Oak Brook exhibit looks at past visions of suburbs' future
Chicago architect and planner Daniel Burnham, the principal author behind the famed 1909 Plan of Chicago, addressed many issues in the document that are still relevant to the suburbs 100 years later.
Transportation is one example. Burnham believed the Chicago area needed an efficient network of highways and rail lines if it was to thrive.
"Suburban towns should be connected with one another in the best manner," the plan states.
Open space is another. Burnham called for the aggressive acquisition and preservation of forest land in and around Chicago. A map of potential forest preserves included in the plan shows the Salt Creek Reserve on the western end, an area that's now part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District.
These and other aspects of the Burnham Plan are on display at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook. The free exhibit, titled "Big Plans Come True," celebrates the influential planning guidebook during its centennial anniversary year. The exhibit will be up through Dec. 18.
On display are old photographs of the Burnham family, maps and other images from the Plan of Chicago and working architectural drawings of buildings that Burnham designed. There's also a place for visitors to submit their own predictions for what the next "big plan" will be for Chicago-area development.
"I'm kind of an architecture and history buff," said Downers Grove resident Peter McNamara, who visited the exhibit Saturday. "I find it fascinating to look at what early 20th-century Chicago was like, and where people thought it might go in the future."
Burnham is considered a pioneer in the field of urban planning in America, and the 1909 Plan of Chicago, which he co-authored with Edward Bennett, is widely viewed as one of the field's key documents. In addition to regional highway/rail lines and a network of open parks, the plan called for improvement of Chicago's lakefront, the systematic arrangement of streets and emphasis on creating civic and cultural centers.
The "Big Plans Come True" exhibit is sponsored by the Landmark Conservancy, with help from the DuPage County Forest Preserve District and DePaul University Museum. As a supplement to the exhibit, the conservancy will present a lecture on the legacy of the Burnham plan at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1.
For information, visit landmarkconservancy.org or mayslakepeabody.com, or call (630) 206-9566.