287-611: Is not universally accepted. An alternative theory, first suggested in 1882 by Ignatius L. Donnelly in Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel , is that the fire was caused by a meteor shower . This was described as a "fringe theory" concerning Biela's Comet . At a 2004 conference of the Aerospace Corporation and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , engineer and physicist Robert Wood suggested that
1386-532: The Chicago School of architecture, was renamed D.H. Burnham & Company . After that the firm continued its successes and Burnham extended his reach into city design. Burnham and Root had accepted responsibility to oversee the design and construction of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago 's then-desolate Jackson Park on the south lakefront. The largest world's fair to that date (1893), it celebrated
1485-584: The Chicago Tribune (October 8, 1997, and March 3, 1998, reprinted in Hyde Park Media ) suggesting that Louis M. Cohn may have started the fire during a craps game. Following his death in 1942, Cohn bequeathed $ 35,000 which was assigned by his executors to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University . The bequest was given to the school on September 28, 1944, and the dedication contained
1584-485: The Common Council of London gave 1,000 guineas, as well as £7,000 from private donations. In Greenock , Scotland (pop. 40,000) a town meeting raised £518 on the spot. Cincinnati , Cleveland , and Buffalo , all commercial rivals, donated hundreds and thousands of dollars. Milwaukee , along with other nearby cities, helped by sending fire-fighting equipment. Food, clothing and books were brought by train from all over
1683-678: The Empire State Building , the neo-classical Gimbels Department Store (1908–1912) also in New York, now the Manhattan Mall , with a completely new facade, the stunningly Art Deco Mount Wilson Observatory in the hills above Pasadena, California , and Filene's Department Store (1912) in Boston, the last major building designed by Burnham. In 1904, Burnham accepted a commission from Philippines Governor-General William Howard Taft . He had
1782-550: The Flatiron Building in New York City, a trailblazing structure that utilized an internal steel skeleton to provide structural integrity; the exterior masonry walls were not load-bearing. This allowed the building to rise to 22 stories. The design was that of a vertical Renaissance palazzo with Beaux-Arts styling, divided like a classical column , into base, shaft and capital. Other Burnham post-fair designs included
1881-550: The Flatiron Building of triangular shape in New York City, Washington Union Station in Washington D.C., London's Selfridges department store, and San Francisco's Merchants Exchange . Although best known for his skyscrapers, city planning, and for the White City, almost one third of Burnham's total output – 14.7 million square feet (1.37 million square metres) – consisted of buildings for shopping. Burnham
1980-560: The Land Title Building (1897) in Philadelphia, the first major building in that city not designed by local architects, and known as "the finest example of early skyscraper design" there, John Wanamaker's Department Store (1902–1911) in Philadelphia, now Macy's , which is built around a central court, Wanamaker's Annex (1904, addition: 1907–1910), in New York City, a 19-story full-block building which contains as much floorspace as
2079-572: The Montauk Building , the tallest building in Chicago at the time. To solve the problem of the city's water-saturated sandy soil and bedrock 125 feet (38 m) below the surface, Root came up with a plan to dig down to a "hardpan" layer of clay on which was laid a 2-foot (0.61 m) thick pad of concrete overlaid with steel rails placed at right-angles to form a lattice "grill", which was then filled with Portland cement . This "floating foundation" was, in effect, artificially-created bedrock on which
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#17328765914022178-687: The Potomac River and the relocation of an existing railroad station, which was replaced by Burnham's design for Washington Union Station . As a result of his service on the McMillan Commission, in 1910 Burnham was appointed a member and first chairman of the United States Commission of Fine Arts helping to ensure implementation of the McMillan Plan's vision. Burnham served on the commission until his death in 1912. In his career after
2277-631: The Reliance Building in Chicago which was designed by Burnham and Root, is now the Hotel Burnham , although Root was the primary architect before his death in 1891. Informational notes Citations Bibliography Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km ) of
2376-424: The automobile would be a positive environmental factor, with the end of horse-based transportation bringing "a real step in civilization ... With no smoke, no gases, no litter of horses, your air and streets will be clean and pure. This means, does it not, that the health and spirits of men will be better?" Like many men of his time, he also showed an interest in the supernatural, saying "If I were able to take
2475-619: The main stem of the river, consuming the Near North Side . Help flowed to the city from near and far after the fire. The city government improved building codes to stop the rapid spread of future fires and rebuilt rapidly to those higher standards. A donation from the United Kingdom spurred the establishment of the Chicago Public Library . The fire is said to have started at about 8:30 p.m. on October 8, in or around
