1909—Plan of Chicago

Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1909

At last, after nearly three years of continuous and arduous labor on the part of a few citizens, members of the Commercial club, the plans for “Beautiful Chicago,” Urbs in Horio—a city set in a garden—as our civic motto says, have been perfected. They represent the composite production of many minds, a scheme whereby the city may be transformed in due course of time from a conglomerate urban mass into an aesthetically ideal, symmetrically perfect, commercially economical metropolis.

These plans are contained in a volume of more than 150 pages, profusely illustrated by colored reproductions of the paintings of Jules Guerin, Fernand Janin, and other artists who have been so long at work pictorializing the ideas of the architects of the “Greater Chicago,” and by photographs of the beauty spots of other cities.

This book has been complled under the auspices of the city plans committee, and is its report to the Commercial club. Some of these Illustrations are presented to the readers of The Tribune today in another section of four pages of this issue, being reproduced in their original colors.

Books to Be Distributed.
A limited edition of 1,650 copies of this book has been issued by the club at a cost of more than $40,000, it was announced yesterday. The coples will be distributed this week to the mayor and the aldermen, to the governor of Illinois and the members of the legislature, to other public officials, and to civic organizations and the various libraries of Chicago.

The original paintings, drawings, and photographs from which these illustrations have been made are being hung in the Art institute, where they will be on public view as long as the citizens of Chicago are interested in them. This exhibition will be opened to the public July 12.

Inter Ocean, July 4, 1909

“Chicago the magnificent—the wonder city of the world.”

This, in brief, expresses the idea outlined in the detailed plans of the Commercial club for the rearrangement of the city as made public yesterday.

After thirty months of systematic study and investigation, the club made public its entire scheme for the rearrangement and development of the city along lines that are intended to make Chicago the most beautiful, the most imposing, the healthiest and the best arranged municipality to all the world.

A combination of the practical and the ideal is outlined in a 164 page volume, the detailed plan being accompanied by sketches and pictures illustrating the various projects that are put forth as the means of blending Chicago and its suburbs into an orderly and harmonious whole.

Business Kept in Mind.
In outlining these plans the originators have kept in mind at once the facilitating of business demands; the improvement of street traffic and living conditions, the creation of beautiful boulevard and parks systems and suitable provision from every viewpoint for the city’s greatest possible development, numerically, geographically and commercially.

James J. Hill recently made the following prophecy: “When the Pacific coast shall have a population of 20,000,000 people. Chicago will be the largest city in the world.”

Broadly speaking, it is the scheme of the Commercial club to so arrange the city that in generations to come It shall be as wonderful in beauty as it is in size.

The entire project is considered under six main divisions, which are as follows:

Outer Highway System.
2. The creation of a system of outer highways, including four main circuit roads connecting the cities equidistant from Chicago on four different radii, with cross roads converging to the heart of the city, like the straight lines of a spider web. The outer road is to circle from Kenosha, Wis., through De Kalb and Kankakee, Ill., to Michigan City, Ind.; the next from Waukegan through Elgin, Aurora and Joliet to Gary, Ind.; the third from Winnetka through Hinsdale and Blue Island and to fork to Gary and Roby. and the fourth and inner circuit from Evanston through Niles, Riverside and Chicago Ridge to Roby.

3. The improvement of railway terminals and the development of a complete traction system, both freight and passenger. This includes two great passenger terminals in Twelfth and Canal streets, the handling of freight over a broad belt of tracks running out of the city to the south and west, and the creation of a system of subways, surface lines and elevated roads.

Acquire Outer Parks.
4. Acquisition of an outer park system and parkway circuits. The aim of this project is the conservation of the natural forests within a short radius of Chicago.

5. Improvement of the street and avenue arrangement within the city, facilitating movement between the business and residence districts. The widening and boulevarding of several thoroughfares, notably Michigan avenue, Congress street and Halsted street, are included in this division.

6. Provision for centers of intellectual life and civic administration, so related as to give coherence and unity to the city. The location of city, county and federal administrative buildings on a beautiful square at West Congress and Halsted streets, and of the Art institute, the Field museum and the Crerar library in Grant park are contemplated by this project.

The book was prepared, under the direction of the Commercial club, by Dantel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett, architects, and was edited by Charles Moore, corresponding member of the American Institute of Architects. Many of the illustrations are reproductions of paintings by Jules Guerin It is divided into eight chapters, with an appendix by Walter L. Fisher detailing the legal aspects of the entire plan.

