The City Beautiful movement was a Progressive reform movement in North American architecture and urban planning that flourished in the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities to counteract the perceived moral decay of poverty-stricken urban environments. The movement, which was originally most closely associated with Chicago and Washington, D.C., did not seek beauty for its own sake, but rather as a social control device for creating moral and civic virtue among urban populations. Advocates of the movement believed that such beautification could thus provide a harmonious social order that would improve the lives of the inner-city poor. Progressivism is a political philosophy whose adherents promote public policies that they believe would lead to positive social change. ... Political highlights of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Table of architecture, Cyclopaedia, 1728 The following article focuses on built environment, the architecture of spaces designed for human habitation. ... Urban, city, or town planning, deals with the physical, social and economic development of metropolitan regions, municipalities and neighborhoods. ... The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... // Events and Trends Technology Lawrence Hargrave makes the first stable wing design for a heavier-than-air aircraft Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first documented flight in a powered heavier-than-air aircraft Mass production of automobile Wide popularity of home phonograph Panama Canal is built by the United... Many see natural beauty in the folded petals of a rose. ... The Taj Mahal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh, India) Monuments are usually created for the dual function of commemorating an important event or person while also creating an artistic object that will improve the appearance of a city or location. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ... Sydney, Australia at Night. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Official website: http://www. ... Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. ... (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) Virtue is moral excellence of a man or a woman. ...

Field Museum of Natural History,Chicago

Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 1118 KB)Field Museum of Natural History I agree to multi-license all my images which were taken at the Field Museum: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (2304x1728, 1118 KB)Field Museum of Natural History I agree to multi-license all my images which were taken at the Field Museum: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago The Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as Museum Campus Chicago. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ...

History

Origins and impact

The movement arose in the United States in response the perceived wretched conditions of inner-city poverty in crowded tenement districts, itself a product of increased immigration and consolidation of rural populations into cities. The movement flourished for several decades, but it also achieved great influence in urban planning that extended throughout the 20th century, in particular in regard to the later creation of housing projects in the United States. The "Garden City" movement in Britain influenced the contemporary planning of some newer suburbs of London, and there was cross-fertilization between the two esthetics, one based in formal garden plans and urbanization schemes of the Baroque the other, with its "semi-detached villas" evoking a more rural atmosphere. Critics of the movement asserted that the uniformity and high-mindedness of the style created dullness and sterility in urban environments, ironically contributing to an increase in the urban blight that the original advocates of the movement were seeking to ameliorate. Categories: Stub | House types ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Public housing describes a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ... The Garden city movement was founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in England in 1898 as an approach to urban planning. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens: dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint In the arts, Baroque (or baroque) is both a period and the artistic style that dominated it. ... Semi-detached housing (usually abbreviated to semi, as in three-bedroom semi) consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each houses layout is a mirror image of its twin. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Roman villa. ... Blight is a condition of property or the uses of property in parts of a city, town, or neighborhood that are detrimental to the physical, social, and/or economic well-being of a community. ...

Architectural idioms

The particular architectural style of the movement borrowed heavily from the contemporary Beaux-Arts movement, which emphasized the necessity of order, dignity, and harmony. The movement also borrowed from classical monumental planning but differed from the true neoclassical style in that in the City Beautiful movement, the classical idiom was adopted only partially, mixed with Beaux-Arts elements, and subjugated as means to the end of creating uniformity and harmony in style. Beaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic classical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, the home territory of this style, which influenced American architecture in the period 1885 – 1920. ... From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. ... The Taj Mahal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh, India) Monuments are usually created for the dual function of commemorating an important event or person while also creating an artistic object that will improve the appearance of a city or location. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ...

World Columbian Exposition

The first large-scale elaboration of the City Beautiful is considered to have been the "White City", as it came to be called, at the World Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. The planning of the exposition was headed by architect Daniel Burnham, who brought in architects from the eastern United States, as well as the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to build large-scale Beaux-Arts monuments that were vaguely classical with uniform cornice height. The exposition displayed a model city of grand scale, with clean state-of-the-art transport systems and no visible poverty. The exposition is credited with leading to the wide-scale embrace of the monumental idiom in American architecture for the next 15 years. Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue is one expression of this initial movement. One-third scale replica of The Republic, which once stood in the great basin at the exposition, Chicago, 2004 The World Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago Worlds Fair), a Worlds fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbuss discovery... 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Daniel H. Burnham. ... A sculpture is a three-dimensional, man-made object selected for special recognition as art. ... Augustus Saint Gaudens, 1905 Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Dublin, March 1, 1848 - Cornish, New Hampshire, August 3, 1907), was the Irish born American sculptor of the Beaux Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. ... Example of cornice laden roof line In classical architecture the cornice is the set of projecting moldings that crown an entablature. ... Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Official website: http://www. ... The Fan is a district of Richmond, Virginia, so named because of the fan shape of the roads that extend west from N. Belvidere St. ...