2574-419: The 400-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus 's famous voyage. After Root's sudden and unexpected death, a team of distinguished American architects and landscape architects, including Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted , Charles McKim , Richard M. Hunt , George B. Post , and Henry Van Brunt radically changed Root's modern and colorful style to a Classical Revival style. Only the pavilion by Louis Sullivan
2673-555: The Board of Supervisors in September 1905, but in the haste to rebuild the city after the 1906 earthquake and fires Burnham's plans were ultimately ignored. In the Philippines, Burnham's plan for Manila never materialized due to the outbreak of World War II and the relocation of the capital to another city after the war. Some components of the plan, however, did come into fruition including
2772-533: The City Council passed the ordinance to establish the free Chicago Public Library , starting with the donation from the United Kingdom of more than 8,000 volumes. The fire also led to questions about development in the United States. Due to Chicago's rapid expansion at that time, the fire led to Americans reflecting on industrialization. Based on a religious point of view, some said that Americans should return to
2871-491: The Director of Public Works for the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair , known as the "Century of Progress". The Burnham family lived in Chicago until 1886, when he purchased a 16-room farmhouse and estate on Lake Michigan in the suburb of Evanston, Illinois . Burnham had become wary of Chicago which he felt was becoming dirtier and more dangerous as its population increased. Burnham explained to his mother, whom he did not tell of
2970-561: The Nevada state legislature and failed to be elected. Broke, he returned again to Chicago and took a position with the architect L. G. Laurean. When the Great Chicago Fire hit the city in October 1871, it seemed as if there would be endless work for architects, but Burnham chose to strike out again, becoming first a salesman of plate glass windows, then a druggist. He failed at the first and quit
3069-464: The Philippines, Burnham was allowed to choose the principal architect, William E. Parsons . Burnham then departed to keep tabs on the project from the mainland. Burnham's plans emphasized improved sanitation, a cohesive aesthetic ( Mission Revival ), and visual reminders of government authority. In Manila, wide boulevards radiated out from the capital building, while in Baguio government structures loomed from
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3168-529: The United States had been distrustful of Catholics (or papists , as they were often called) since its beginning, carrying over attitudes in England in the 17th century; as an Irish Catholic, Mrs. O'Leary was a target of both anti-Catholic and anti-Irish sentiment. This story was circulating in Chicago even before the flames had died out, and it was noted in the Chicago Tribune ' s first post-fire issue. In 1893
3267-432: The United States, including his son, Daniel Burnham Jr. , and grandchildren Burnham Kelly and Margaret Burnham Geddes . Burnham married Margaret Sherman, the daughter of his first major client, John B. Sherman, on January 20, 1876. They first met on the construction site of her father's house. Her father had a house built for the couple to live in. During their courtship, there was a scandal in which Burnham's older brother
3366-493: The World's Columbian Exposition ... Henceforward, and until further notice, you will report to and receive orders from me exclusively." After the fair opened, Olmsted, who designed the fairgrounds, said of Burnham that "too high an estimate cannot be placed on the industry, skill and tact with which this result was secured by the master of us all." Burnham himself rejected the suggestion that Root had been largely responsible for
3465-641: The World's Columbian Exposition: architect Charles Follen McKim , landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. , and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens . Going well beyond Pierre L'Enfant 's original vision for the city, the plan provided for the extension of the Mall beyond the Washington Monument to a new Lincoln Memorial and a "pantheon" that eventually materialized as the Jefferson Memorial . This plan involved significant reclamation of land from swamp and
3564-475: The World's Fair for the south lakefront, Burnham envisioned Chicago as a " Paris on the Prairie". French-inspired public works constructions, fountains and boulevards radiating from a central, domed municipal palace became Chicago's new backdrop. Though only parts of the plan were actually implemented, it set the standard for urban design, anticipating the future need to control urban growth and continuing to influence
3663-441: The World's Fair will last for half a century from its date, if not longer" – a sentiment edged with bitterness, as corporate America of the early 20th century had demonstrated a strong preference for Burnham's architectural style over Sullivan's. Burnham is famously quoted as saying, "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." This slogan has been taken to capture