Project Is Stupendous.
The admission is frankly made that the project is a stupendous one, but the claim is also made that it is entirely feasible, It is no more of a problem for the city with its present wealth and resources than was the rebuilding of the city after the great fire of 1871, say the writers. In this connection they say:

It is fully realized that a plan calling for improvements on a scale larger and more inclusive than heretofore proposed seems, on first consideration, beyond the financial ability of the community. If, however, the plan meets public approval, it can be executed without seriously increasing present burdens. The very growth of the city, creating as it does wealth greater than mines can produce, gives a basis of bond issues in excess of the utmost cost involved in carrying out this plan. The increase in the assessed value of real estate in the city of Chicago for the last ten years exceeds the expense required to put the plan into execution; and at the same time the character of the proposed changes is such as to stimulate the increase in wealth. The public, therefore, has the power to put the plan into effect if it sball determine to do so.

Law Revision May Be Needed.
It is quite possible that some revision ot existing laws may be necessary in order to enable the people to carry out this project; but this is clearly within the power of the people themselves. The realization of the plan, therefore, depends entirely on the strength of the public sentiment in its favor.

At no period in its history has the city looked far enough ahead. The mistakes of the past should be warnings for the future. There can be no reasonable fear lest any plans that may be adopted shall prove too broad and comprehensive. That idea may be dismissed as unworthy a moment’s consideration. Rather let it be understood that the broadest plans which the city can be brought to adopt today must prove inadequate and limited before the end of the next quarter of a century. The mind of man, at least as expressed in works he actually undertakes, finds itself unable to rise to the full comprehension of. the needs of a city growing at the rate now assured for Chicago. Therefore, no one should hesitate to commit himself to the largest and most comprehensive undertaking: because before any particular plan can be carried out a still larger conception will begin to dawn, and even greater necessities will develop.

Plan of Chicago, First Edition, 1,650 copies printed.

Depends on City’s Spirit.
While the plan is entirely feasible, according to the book. Its ultimate success must depend on the civic spirit of Chicago, which, in turn, is merely the spirit of its people. What this spirit is capable of was shown in the great World’s Fair of 1893, unanimously declared the best arranged exposition the world has seen, and which really was the beginning of the move for a greater and more beautiful Chicago, and the book says:

This same spirit, which carried out the exposition in such a manner as to make it a lasting credit to the eity is still the soul of Chicago, vital and dominant: and even now, although many new men are at the front, it still controls and is doing a greater work than it was in 1893. It Ands the men, it makes the occasion, It attracts the sincere and unselfish, it vitalizes the organization and impels it to reach heights not believed possible of attainment. This spirit still exists. It is present today among us. Indeed, it seems to gather force with the years and the opportunities.

History to Repeat.
As arguments for the practicability of the project, the histories of the great cities of the world are rehearsed. These histories show that in almost every case—from Babylon to Paris—the building of a splendid city was the direct result of a plan such as this, confronted with many difficulties and put forward at a time when it seemed to many chimerical.

The rearrangement of the street system is considered the most important feature of the plan. The longer it is delayed, the greater the cost will be, says the book, and it outlines the changes that are contemplated, notably the creation of great diagonals intersecting the present rectilinear system and the establishment of parkways connecting the parks.

Along the curved avenues and on the diagonals the architectural design should avoid the building up of a thoroughfare structure by structure, each ore illustrating the whim of its owner or the struggle for novelty on the part of its architect. Along streets where residence: predominate the thoroughfare should be widened by acquiring al the property to the line of the buildings, so that as the street changes its character from a residence to a business thoroughfare. it shall not be narrowed at the time when greater width is desirable. In short, the city should acquire and own the front yards, just as the federal government owns the spaces between houses and sidewalks in Washington.

Plan Great Circuits.
A plan for great circults and for diagonal avenues converging in the heart of the city is outlined in detail. Then the neighborhood of the river is considered:

Boulevards should extend from the mouth of the river along the north and south branches and on both sides, at least from the mouth of the river to North avenue on the north branch and to Halsted street on the south branch. These thoroughfares would be an important factor in the relief of traffic congestion down town; they should be raised above the normal traffic level in order to afford greater facility of circulation and te allow warehouses to be constructed below the roadway. This upper level would connect the points on the river at which the street scheme calls for an elevation, as in the case of the north and south connecting boulevards, the junctions of the three branches of the river and Twelfth street. These boulevards apart from their practical advantages would become the most delightful route to the Lake.

