Chicago's Classical Architecture: The Legacy of the White City (IL) (Images of America)
by David Stone
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Book Summary Information
Author: David StoneIntroduction: Carroll William Westfall
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-20
ISBN: 0738534269
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Book Reviews of Chicago's Classical Architecture: The Legacy of the White City (IL) (Images of America)
Book Review: Good Research, Bad Photography
Summary: 2 Stars
This book starts with a look at some of Chicago's 1983 World's Columbian Exposition buildings. Although most were built as temporary structures, intended only to last until the end of the Exposition, they inspired a boom period of classical architecture in Chicago and elsewhere that we still enjoy today.
On the plus side, this book is very well researched, and the text that accompanies each picture is absolutely excellent. The author went to all parts of the city to pick out examples of buildings that were inspired by the Exposition. There are photos and buildings here I've never seen before, and I have several books on Chicago's architecture.
On the negative side, the photography is a tremendous disappointment. Some photos are good, but many are simply scanned-in postcards. In one case, the original sender's writing around the building was more prominent than the building itself. Some photos are obviously altered: for example there are drawings of people added to the foreground in "Machinery Hall from the East" on page 20, and "Nebraska Building" on page 29. This calls into question the accuracy and authenticity of the other photos. If you look at the lettering, you can see that at least two photos are reversed, "Rhode Island Building" and "French Building" on page 30. In photography book, this is just plain sloppy work, and really inexcusable. There are several cases where there is an old, poor quality photograph of a building that is extent and unaltered. The right choice would have been to take a new photograph. An example is "Marshall Field and Company" on page 71, a very crude drawing of a beautiful building. On page 102 we have the "Garfield Park State Savings Bank", which looks like someone rubbed their greasy thumb just in the middle of the lens before snapping the shot.
If this book was redone, retaining the text but shooting some new, high quality photographs, it would easily rate 5-stars. Because the photographic quality is so uneven, you should consider this only if you are particularly interested in the Exposition and buildings it inspired. Otherwise, consider "Chicago, Then and Now" by McNulty or "Lost Chicago" by Lowe for a broader, but excellent, photographic treatment of classic buildings in the city.
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Summary of Chicago's Classical Architecture: The Legacy of the White City (IL) (Images of America)
Chicago?'s architecture has been called the most important in the United States by the American Institute of Architects, and perhaps no other type of architecture has had as significant of an impact on the city?'s look, feel, and character as classical architecture. Chicago?'s connection to classical architecture dates back to the famed 1893 World?'s Columbian Exposition, with it's gleaming ?"White City?" of ornate Beaux-Arts buildings. After the fair, the ?"Plan of Chicago,?" developed by Daniel Burnham, the fair?'s leadarchitect, paved the way for the further spread of classical building not only in Chicago, but throughout the country.
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