3762-673: The annual Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan (run by the American Planning Association ), and the Burnham Memorial Competition which was held in 2009 to create a memorial to Burnham and his Plan of Chicago . Collections of Burnham's personal and professional papers, photographs, and other archival materials are held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago . In addition,
3861-399: The architectural firm Loring & Jenney. Architecture seemed to be the calling he was looking for, and he told his parents that he wanted to become "the greatest architect in the city or country". Nevertheless, the young Burnham still had a streak of wanderlust in him, and in 1869 he left his apprenticeship to go to Nevada with friends to try mining gold, at which he failed. He then ran for
3960-513: The building could be constructed. The completed building was so tall compared to existing buildings that it defied easy description, and the name "skyscraper" was coined to describe it. Thomas Talmadge, an architect and architectural critic said of the building, "What Chartres was to the Gothic cathedral, the Montauk Block was to the high commercial building." Burnham and Root went on to build more of
4059-460: The burned district are still standing: St. Michael's Church and the Pumping Station were both gutted in the fire, but their exteriors survived, and the buildings were rebuilt using the surviving walls. Additionally, though the inhabitable portions of the building were destroyed, the bell tower of St. James Cathedral survived the fire and was incorporated into the rebuilt church. The stones near
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4158-420: The city as well are safe." For two weeks Sheridan's men patrolled the streets, guarded the relief warehouses, and enforced other regulations. On October 24 the troops were relieved of their duties and the volunteers were mustered out of service. Of the approximately 324,000 inhabitants of Chicago in 1871, 90,000 Chicago residents (about 28% of the population) were left homeless. 120 bodies were recovered, but
4257-402: The city began to rewrite its fire standards, spurred by the efforts of leading insurance executives, and fire-prevention reformers such as Arthur C. Ducat . Chicago soon developed one of the country's leading fire-fighting forces. Business owners and land speculators such as Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard quickly set about rebuilding the city. The first load of lumber for rebuilding was delivered
4356-409: The city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center . A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city, led to the conflagration spreading quickly. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then crossed
4455-518: The cliffs above the town. The land for the Baguio project, 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) in total, was seized from local Igorots with approval of the Philippine Supreme Court. In Manila, neighborhoods ravaged by the war for independence were left untouched while a luxury hotel, casino, and boat clubs were designed for visiting mainland dignitaries. Initiated in 1906 and published in 1909, Burnham and his co-author Edward H. Bennett prepared
4554-576: The continent. Mayor Mason placed the Chicago Relief and Aid Society in charge of the city's relief efforts. Operating from the First Congregational Church , city officials and aldermen began taking steps to preserve order in Chicago. Price gouging was a key concern, and in one ordinance, the city set the price of bread at 8¢ for a 12-ounce (340 g) loaf. Public buildings were opened as places of refuge, and saloons closed at 9 in
4653-442: The day the last burning building was extinguished. By the World's Columbian Exposition 22 years later, Chicago hosted more than 21 million visitors. The Palmer House hotel burned to the ground in the fire 13 days after its grand opening. Its developer, Potter Palmer , secured a loan and rebuilt the hotel to higher standards, across the street from the original, proclaiming it to be "The World's First Fireproof Building". In 1956,
4752-532: The death toll may have been as high as 300. The county coroner speculated that an accurate count was impossible, as some victims may have drowned or had been incinerated, leaving no remains. In the days and weeks following the fire, monetary donations flowed into Chicago from around the country and abroad, along with donations of food, clothing, and other goods. These donations came from individuals, corporations, and cities. New York City gave $ 450,000 along with clothing and provisions, St. Louis gave $ 300,000, and
4851-420: The development of Chicago long after Burnham's death. Burnham's city planning projects did not stop at Chicago. Burnham had previously contributed to plans for cities such as Cleveland (the 1903 Group Plan ), San Francisco (1905), Manila (1905), and Baguio in the Philippines, details of which appear in the 1909 Plan of Chicago publication. His plans for the redesign of San Francisco were delivered to
4950-486: The essence of Burnham's spirit. A man of influence, Burnham was considered the pre-eminent architect in America at the start of the 20th century. He held many positions during his lifetime, including the presidency of the American Institute of Architects . Other notable architects began their careers under his aegis, such as Joseph W. McCarthy . Several of his descendants have worked as influential architects and planners in
