Burnham and Plan of Chicago leads off lecture series

Actor Terry Lynch has been portraying Chicago architect Daniel Burnham for seven years, but he's never been busier.

Chalk that up to the centennial anniversary of the visionary 1909 Plan of Chicago that Burnham co-authored. This fall alone, Lynch is giving 36 presentations on Burnham at branches of the Chicago Public Library.

Chicago, though, isn't the only place celebrating the architect who laid out a map for its future design. Lynch will begin Naper Settlement's 2009-10 History Speaks Lecture Series with a first-person portrayal of Burnham at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, in the settlement's Century Memorial Chapel, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. Art historian Jeff Mishur of Art Excursions will follow up with a slide lecture on the 1909 Plan of Chicago in the second program in the series at 4 p.m. Nov. 1.

Lynch said he never tires of representing Burnham, the larger-than-life figure who grabbed international attention with the gargantuan White City he created as chief coordinating architect for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

"He made a great deal of money and became very wealthy," Lynch said. "He was also very philanthropic and gave back tremendously."

The famous quote attributed to Burnham - "Make no little plans. They have no magic to strike man's blood and probably will themselves not be realized." - actually has been traced to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Lynch said.

But Olmsted, who designed the landscape for the Columbian Exposition, was an influence on Burnham and it's likely Burnham uttered similar words at some point, Lynch said. Certainly, they capture the spirit of the man.

Burnham, who once had aspired to be a politician, was an organizer and collaborator who built the largest architectural firm in the world by the early 1900s and left the more technical aspects of design to his partners.

"He was big picture," Lynch said. "He could take over a room very easily."

Burnham brought in architects from the East Coast to help with the design of the 1893 World's Fair in Jackson Park on Chicago's south lakefront. The fair, with its grand boulevards, classical facades and lush gardens, popularized the Beaux-Arts neoclassical style of architecture and stimulated the growth of the City Beautiful movement.

"Many people who visited the fair went back to the permanent city they called home and were inspired to improve things based on what they had seen in the 'dream city' in Jackson Park," Mishur wrote in an e-mail.

Burnham and partner Edward Bennett epitomized the City Beautiful movement in the 1909 Plan of Chicago with its ambitious proposals for the lakefront and declaration that every citizen should be within walking distance of a park.

Mishur said the 1909 plan was well-received, garnering the support of the mayor and of citizens who voted for bond issues to pay for projects.

Burnham was not without his critics or foibles, however. Architect Louis Sullivan complained that Burnham lacked originality and depended too much on classicism. Lynch said Burnham had his reasons for using a style of architecture familiar in Europe.

"He wanted to attract tourism from Europe," Lynch said. "He also did enjoy that style."

Burnham wasn't above exercising the clout that money can buy, either. As a young man, he had failed to gain admission to Harvard and Yale universities, but he wasn't going to let that happen to his son.

"He donated to Harvard to make sure his son got in there," Lynch said.

He was a Chicago guy, after all.

Lecture series

After Mishur's presentation on the 1909 Plan of Chicago, the lecture series will continue its sixth season with a presentation on yet another larger-than-life figure when Lynch returns Dec. 6 to portray St. Nicholas and discuss popular Christmas symbols and traditions.

Leaving the magic of Christmas, the next program recognizes comparisons between the Great Depression of the 1930s and the hard economic realities of today, said Naper Settlement museum educator Barbara Rimmer. Franklin D. Roosevelt will give a reassuring fireside chat in the person of actor R.J. Lindsey on Jan. 10.

Then with hope for better weather than it had this past February, Naper Settlement will repeat a program on the Underground Railroad on Feb. 7, Rimmer said. This two hours of interactive theater has the audience walking from building to building to meet an abolitionist, a Southern sympathizer and a runaway slave who offer different perspectives on the issues of the day in 1856.

In time for St. Patrick's Day, singer and songwriter Lee Murdock will tell the story of Irish immigrants in America and Illinois on March 14. As the Irish built new lives in a foreign land, they helped build the nation's canals, railroads and towns.

Lindsey will return April 11 to present a different perspective on the Titanic than previous programs have shown, Rimmer said. Portraying New York Times managing editor Carr Van Anda, Lindsey will tell the story of the ship from its construction to its final hours and the newspaper's response to the S.O.S. it received from the Titanic on April 14, 1912.

The series will conclude with historian/actress Leslie Goddard's portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy on May. 2.

"We always try to have something for the ladies for Mother's Day," Rimmer said.

<p class="factboxtext12col">All presentations are at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. Programs are one hour long, except for the two-hour Underground Railroad presentation. Tickets purchased in advance are $6 for adults and $5 for students, youth and Naperville Heritage Society sustaining members. Tickets at the door are $1 more. The cost for the Underground Railroad program is $12 for adults, $10 for Naperville Heritage Society sustaining members. For details, call (630) 420-6010.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Oct. 11: Terry Lynch portrays architect Daniel Burnham, 4 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Nov. 1: Art historian Jeff Mishur gives a slide lecture on Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, 4 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Dec. 6: Terry Lynch presents "The Legend of St. Nicholas," 4 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Jan. 10: R.J. Lindsey portrays Franklin D. Roosevelt, 4 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Feb. 7: Underground Railroad program, 1 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">March 14: Singer/songwriter Lee Murdoch tells the story of the Irish in America and Illinois, 7 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">April 11: R.J. Lindsay portrays New York Times managing editor Carr Van Anda in "Stories Aboard the Titanic," 4 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">May 2: Leslie Goddard portrays Jacqueline Kennedy, 4 p.m.</p>