American Architecture in the Gilded Age - Essay Example

Architecture and Human Life November 10, 2005 American Architecture in the "Gilded Age" “The Gilded Age” is a term that came to reflect the time of the greatest economic, territorial, industrial, and population expansion in American history. It was Mark Twain who gave us “the Gilded Age,” a novel that humored this period and most importantly portrayed its people1, the time and the structures that can only be measured in the standards of opulence and fast transformations. Although there are two sides on this term as it was coined as a satire, the period, which started from 1876, indeed, marked an epoch whose achievements are felt in the great men it has produced and the monuments that would influence what is to be the modern American architecture. Thus, it is not surprising to know that the “Gilded Age” provided a period of dynamism in the area of American architecture. The Colombian Exposition “World Fairs, by the end of the century, were an established cultural and entertainment form with immense international influence.” (Rose, par. 9) Thus when it was the Chicago’s turn to host the World Exposition in 1893, it was viewed as an opportunity to showcase America’s pride as an emerging superpower. Support was poured in to make it the grandest exposition the world has ever seen. Eric Larson painted a vivid description of this world fair in his bestselling novel, The Devil in the White City. In this novel, Larson recreated the Chicago World Fair down to the smallest detail. In an interview, he pointed out that “America was a prideful place, aware of its growing strength as a world power. The fair became an expression of that pride.” (Random House, par. 3) With huge resources, the Chicago World Fair of 1893 or more popularly known as the Columbian Exposition brought together the brightest minds of the “Gilded Age” in the field of architecture. Architect Daniel H. Burnham headed the “insurmountable” task of making the Expo a success. Since the Fair is an opportunity for Chicago, and the nation as a whole, to improve its self-image, Burnham, along with his Board of Architects decided on an unusual Fair plan. A 630-acre swamp, which was then known as the Black City, was chosen as the location.2 This was largely symbolic since the Gilded Age was also a time when “industrialization and incorporation not only promoted the growth of population, and thus of the city as well, but it also created a decidedly mechanized, regulated, stratified, and strained business and labor situation which was manifested in the social and physical conditions of the city.” (Paul, par. 3) The architects decided to create order and symmetry in the construction of the buildings and this is also the reason why neoclassical architecture was chosen. The principle was to put a place for science and industry in the public sphere but never above culture. Indeed, upon completion, the Fair had more than 200 buildings resplendent in white masonry earning for itself the tag, “White City”. The design of the Fair utilized the natural landscape of Jackson Park with a system of lagoons and waterways built, fed by the Mississippi River. Burnham’s vision was realized that the “White City” be a place with transformative characteristics to the visitors who will come.3 This principle is to wield great influence over the future construction and design of public places across the United States. “Burnham saw the design of the buildings and grounds as a challenge to future city planners. City transformation was so important, Burnham thought, it would be the "third great debate in our countrys history" after the American Revolution and the Civil War.” (Annenberg Media, par. 4) The Central Park Another main architectural landmark of the “Gilded Age” is the Central Park, also called as “the Greensward,” designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. “The building of Central Park was one of 19th century New York’s most massive public works project. It necessitated more than 20,000 workers, 3 millions cubic yards of soil and more than 270,000 trees and shrubs were planted.” (www.zdc-fr.com, par. 4) The state of New York had to legislate a law authorizing New York City the power of imminent domain to acquire acres of Manhattan land. In the history of the US, the Central Park has the claim on the first ever landscaped park in the nation. 4 Interestingly, there was little dissention over such huge undertaking as people in those days started to see “in the city a means of reforming not only the city itself, but its citizens as well, including their health, happiness, and morality.” (Paul, par. 4) This behavior is also behind the principle that would guide the construction of the Columbian Exposition. “It was thought that by creating order in peoples environment, even the most superficial aspects of the environment, such as its appearance, a social, political, and moral order would result.” True enough, Olmstead created in Central Park a “rus in urbe” – a place not only for recreation but a site as well for re-making tortured souls. He saw the park as a kind of social experiment where people from both upper and lower classes would meet.5 The design of Central Park is patterned after an English landscape with large meadow, rolling hills and lakes. From inside the park, one cannot see the surrounding buildings as they are covered by strategically placed foliage of trees.6 Many people have actually called the 843-acre park an oasis in the midst of a bustling city. The park features the basic principles that are to be a pattern in modern public arena – well lighted by street lamps, better sanitation, good transportation circulation – a sphere that will shape the public. Architecture provides us an unparalleled insight if we are to study a society, an era or history as a whole. “Of all the forms of human self-expression, architecture is the most integral to our lives. It engages with all our senses… The architectural character of our cities, towns and villages, and of individual buildings, makes a powerful impact on those who inhabit and use them.” (CABE, paragraph 1) Works Cited “An Interview with the Author,” The Devil in the White City, 1995, Random House, Inc., 10 November 2005, < http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/devilinthewhitecity/interview.html> “Central Park,” A View on Cities, 2005, A View on Cities, 11 November 2005, http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/centralpark.htm “Gilded Age,” Wikipedia, 10 November 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age “History of Central Park,” 10 November 2005, http://www.zdc-fr.com/htm/projets/efl/newyork/parkhist.html Larson, Erik, “The Devil in the White City,” February 2004, Random House, Inc., Paul, Elizabeth, “The Public Sphere in the Gilded Age,” The Local Confederate Monument on the Battlefield of the Public Sphere, January 1999, University of Virginia, 10 November 2005, http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/INCORP/monuments/sphere/tracht.html Rose, Julie K., “A History of the Fair,” The World’s Columbian Exposition: Idea, Experience, Aftermath, August 1996, University of Virginia, 10 November 2005, http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA96/WCE/history.html “Studying Architecture,” Opening Doors: Learning in the Historic Environment, Ed. Giles Waterfield, June 2004, Attingham Trust, 11 November 2005, < http://www.openingdoorsreport.org.uk/l2.php?L1ID=5&L2ID=25> “The City Beautiful,” A Biography of America, 2000, Annenberg Media, 11 November 2005, < http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog15/feature/essay.html> Read More