1901 Washington, D.C. Plan

Axial plan of The Mall, Washington, D.C.: the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial extend the central axis

The first attempt to use City Beautiful ideal for a city plan with intent of creating social order through beautification was the 1901 Plan for Washington, D.C., which arose from the Senate Park Commission's redesign of the monumental core of the city to commemorate the city's centennial and to fulfill unrealized aspects of the city plan of Pierre Charles L'Enfant a century earlier. Download high resolution version (1189x796, 565 KB)Capitol and Lincoln Memorial. ... Download high resolution version (1189x796, 565 KB)Capitol and Lincoln Memorial. ... Facing west across the Mall, with ones back towards the United States Capitol. ... The Lincoln Memorial, built 1915 - 1922 Aerial view of the Lincoln Memorial. ... Pierre Charles LEnfant Pierre Charles LEnfant (2 August 1754, Paris, France, – 14 June 1825, Prince Georges County, Maryland) was a French-born American architect and urban planner. ...

The Washington planners, who included Burnham, Saint-Gaudens, Charles McKim, and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., visited many of the great cities of Europe with the intent of putting Washington on par with the European capitals of the era and creating a sense of the legitimacy of government in a time of social upheaval in the United States. The essence of the plan surrounded the U.S. Capitol with monumental government buildings to replace "notorious slum communities". At the heart of the design was the creation of the National Mall and eventually included Burnham's Union Station. The implementation of the plan was interrupted by World War I but resumed after the war, culminating the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922. Charles Follen McKim, portrait by Frances Benjamin Johnston. ... Federick Law Olmsted, Jr. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... United States Capitol The United States Capitol is the building which serves as home for the legislative branch of the United States government. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ... The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, DC when it opened in 1907. ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 5 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) 3 million military, 3 million civilian (full list) {{{notes}}} World War I... The Lincoln Memorial, built 1915 - 1922 Aerial view of the Lincoln Memorial. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The movement's success in Washington is credited with influencing subsequent plans for beautification in many other cities, including Chicago, Cleveland, Montreal, Denver and San Francisco. In New Haven, John Russell Pope drew up a plan for Yale University that swept away substandard housing, but banished the urban poor to the peripheries. Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Official website: http://egov. ... Nickname: The Forest City Motto: Progress and Prosperity Official website: www. ... This article needs cleanup. ... This article refers to the state capital of Colorado. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Nickname: The Elm City Motto: Official website: www. ... The Jefferson Memorial, built 1939 — 1943 John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 - August 27, 1937) was an architect most known for his designs of the Jefferson Memorial (completed in 1943) and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art (completed in 1941) in Washington, DC. Pope was born in... Yale University is a private university in New Haven, Connecticut. ...

Main article: Civic Center, Denver

In Denver the energy behind extensive City Beautiful planning came from Mayor Robert Speer, whose plan centered round a Civic Center, disposed along agrand esplanade that led to the Colorado State Capitol. The plan was partly realized, on a reduced scale, with the Greek amphitheater, Voorhies Memorial and the Colonnade of Civic Benefactors, completed in 1919. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation funded the Denver Public Library (1910), which was designed as a three-story Greek Revival temple with a colossal Ionic colonnade across it front; inside it featured open shelves, an art gallery and a children's room. Monuments capping vistas were an essential feature of City Beautiful urban planning: in Denver Paris-trained American sculptor Frederick MacMonnies was commissioned to design a monument marking the end of the Smoky Hill Trail. The bronze Indian guide he envisaged was vetoed by the committee and replaced with an equestrian Kit Carson. Civic Center from the Colorado State Capitol. ... This article refers to the state capital of Colorado. ... Colorado State Capitol Building The Colorado State Capitol Building, located in Denver, Colorado, is the home of the Colorado legislature. ... Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel. ... Architects first real look at the Greek Ionic order: Julien David LeRoy, Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce Paris, 1758 (Plate XX) The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and... Dancing Bacchante with an Infant Faun: fountain at the Boston Public Library Frederick William Macmonnies (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn September 28, 1863 - New York March 22,1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United... Kit Carson Kit Carson (December 24, 1809–May 23, 1868), born Christopher Houston Carson, was an American frontiersman. ...

Decline

The movement waned after 1909 when it came under assault from planners and critics who disliked its expensive, impractical, and allegedly elitist and superficial characteristics.

External links

• University of Virginia: The City Beautiful movement
• http://www.historicrichmond.com/monument.html
• Denver Public Library: Denver, The City Beautiful