5049-470: The evening for the week following the fire. Many people who were left homeless after the incident were never able to get their normal lives back since all their personal papers and belongings burned in the conflagration. After the fire, A. H. Burgess of London proposed an "English Book Donation", to spur a free library in Chicago, in their sympathy with Chicago over the damages suffered. Libraries in Chicago had been private with membership fees. In April 1872,
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#17328765914025148-492: The extensive damage of the mainly wooden city structures. There has been much speculation over the years on a single start to the fire. The most popular tale blames Mrs. O'Leary's cow, which allegedly knocked over a lantern; others state that a group of men were gambling inside the barn and knocked over a lantern. Still other speculation suggests that the blaze was related to other fires in the Midwest that day . The fire's spread
5247-540: The fair's design and construction was a matter of dispute between various entities, particularly the National Commission which was headed by George R. Davis , who served as Director-General of the fair. It was also headed by the Exposition Company which consisted of the city's leading merchants, led by Lyman Gage which had raised the money needed to build the fair, and Burnham as Director of Works. In addition
5346-462: The fair's design, writing afterwards: What was done up to the time of his death was the faintest suggestion of a plan ... The impression concerning his part has been gradually built up by a few people, close friends of his and mostly women, who naturally after the Fair proved beautiful desired to more broadly identify his memory with it. Nevertheless, Burnham's reputation was considerably enhanced by
5445-719: The fair, Burnham became one of the country's most prominent advocates for the Beaux-Arts movement as well as the revival of Neo-classical architecture which began with the fair. Much of Burnham's work was based on the classical style of Greece and Rome. In his 1924 autobiography, Louis Sullivan , one of the leading architects of the Chicago School, but one who had a difficult relationship with Burnham over an extended period of time, criticized Burnham for what Sullivan viewed as his lack of original expression and dependence on classicism . Sullivan went on to claim that "the damage wrought by
5544-401: The fire began when a fragment of Biela's Comet impacted the Midwest. Biela's Comet had broken apart in 1845 and had not been observed since. Wood argued that four large fires took place, all on the same day, all on the shores of Lake Michigan (see related events ), suggesting a common root cause. Eyewitnesses reported sighting spontaneous ignitions, lack of smoke, "balls of fire" falling from
5643-682: The fire had already started to burn itself out. The fire had spread to the sparsely populated areas of the north side, having thoroughly consumed the densely populated areas. Once the fire had ended, the smoldering remains were still too hot for a survey of the damage to be completed for many days. Eventually, the city determined that the fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6 km) long and averaging 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1 km) wide, encompassing an area of more than 2,000 acres (809 ha). Destroyed were more than 73 miles (117 km) of roads, 120 miles (190 km) of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts, 17,500 buildings, and $ 222 million in property, which
5742-399: The fire jumped the river, a burning piece of timber lodged on the roof of the city's waterworks . Within minutes, the interior of the building was engulfed in flames and the building was destroyed. With it, the city's water mains went dry and the city was helpless. The fire burned unchecked from building to building, block to block. Late in the evening of October 9, it started to rain, but
5841-478: The fire started when Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan, who first reported the fire, ignited hay in the barn while trying to steal milk. Part of Bales's evidence includes an account by Sullivan, who claimed in an inquiry before the Fire Department of Chicago on November 25, 1871, that he saw the fire coming through the side of the barn and ran across DeKoven Street to free the animals from the barn, one of which included
5940-403: The fire started, but stories of the cow began to spread across the city. Catherine O'Leary seemed the perfect scapegoat : she was a poor, Irish Catholic immigrant. During the latter half of the 19th century, anti-Irish sentiment was strong in Chicago and throughout the United States. This was intensified as a result of the growing political power of the city's Irish population. Furthermore,
6039-442: The fire to grow unchecked. An alarm sent from the area near the fire also failed to register at the courthouse where the fire watchmen were, while the firefighters were tired from having fought numerous small fires and one large fire in the week before. These factors combined to turn a small barn fire into a conflagration. When firefighters finally arrived at DeKoven Street, the fire had grown and spread to neighboring buildings and
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#17328765914026138-478: The fire, while strong southwest winds helped to carry flying embers toward the heart of the city. In 1871, the Chicago Fire Department had 185 firefighters with just 17 horse-drawn steam pumpers to protect the entire city. The initial response by the fire department was timely, but due to an error by the watchman, Matthias Schaffer, the firefighters were initially sent to the wrong place, allowing
