The City as Image

The 1909 Plan of Chicago played a major role in the global history of urban planning and remains one of the largest and most comprehensive proposals for the transformation of an American city. Authored by architects Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett with a committee of advisors from the Commercial Club of Chicago, the plan addressed issues common to many urban centers of this era, including insufficient infrastructure, the need for accessible green space, troubled class relations, and the lack of a strong civic image and identity for the city of Chicago.

The visual language of the plan has played a large role in its enduring legacy, including, most notably, a series of monumental watercolors created by the American artist and illustrator Jules Guérin. From Guérin’s sweeping bird’s-eye views of the city center and lakefront to maps proposing a commanding new geometry for Chicago’s urban fabric, the plan’s images constitute a powerful pictorial narrative about the nature and goals of urban change. Ultimately, the Plan of Chicago communicated the authors’ belief in the power of order and beauty to transform the everyday lives of Chicago residents, and by extension, all American citizens.