TIME Magazine November 6, 1964

Edmund Norwood Bacon (May 2, 1910 – October 14, 2005) was a noted American architect, urban planner, educator, and author. As the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970, his visions shaped today's Philadelphia, the city in which he was born. Image File history File links TIME_Magazine_Cover_Nov_6_1964. ... Image File history File links TIME_Magazine_Cover_Nov_6_1964. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Urban planners work with local governments to formulate plans for the short- and long-term growth and renewal of urban and suburban communities. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...

Bacon was educated in architecture at Cornell University, and subsequently studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art with renowned Finnish architect/planner Eliel Saarinen. While traveling the world on a tiny inheritance, Bacon found work as an architect in Beijing, China a city that exerted a deep influence on his thinking, and Philadelphia, eventually becoming a city planner in Flint, Michigan. He was present in Flint during the historic 1936-37 Flint Sit-Down Strike, and felt empathetic to the workers. His advocacy of better housing in Flint possibly cost him his position there. From Flint, Bacon would go on to serve as Director of the Philadelphia Housing Association. In 1947 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission under then-Executive Director Robert Mitchell (not the Canadian politician), and served as the P.C.P.C.'s liaison and as a contributing designer to the 1947 Better Philadelphia Exhibition in collaboration with Louis Kahn and Oskar Stonorov. Bacon was also an early member of the City Policy Committee, a grass-roots movement of young Philadelphians that was instrumental in Philadelphia's political reform movement. Members of the Committee went on to become leaders in Philadelphia government after 1952, when the reform Democrat (and later U.S. Senator) Joseph Sill Clark was elected Mayor, Richardson Dilworth became District Attorney, and a new Home Rule Charter was instituted. This is about the university. ... The Cranbrook Academy of Art, located near Detroit, Michigan is an influential school of architecture and design. ... Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (August 20, 1873, Rantasalmi, Finland – July 1, 1950, Cranbrook, Michigan, United States) was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. ... Beijing (Chinese: ; pinyin: Běijīng; ; IPA: ), a city in northern China (formerly spelled in English as Peking or Peiking), is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Flint, Michigan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located along the Flint River about 60 miles (96 km) northwest of Detroit. ... The Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major union and led to the unionization of the United States automobile industry. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Robert C. Mitchell (July 4, 1931—) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Salk Institute, La Jolla, California Louis Isadore Kahn (February 20, 1901/1902 – March 17, 1974) was a world-renowned architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... In political science, a democrat is an advocate, follower, or proponent of democracy. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... Joseph S. Clark Joseph Sill Clark, Jr. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger,greater) is in modern times the title of the highest ranking municipal officer, who discharges certain judicial and administrative functions, in many systems an elected politician, who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of municipalities. ... Born 1898. ...

In 1949, Bacon succeeded Mitchell as Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Serving under Mayors Clark, Dilworth, and James Hugh Joseph Tate, his work brought him national repute along with his counterparts Edward Logue in Boston and Robert Moses in New York during the mid-century era of urban renewal. His face graced the cover of Time Magazine in 1964, and in 1965, Life Magazine devoted its cover story to his work. That same year, Bacon sat on the White House's Panel on Recreation and Natural Beauty. In 1967, he wrote Design of Cities, still considered an important architectural text. 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... James Hugh Joseph Tate (1910 - 1983) was a U.S. political figure. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... Robert Moses (1888–1981) Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was the master builder of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, and other suburbs. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Blight often stands side-by-side with new structures during urban renewal efforts. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... The southern side of the White House The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States of America. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Design of Cities, published in 1967, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form. ...

It was during his tenure at the City Planning Commission that Bacon and his staff conceived and implemented numerous large- and small-scale design ideas that shaped today's Philadelphia. These design concepts became Penn Center, Market East, Penn's Landing, Society Hill, Independence Mall, and the Far Northeast. The Center City Commuter Connection was conceived by a young Planning Commission staff member, R. Damon Childs, who succeeded Bacon as Executive Director. Market East is part of the downtown district known as Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Society Hill may refer to: Society Hill, South Carolina Society Hill, New Jersey The Society Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Independence National Historic Park, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the historic area of downtown (or Center City) Philadelphia where Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the National Constitution Center are located, along with dozens of other historic buildings and educational centers. ... Map of Philadelphia County with Northeast Highlighted. ... The Center City Commuter Connection is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Not all of Bacon's designs materialized though, as one of his proposals was to encircle Center City with a series of expressways, including the so-called "Crosstown Expressway" linking the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) with the Delaware Expressway I-95 via South Street. The proposal depressed property values and rents in the South Street corridor, though after the proposal was canceled property values began a slow and tedious rebound, especially in the area east of Broad Street. This fluctuation in property values led to a turnover of the neighborhood's character from largely Jewish-owned garment shops to the bohemian center that it is today. Center City District, highlighted on a map of Philadelphia County. ... The Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) runs along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. ... Interstate 76 (abbreviated I-76) is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles (700 km) from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey. ... Interstate 95 or (I-95) is an interstate highway that runs 1907 miles (3070 kilometers) north and south along the eastern United States coast. ... South Street during the daytime, looking west. ... Bohemians are inhabitants of Bohemia, Czech Republic. ...