6237-471: The first American skyscrapers, such as the Masonic Temple Building in Chicago. Measuring 21 stories and 302 feet, the temple held claims as the tallest building of its time, but was torn down in 1939. The talents of the two partners were complementary. Both men were artists and gifted architects, but Root had a knack for conceiving elegant designs and was able to see almost at once the totality of
6336-470: The first example of a comprehensive planning document in the nation, the fairground featured grand boulevards , classical building facades , and lush gardens . Often called the "White City," it popularized neoclassical architecture in a monumental, yet rational Beaux-Arts style. As a result of the fair's popularity, architects across the U.S. were said to be inundated with requests by clients to incorporate similar elements into their designs. The control of
6435-468: The giant Auditorium Building , which went instead to their rivals, Adler & Sullivan . On January 15, 1891, while the firm was deep in meetings for the design of the World's Columbian Exposition , Root died after a three-day course of pneumonia . As Root had been only 41 years old, his death stunned both Burnham and Chicago society. After Root's death, the firm of Burnham and Root, which had had tremendous success producing modern buildings as part of
6534-482: The heat and from burning debris blown by the wind. Around midnight, flaming debris blew across the river and landed on roofs and the South Side Gas Works. With the fire across the river and moving rapidly toward the heart of the city, panic set in. About this time, Mayor Roswell B. Mason sent messages to nearby towns asking for help. When the courthouse caught fire, he ordered the building to be evacuated and
6633-453: The initial design. Burnham refined it and supervised the construction. It was on the construction site that he met Sherman's daughter, Margaret, whom Burnham married in 1876 after a short courtship. Sherman commissioned other projects from Burnham and Root, including the Stone Gate , an entry portal to the stockyards which became a Chicago landmark. In 1881, the firm was commissioned to build
6732-550: The lake to the east, the town of Holland, Michigan , and other nearby areas burned to the ground. Some 100 miles (160 km) to the north of Holland, the lumbering community of Manistee also went up in flames in what became known as the Great Michigan Fire . Farther east, along the shore of Lake Huron , the Port Huron Fire swept through Port Huron, Michigan and much of Michigan 's "Thumb" . On October 9, 1871,
6831-407: The large number of committees made it difficult for construction to move forward at the pace needed to meet the opening day deadline. After a major accident which destroyed one of the fair's premiere buildings, Burnham moved to take tighter control of construction, distributing a memo to all the fair's department heads which read "I have assumed personal control of the active work within the grounds of
6930-455: The mixtures also become explosive, a situation unlikely to occur from meteorites. Methane gas is lighter than air and thus does not accumulate near the ground; any localized pockets of methane in the open air rapidly dissipate. Moreover, if a fragment of an icy comet were to strike the Earth, the most likely outcome, due to the low tensile strength of such bodies, would be for it to disintegrate in
7029-655: The move in advance, "I did it, because I can no longer bear to have my children on the streets of Chicago..." When Burnham moved into "the shanty" in Jackson Park to better supervise construction of the fair, his wife, Margaret and their children remained in Evanston. Burnham was an early environmentalist , writing: "Up to our time, strict economy in the use of natural resources has not been practiced, but it must be henceforth unless we are immoral enough to impair conditions in which our children are to live," although he also believed
7128-407: The necessary structure. Burnham, on the other hand, excelled at bringing in clients and supervising the building of Root's designs. They each appreciated the value of the other to the firm. Burnham also took steps to ensure their employees were happy: he installed a gym in the office, gave fencing lessons and let employees play handball at lunch time. Root, a pianist and organist, gave piano recitals in
7227-488: The office on a rented piano. Paul Starrett , who joined the office in 1888 said "The office was full of a rush of work, but the spirit of the place was delightfully free and easy and human in comparison to other offices I had worked in." Although the firm was extremely successful, there were several notable setbacks. One of their designs, the Grannis Block in which their office was located, burned down in 1885 necessitating
7326-550: The opportunity to redesign Manila and plan a summer capital to be constructed in Baguio . Due to the Philippines status as a territory, Burnham was able to pursue his vision without having to win local approval. Altogether the project took six months to design, with only six weeks spent in the Philippines. During his time there, Burnham did not interact with Filipino locals concerning the project. After his plans were approved by William Cameron Forbes , Commissioner of Commerce and Police in