Michigan avenue and Congress street are selected as the bases for the rehabilitation of the heart of the city.

No less important than the widening and extension of Michigan avenue is the improvement of Halsted street. One of the longest business streets in the world, it is bound to become also one of the most important.

The following existing east-and-west streets Should be widened and much improved: Graceland avenue. Diversey boulevard, North avenue, Indiana avenue, Chicago avenue, Washington street, Congress street extended and very much widened. Twelfth street should become a great viaduct, beginning at grade at Michigan avenue and extending elevated over to Canal, and it should not be less than 180 feet in width as shown on drawings. Sixteenth street and also Twenty-Second street should be widened. It would be wise, also, to widen each of the section-limit streets running east and west and also the half-section streets.

The plan includes squares, plazas and open spaces at the intersections of avenues, boulevards and circular streets.

Improvement of Terminals.
In improving terminal facilities and traffic conditions the plan is as follows:

First, to recognize the fact that Chicago’s pre-eminence as a railroad center no longer consists in getting more railroads, but in giving those which it already has terminal facilities that permit the quickest, cheapest and most eficient handling of passengers and freight.

To save dragging freight through the streets of the city by teams, to prevent the useless, labor of carrying through freight into the city on one line and out on another, to give a central point of distribution for merchandise on all roads, create a great freight-switching yard lined with warehouses to serve as a “clearing-house.” Put this outside the city’s heart, probably at Stickney.

The passenger lines entering the densely inhabited parts of the city should not cross each other or carriage roads at grade. The (passenger) terminal stations should be either above or below the street levels. The two best available locations for permanent passenger stations for all roads are, first, between Canal and Clinton streets, from Lake street to Twelfth street, and on Twelfth street widened as proposed. The Twelfth street location would extend from State street west to the south branch of the Chicago river. These stations should open on the great Twelfth street boulevard, which, in front of the stations, should be 250 feet wide, and east and west of the stations should be 180 feet in width. This boulevard would begin to rise at Michigan avenue, and at the final elevation, which is at tha level of the main floor of the stations, should pass over the river on a double-deck bascule bridge. This thoroughfare should come to the present street level at Canal street, where there is to be a round-point from which a new street should extend to the civic center. As a 150 foot wide boulevard Twelfth street should continue westward until it joins the West Park boulevard, now extending on the same line, west of Ashland avenue. No more modern or perfect machine could possibly be devised for both passenger and freight in a great city’s heart than that included in the two schemes above shop a and explained.

In the consideration of a scheme for improving street car service, the remark is made that “of first importance is the restoration to general business of the territory from State street to the south branch of the river and from Van Buren street south to Twelfth street. Present conditions are crowding out enterprising men and vast capital.”

Seek Better Connections.
In providing for better connection between Chicago and outlying cities, and between the outlying cities themselves, the book says:

If we take arbitrarily a radius of sixty miles from the heart of Chicago and count all the territory in the semi-circumference as having definite relations with the city, the distance from center to circumference is no greater than the present suburban electric lines extend or the automobilist may cover in a drive of two hours. The pensive. traffic over the ways. leading to and from the city is already large and steady, and the near by towns and villages along these thoroughfares may confidently look forward to the day when the tide of Chicago’s growth will envelop them, apd ultimately incorporate them in the city. Hence two considerations become all Important first, the improvement of the thoroughfares, got only those leading to the great city, but also those which now form the connections between towns and which ultimately will appear as convenient diagonals within the city itself, and, secondly, the arrangement of the streets. of the town, together with provision for space for the public and semi-public buildings, and sufficient park and playground area. obtained while land is comparatively inexpensive.

Many of the roads running directly into the heart of the city already exist and will need but little improvement.

A striking feature of the plan is the projected transformation of the lake front. A park and lagoon extending along the lake the length of the city, with gondolas, launches and small sailboats plying over the sheltered waters, between banks grouped with trees and shrubs and with swimming pools and pavilions where throngs are gathered—this is the vision of the designers of the plan. They say that the lake front is the inalienable property of the people of Chicago, giving them an opportunity to come into contact with nature. And they submit, also, that such a park as this—unique among the world’s water fronts—would keep at home many wealthy persons who now go to foreign climes to spend the money Chicago trade has brought them. A chain of artificial islands, with harbors for yachts, is a feature of the project.

