Designing the Nation's Capital

by Sue Kohler (Editor), Pamela Scott (Editor)

Overview

In 1901 the United States Senate, inspired by the City Beautiful movement of the late nineteenth century, appointed a commission to formulate a new architectural plan for the development of the nation's capital. Under the leadership of Senator James McMillan of Michigan, the Senate Park Commission brought together three of the country's leading architects and urban planners—Daniel H. Burnham, the former director of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago; landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.; and architect Charles F. McKim as well as sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens. During a ten-month period that included a six-week tour of European cities, the McMillan Commission drafted a plan aimed at making Washington one of the most beautiful capitals in the world by redesigning its monumental core and creating new parklands on reclaimed land. The plan called for relandscaping the Mall; creating dramatic sites for memorials west and south of the Washington Monument; consolidating railway lines and clearing slums; designing a coordinated municipal office complex in the triangle formed by Pennsylvania Avenue, 15th Street, and the Mall; and establishing a comprehensive recreation and park system around the city.In this book, distinguished scholars from a variety of fields reconstruct the story of the 1901 plan for Washington, D.C. They discuss the events leading up to the formation of the Senate Park Commission, the political setting in which it embarked on its work, the decision-making process that led to its final recommendations, and the early years of its implementation. More than 100 photographs and maps complement the text, illustrating why the McMillan Plan quickly became a benchmark for modern urban design and triggered a national city-planning movement. In addition to the volume editors, contributors include Dana G. Dalrymple, Timothy Davis, Kurt G. F. Helfrich, Jon A. Peterson, and Tony P. Wrenn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780160752230
Publisher:	U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
Publication date:	02/19/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sue Kohler, for many years the historian at the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is the author of The Commission of Fine Arts: A Brief History.Pamela Scott, an independent scholar and author, teaches the history of Washington architecture for Cornell University in Washington, D.C. Her latest book is Capital Engineers, a history of the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Table of Contents

Preface by Charles H. Atherton
Foreword by David M. Childs
Introduction by Sue Kohler
Acknowledgements
 
 
The Senate Park Commission Plan for Washington, D.C.: A New Vision for the Capital and the Nation  — chapter author, Jon A. Peterson
 
The American Institute of Architects Convention of 1900: Its Influence on the Senate Park Commission Plan – chapter author, Tony P. Wrenn
 
“A City Designed As a Work of Art”: The Emergence of the Senate Park Commission’s Monumental Core – chapter author, Timothy Davis
 
Plates
 
Agriculture, Architects, and the Mall, 1901-1905: The Plan is Tested – chapter author, Dana G. Dalrymple
 
The Commission of Fine Arts: Implementing the Senate Park Commission’s Vision –chapter author, Sue Kohler
 
“Beloved Ancien”: William T. Partridge’s Recollections of the Senate Park Commission and the Subsequent Mall Development –chapter author, Kurt G.G. Helfrich
 
Appendices