7425-475: The prisoners jailed in the basement to be released. At 2:30 a.m. on the 9th, the cupola of the courthouse collapsed, sending the great bell crashing down. Some witnesses reported hearing the sound from a mile (1.6 km) away. As more buildings succumbed to the flames, a major contributing factor to the fire's spread was a meteorological phenomenon known as a fire whirl . As hot air rises, it comes into contact with cooler air and begins to spin, creating
7524-555: The remaining structures on the original O'Leary property at 558 W. DeKoven Street were torn down for construction of the Chicago Fire Academy, a training facility for Chicago firefighters, known as the Quinn Fire Academy or Chicago Fire Department Training Facility. A bronze sculpture of stylized flames, entitled Pillar of Fire by Egon Weiner , was erected on the point of origin in 1961. The following structures from
7623-402: The reporter Michael Ahern retracted the "cow-and-lantern" story, admitting it was fabricated, but even his confession was unable to put the legend to rest. Although the O'Learys were never officially charged with starting the fire, the story became so engrained in local lore that Chicago's city council officially exonerated them—and the cow—in 1997. Amateur historian Richard Bales has suggested
7722-470: The second. He later remarked on "a family tendency to get tired of doing the same thing for very long". At age 26, Burnham moved on to the Chicago offices of Carter, Drake and Wight where he met future business partner John Wellborn Root , who was 21 and four years younger than Burnham. The two became friends and then opened an architectural office together in 1873. Unlike his previous ventures, Burnham stuck to this one. Burnham and Root went on to become
7821-598: The shore road which became Dewey Boulevard (now known as Roxas Boulevard ) and the various neoclassical government buildings around Luneta Park , which very much resemble a miniature version of Washington, D.C., in their arrangement. In Washington, D.C. , Burnham did much to shape the 1901 McMillan Plan which led to the completion of the overall design of the National Mall . The Senate Park Commission, or McMillan Commission established by Michigan Senator James McMillan, brought together Burnham and three of his colleagues from
7920-420: The sky, and blue flames. According to Wood, these accounts suggest that the fires were caused by the methane that is commonly found in comets. Meteorites are not known to start or spread fires and are cool to the touch after reaching the ground, so this theory has not found favor in the scientific community. Methane-air mixtures become flammable only when the methane concentration exceeds 5%, at which point
8019-468: The success and beauty of the fair. Harvard and Yale both presented him honorary master's degrees ameliorating his having failed their entrance exams in his youth. The common perception while Root was alive was that he was the architectural artist and Burnham had run the business side of the firm; Root's death, while devastating to Burnham personally, allowed him to develop as an architect in a way he might not have, had Root lived on. In 1901, Burnham designed
8118-452: The successor firm of Graham, Burnham & Company to found their own firm, Burnham Brothers . The old firm, which had been the world's largest architecture firm under Daniel Burnham, was taken over by Ernest Graham and operated for approximately 90 years as Graham, Anderson, Probst & White . In 1933 Burnham left the firm, and Hubert Burnham formed a new partnership with C. Herrick Hammond called Burnham & Hammond. For six years he
8217-399: The time, I believe that I could prove the continuation of life beyond the grave, reasoning from the necessity, philosophically speaking, of a belief in an absolute and universal power." When Burnham was in his fifties, his health began to decline. He developed colitis and in 1909 was diagnosed with diabetes , which affected his circulatory system and led to an infection in his foot which
8316-452: The top of the tower are still blackened from the soot and smoke. Almost from the moment the fire broke out, various theories about its cause began to circulate. The most popular and enduring legend maintains that the fire began in the O'Leary barn as Mrs. O'Leary was milking her cow. The cow kicked over a lantern (or an oil lamp in some versions), setting fire to the barn. The O'Leary family denied this, stating that they were in bed before
8415-409: The town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin , along with a dozen other villages. It killed 1,200 to 2,500 people and charred approximately 1.5 million acres (6,100 km ). The Peshtigo Fire remains the deadliest in American history but the remoteness of the region meant it was little noticed at the time, due to the fact that one of the first things that burned were the telegraph lines to Green Bay. Across
8514-456: The upper atmosphere, leading to a meteor air burst like the Tunguska event . The specific choice of Biela's Comet does not match with the dates in question, as the 6-year period of the comet's orbit did not intersect that of the Earth until 1872, one full year after the fire, when a large meteor shower was observed. A common cause for the fires in the Midwest in late 1871 is that the area had had
8613-455: Was about a third of the city's valuation in 1871. On October 11, 1871, General Philip H. Sheridan came quickly to the aid of the city and was placed in charge by a proclamation, given by mayor Roswell B. Mason : "The Preservation of the Good Order and Peace of the city is hereby intrusted to Lieut. General P.H. Sheridan, U.S. Army." To protect the city from looting and violence, the city