Should Have Beaches.

The building of parks along the shore is dictated by considerations of health and enjoyment. The ease with which the work can be accomplished becomes apparent when one considers that the refuse of the city seeks a dump which cannot be found anywhere else than on the lake front. Probably 1,000,000 cubic yards of waste are conveyed to the lake front annually from Evanston to South Chicago—enough to fill twenty acres, raising it seven feet above the surface in twenty feet of water. The necessary breakwaters having been built, this constantly growing amount of waste material can be put in place cheaply. Therefore, it is wise to provide now for the disposition of it and to design beautiful and extensive park strips along the entire shore, which will almost build themselves in the course of another generation. Indeed, both health and danger to navigation prohibit the emptying of this spoil into the lake, as has been done in the past.

These lagoons, protected from the waves of the open lake and sheltered from the wind by the city on one side and the park strips on the other, will be a powerful stimulus to open-air athletics, both winter and summer; they will afford a course for races for Northwestern university at the north and the University of Chicago at the south. Houseboats, launches, canoes, rowboats and small salt-boats will ply upon them, as well as craft for the public, such as are used on the Thames, the Seine and the canals of Venice. The water way should be lined with restaurants and pleasure pavilions, and public bathhouses and swimming beaches should be constructed. Both shores should be a part of the general design and together with the lagoon itself these shores should be owned by the park authorities, so that the whole may be well policed.

A yacht harbor should be construeted at the northern terminus. The sport of yachting is greatly in need of encouragement, as the navigation of Lake Michigan is somewhat dangerous and there is no point north of the river to which a yacht can run for shelter. In addition to the northern yacht harbor there should be other harbors in the lee of the proposed islands, out in the lake. These would be of the greatest value to yachts-men, as they would afford from mile to mile points of refuge in ease of surprise by squalls.”

Along similar lines as its lake tront plans, providing recreation for the masses and insuring better health in the community at large, are the plans of the club for the betterment of the park system within the eits and the creation of a new outer park system. Second only to Philadelphia in 1880, Chicago has fallen to the seventh place so far as park area is concerned, it is said, and when the relative density of population is taken into consideration this city occupies the thirty-second place. At least half the population of Chicago today lives more than a mile from any large park, and in the congested sections there are nearly 5,000 people, to, each acre of park space. The average for the entire city is 590 persons to each acre of park. For health and good order there sbould be one acre of park area for each 100 people, says the prospectus.

From Kenosha on the north, around to De Kalb on the west, and thence to Michigan City on the south, all roads lead to Chicago, and this region might well be included in a metropolitan area within which large parks would be situated, improved and maintained at joint expense,” it is declared. “The time to secure the lands necessary for such a system is now, while the prices are moderate and the natural scenery is comparatively unspoiled. Every year of failure or neglect to act largely increases the expense and diminishes the opportunitles, for all of the lands about Chicago are almost equally available for building purposes. Already the pratrie state of Illinois is nearly one-half urban and the tendency toward eity life le fast increasing.

Health and Pleasure Necessary.
At the same time the need for breathing spaces and recreation grounds is being forced upon the attention of practical men, who are learning to appreciate the fact that a city, in order to be a good labor market, must provide for the health and pleasure of the great body of workers. Density of population beyond a certain point results in disorder, vice and disease, and thereby becomes the greatest menace to the wellbeing of the city Itself. As a measure of precaution, therefore, the establishment of an adequate park area is necessary.

The spaces to be acquired, it is said, should be wild forests, filled with trees, vines, flowers and shrubs, which will grow in this climate, and all to be developed in a natural condition.

Country roads and a few paths should run through these forests, but they should not be cut into small divisions,” the prospectus points out. “There should be open glades here and there, and other natural features, and the people should be allowed to use them freely. In the disposition of interior parks the main consideration should be, first, to distribute the areas about the city as evenly as possible, so as to make large parks readily accessible to all citizens, and, second, to select for improvement those localities which have the greatest charm and value as park lands. Happily nature has furnished the opportunity to combine both considerations. The wooded bluffs and ravines at the northern boundary of Cook county in Glencoe mark a natural park entrance from Lake Michigan. The virgin forest known as the Peterson woods, south of Peterson avenue, and the Gibbs woods, north of Gibbs street, a beautiful spot on the Chicago river south of Central avenue, are especially attractive features of this stretch.