After Bacon's retirement from the Planning Commission in 1970, he served as vice president for the private planning firm Mondev U.S.A., was a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Pennsylvania, from 1950 to 1987, and narrated "Understanding Cities", an award-winning series of documentary films describing the history and development of Rome, Paris, London, American cities, and cities in the future post-oil era. He vociferously but unsuccessfully opposed the development of skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia taller than Philadelphia City Hall, which until 1984 set the informal height limit for downtown at the brim of the hat on the statue of William Penn. That custom, known as the "Gentlemen's Agreement," was broken forever by architect Helmut Jahn's One Liberty Place, a break with the past that has, to some minds, invoked the Curse of Billy Penn on the city's professional sports teams. The New York Times correctly noted Bacon's opposition to the project, but it was incorrect in saying that "in opposing the skyscraper One Liberty Place, Mr. Bacon refused to attend the tower's 1986 groundbreaking and stopped speaking to his friend Willard G. Rouse III, who built it. I think it's very, very destructive that he and he alone has chosen to destroy a historical tradition that set a very fine and disciplined form for the city, Mr. Bacon said at the time." Bacon was present at the groundbreaking, which took place in 1985. Then-Mayor W. Wilson Goode, who of course approved the project along with City Council, notwithstanding Bacon's crediting it fully to Rouse, did not attend because the ceremony occurred simultaneously nearly to the minute with the catastrophic confrontation between the Philadelphia Police and the organization called MOVE. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also known as UIUC and the U of I (the officially preferred abbreviation), is the flagship campus in the University of Illinois system. ... The University of Pennsylvania (Penn is the moniker used by the university itself [2]) is a private, nonsectarian research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Center City District, highlighted on a map of Philadelphia County. ... Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of government for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... William Penn William Penn (October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... A Gentlemens agreement is an informal agreement between two parties. ... An illuminated, suspended, oval roof covers the 102m span of the central Forum of the Sony Center, Berlin. ... One Liberty Place The One Liberty Place Building is currently the tallest building in Philadelphia and the 16th tallest building in the United States. ... The Curse of William Penn (supposedly begun in March 1987) is an alleged curse sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in the American city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to win championships in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... W. Wilson Goode (1938 – ), the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born into a family of tenant farmers in North Carolina around 1938. ... MOVE is an organization formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972 by John Africa (Vincent Leaphart) and Donald Glassey. ...

Bacon won numerous honors including the American Institute of Planners Distinguished Service Award, the Philadelphia Award, and an honorary doctorate from Penn. From 2004 until his death, Bacon served as an Honorary Director of the foundation that bears his name, The Ed Bacon Foundation. The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of city and regional planning in the United States. ...

Bacon continued to actively assert his vision for Philadelphia's future in his later years. During the 1990s he proposed new concepts to improve Independence Mall, Penn's Landing, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In 2002 at age 92, he skateboarded in LOVE Park, the plaza he designed at Cornell in 1932, as a protest against the City's ban on the sport. In 2003 he appeared in the documentary My Architect: A Son's Journey about Louis Kahn, a Philadelphia architect. This article is about the year. ... Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic avenue that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... LOVE Park (JFK Plaza) is a plaza located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Salk Institute, La Jolla, California Louis Isadore Kahn (February 20, 1901/1902 – March 17, 1974) was a world-renowned architect who practiced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ...

Bacon is the father of actor Kevin Bacon and musician Michael Bacon. His wife was Ruth Hilda Holmes, a teacher and liberal political activist. Kevin Norwood Giovanni Bacon Sconza (born July 8, 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American film and theater actor who has starred in Footloose, Stir of Echoes, Wild Things, JFK, and Apollo 13, among many others. ... Kevin and Michael Bacon The Bacon Brothers is an American musical duo consisting of Michael and Kevin Bacon. ...

Works

• Design of Cities (May 20, 1976) Penguin. ISBN 0-140-04236-9
• Understanding Cities documentary film series (1981)

Design of Cities, published in 1967, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

External links

• The Ed Bacon Foundation
• Philadelphia Inquirer article announcing death (October 14, 2005)
• New York Times article announcing death (October 18, 2005)
• Ed Bacon seized city by the lapels (October 19, 2005)