8712-638: Was accused of having forged checks. Burnham immediately went to John Sherman and offered to break the engagement as a matter of honor but Sherman rejected the offer, saying "There is a black sheep in every family." However, Sherman remained wary of his son-in-law, who he thought drank too much. Burnham and Margaret remained married for the rest of his life. They had five children—two daughters and three sons—including Daniel Burnham Jr. , born in February 1886, who became an architect and urban planner like his father. He worked in his father's firm until 1917, and served as
8811-533: Was aided by the city's use of wood as the predominant building material in a style called balloon frame . More than two-thirds of the structures in Chicago at the time of the fire were made entirely of wood, with most of the houses and buildings being topped with highly combustible tar or shingle roofs. All of the city's sidewalks and many roads were also made of wood. Compounding this problem, Chicago received only 1 inch (25 mm) of rain from July 4 to October 9, causing severe drought conditions before
8910-580: Was born in Henderson, New York , the son of Elizabeth Keith (Weeks) and Edwin Arnold Burnham. He was raised in the teachings of the Swedenborgian , also called "The New Church" which ingrained in him the strong belief that man should strive to be of service to others. At the age of eight, Burnham moved to Chicago and his father established there a wholesale drug business which became a success. Burnham
9009-411: Was designed in a non-Classical style. To ensure the project's success, Burnham moved his personal residence into a wooden headquarters, called "the shanty" on the burgeoning fairgrounds to improve his ability to oversee construction. The construction of the fair faced huge financial and logistical hurdles, including a worldwide financial panic and an extremely tight timeframe, to open on time. Considered
9108-532: Was in private practice before returning to his brother with Burnham & Hammond. He practiced with the firm until his retirement in 1959. Daniel H. Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham FAIA (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer . A proponent of the Beaux-Arts movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ever produced." A successful Chicago architect, he
9207-402: Was not a good student, but he was good at drawing. He moved to the eastern part of the country at the age of 18 to be taught by private tutors in order to pass the admissions examinations for Harvard and Yale , failing both apparently because of a bad case of test anxiety. In 1867, when he was 21 he returned to Chicago and took an apprenticeship as a draftsman under William LeBaron Jenney of
9306-435: Was outbuilding New York. It did a great deal of commercial advertising in its house-tops. The faults of construction as well as of art in its great showy buildings must have been numerous. Their walls were thin, and were overweighted with gross and coarse misornamentation. Olmsted also believed that with brick walls, and disciplined firemen and police, the deaths and damage caused would have been much less. Almost immediately,
9405-566: Was progressing toward the central business district. Firefighters had hoped that the South Branch of the Chicago River and an area that had previously thoroughly burned would act as a natural firebreak . All along the river, however, were lumber yards, warehouses, and coal yards, as well as barges, and numerous bridges across the river. As the fire grew, the southwest wind intensified and the temperature rose, causing structures to catch fire from
9504-506: Was put under martial law for two weeks under Gen. Sheridan's command structure with a mix of regular troops, militia units, police, and a specially organized civilian group "First Regiment of Chicago Volunteers." Former Lieutenant-Governor William Bross, and part owner of the Tribune , later recollected his response to the arrival of Gen. Sheridan and his soldiers: "Never did deeper emotions of joy overcome me. Thank God, those most dear to me and
9603-466: Was selected as Director of Works for the 1892–93 World's Columbian Exposition , colloquially referred to as "The White City". He had prominent roles in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including the Plan of Chicago , and plans for Manila , Baguio and downtown Washington, D.C. He also designed several famous buildings, including a number of notable skyscrapers in Chicago,
9702-540: Was supreme." The successor firm to Burnham's practice was Graham, Anderson, Probst & White , which continued in some form until 2006. Burnham was interred at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Tributes to Burnham include Burnham Park and Daniel Burnham Court in Chicago, Burnham Park in Baguio in the Philippines, Daniel Burnham Court in San Francisco (formerly Hemlock Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street),
9801-706: Was to continue for the remainder of his life. On April 14, 1912 , Burnham and his wife were aboard the RMS Olympic of the White Star Line , traveling to Europe to tour Heidelberg, Germany . When he attempted to send a telegram to his friend Frank Millet who was traveling the opposite direction, from Europe to the United States, on the RMS Titanic , he learned that the ship had sunk in an accident and Millet did not survive. Burnham died only 47 days later from colitis complicated by his diabetes and food poisoning from
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