Beautiful Views on North Branch.
At a distance of a mile inland the valley of the north branch of the Chicago river is reached. In this valley the views are particularly beautiful, especially where the stretches are not-broken by construction of any kind. To the north the valley stretches far beyond the county line; to the south it is framed on both sides with forest lands, In the region of Central avenue these forest lines spread, taking in the grounds of the Glen View Golf club, closing again between Kenilworth and Bryn Mawr avenues, where the foliage closely follows the banks of the river. The area which should be taken for this particular northern park includes upwards of 8,000 acres, and at the present time the land can be had at comparatively small expense.

In urging the establishment of a civic center at West Congress and Halsted streets the framers of the plan followed a natural line of reasoning. At this center radiating arteries naturally converge. The center of density of population is but a little to the south of this point. Moreover, this point is the center of gravity, so to speak, of all the radial arteries entering Chicago, and while its location is therefore favorable, land values in the area selected are not excessive.

Dependent on Architecture.

Important as is the civic center considered by itself, when taken in connection with this plan of Chicago it becomes the keystone of the arch. The development of Halsted street and Ashland and Michigan avenues, flanked by the great thoroughfares of Chicago avenue and Twelfth street, will give form to the business center; while the opening of Congress street as the great central axis of the city will at once create coherence in the city plan. Nowhere elee on this continent does there exist so great a possibility combined with such ease of at-tainment. Simply by an intelligent handling of the changes necessary to accommodate the growing business of Chicago, a city both unified and beautiful will result. The lake front will be opened to those who are now shut away from it by lack of adequate approaches; the great masses of people which daily converge in the now congested center will be able to come and go quickly and without discomfort: the intellectual life of the city will be stimulated by institutions grouped in Grant park; and in the center of all the varied activities of Chicago will rise the towering dome of the civic center, vivifying and unifying the entire composition.

City, County and Nation.
The buildings in the civic center naturally fall into three divisions, represented by the city of Chicago, by Cook county and by the federal government, and as one building would be insufficient to accommodate the offices either of the city or of the general government there should be eventually three groups. Of these the city group would pre-dominate, with the city ball as the central building. The city administration building should accommodate the mayor and the common council, together with the clerks and officers directly connected with the administrative and legislative departments: the headquarters of the fire department, the offices of the board of education, including those of the superintendent of schools: the offices of the city attorney, the auditor, the board of assessors, the tax collectors, the license department, the board of local improvements, the elections bureau and others of like character.

The central administrative building is to be surmounted by a come of impressive height, “to be seen and felt by the people, to whom it should stand as the symbol of civic order and unity.” Rising from the plain upon which Chicago rests, its effect is compared with that of the dome of St. Peter’s at Rome.

In proposing the intellectual center for Grant park the book says:

The south park commissioners have arranged, also for the location of the new Crerar library building in Grant park, and a fund of over $1,000,000 will be available for. that structure. This institution. intended for the use of the student of social, physical, natural and applied science, renders to the community a special service which permits a location irrespective of the center of population. It is the expressed intention of the trustees to make the building monumental in character and classical in style of architecture, so that it will harmonize with the design of the Field museum. As a meeting center for the scientific societies of the West, the location in Grant park, near the buildings devoted to music and art, seems most appropriate.

Allows for Expansion.
Moreover, the space set apart on the plan for this structure allows for that expansion in the way of lecture and convention halls which the growing Importance of this institution will render necessary. If it shall be found desirable, the central building and administrative headquarters of the public library also might be at this point, thus establishing here a center of letters, similar to the Sorbonne in Paris.

The Art Institute, already in Grant park. occupies a site a part of which is needed for the widening of Michigan avenue, and at the came time the increase in the collections soon will necessitate a larger structure than the one now in use. When the new gallery and school shall be built the location should occupy the same relative position north of the Field museum that is proposed for the library group on the south. The plan shows a gallery of the fine arts, together with a school of art, including lecture halls, exhibition rooms, ateliers and general administration quarters. To complete this composition would be open air loggias and gardens, the whole group being akin to the great art museums and schools of Europe.

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