An Overview of the City Beautiful Movement - An architectural manifestation of the social response to failing urban life. Contains details regarding the origin, key characteristics, architects and major cities involved, along with the following case studies : - Mcmillan Plan - Plan of Chicago and - City of Minneapolis.

2. The City Beautiful
movement emerged at a time in U.S.
history when the country experienced
rapid urbanization. Most city dwellers
perceived that cities were ugly,
congested, dirty, and unsafe. As cities
grew, an increasingly rapid condition
enhanced by an influx of immigrants
at the end of the 19th century- public
space was being usurped leading to
increased congestion.
Through the City Beautiful Design,
Burnham believed that it can provide
‘breathing spaces’ for healthy
activities to those citizens who could
not afford to travel and heavily
reliant on the city to provide
recreational and cultural
enrichment.
With the construction of the fair’s
temporary city, the so-called White
City where visitors were treated to a
harmony of Neoclassical and
Baroque architecture from the
collaborative designs of architects
from the École des
Beaux-Arts in Paris. The landscape
for the Exposition included lagoons
and big green expanses and was
designed
by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Started by Daniel Burnham
Launched at World’s Columbian Exposition

3. Contemporary
Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical
architecture, which emphasized
the necessity of order, dignity
and harmony
Promoted
beauty not only for
its own sake, but also to create
moral and civic virtue among urban
populations, thus forming a
harmonious social order
that would increase
the quality of life Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Washington D C

6. The intention was to make Washington
monumental and green like the European
capitals of the era; they believed that state-
organized beautification could lend legitimacy to
government during a time of social disturbance
in the United States
Limited building heights & positioned new structures and monuments throughout the city
to create a balanced aerial composition
At the heart of the design was the creation of the
National Mall and eventually included Union Station
The essence of the plan surrounded the
United States Capitol with monumental
government buildings to replace
"notorious slum communities".

7. JULY 1909

8. Diagramming of both radial and circumferential roads for the region extending 120 km from the city centre
PLAN OF CENTRAL CHICAGO
VIEW OF THE PROPOSED CIVIC CENTRE PLAZA , SHOWING IT AS THE CENTRE OF SYSTEM OF ARTERIES OF CIRCULATION
"The Lakefront by right belongs to the
people, not a foot of its shores should
be appropriated to the exclusion of the
people." -Burnham
Completion of railroads and pool usage of tracks for greater efficiency in freight
handling. Consolidation of Chicago's six intercity railroad passenger terminals
into new complexes, allowing the expansion of the business district.
The most iconic
image of the
plan was the
new civic center
in the area
around
Congress &
Halsted Streets.
At the east end
of Congress
Street, Burnham
proposed a
cultural center.
Preservation of natural zones and
expansion of the city's park and
boulevard system
New wider arterials and diagonal
streets were prescribed to relieve
traffic congestion and beautify the
fast growing city.

9. Railway station forming
a grand entrance to
the city
Grand Boulevard
forming a solution to
traffic problems and
accommodating HIG
housing
Redesign of the north
façade of the Minneapolis
Institute of Arts and Fair
Oaks Park
Bridges over the river rebuilt to be more
attractive ; Riverfront park design
The leaders of the city
were proponents of the City
Beautiful movement and
hired architect
firm to create a
plan for the city which was
released in . David
Burnham viewed
Minneapolis as if it were a
truly great metropolis,
although he did not make
detailed plans for the entire
area until he clearly
understood the
connections among the
various parts. He designed a
metro area with
Minneapolis as the core.
Wall to wall development of mansard roofed apartments contrasting
sharply with the single family homes in the existing neighborhoods

10. Coral Gables was developed entirely upon the City Beautiful movement, with
.
Typical residential street in Coral Gables, Miami, FL.

11. • Daniel Burnham
[Father of City Beautiful Movement]
• Frederick Olmsted
• Edward Bennett
• Saint-Gaudens
• Charles Mckim
• Mead and White
• William Rockhill Nelson
• August Robert Meyer
• George E Kessler
• Walter Burley Griffin
• William Campbell
• Richard Morris Hunt
• George Post
• Arnold Brunner
• John Carrere
Although City Beautiful, or artistic planning, became a part of comprehensive town planning, the Great
Depression of the 1930s largely ended this fashion. Now, however, in Australia, many streets are tree-lined and
streetscapes and skylines are regulated. This is largely a result of the City Beautiful philosophy.
Civic Center, DenverCapitol Complex, Harrisburg
Palos Verdes EstatesCanberra
Penn Valley Park, Kansas Cleveland Mall
“Compact settlement would
result in better sanitation,
street maintenance, and street
service.… the best & most
expensive residences will go up
along boulevards”
- Meyer

12. Generally stated, the City Beautiful advocates sought to improve the city through
beautification, which would have a number of effects :
Social ills would be swept away, as the beauty of the city would inspire civic loyalty
and moral rectitude in the impoverished
American cities would be brought to cultural parity with their European competitors
through the use of the European Beaux-Arts idiom
A more inviting city center still would not bring the upper classes back to live, but
certainly to work and spend money in the urban areas