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TftE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND. MARCH 1, 1908.
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Daniel S. Osmte o!
Chicago, Who Phas Net
x Merely Bofldlsgs, Est
Cities Also
Other i Men Who Have
ElacSe the
Architecture of America
Famous
Z7JiN&ST FY,A.G&, HATER.
Or SKYSCRAPERS. ANZ
ARCHITECT OF THE SZN
TPVRLD'S TALLEST
QFFTCE STRUCTURE
OF C722ES u43
ZFZELL AS BUILUmG-S
BT DEXTER MARSHALL.
IT Is said of many men that they ar
at the head of their professions, but
It In tru of few. One of the few la
Daniel Hudson Burnham, of Chicago,
certainly America's leading architect
using the word In the broadest sense
and, perhaps, greater in his line than
any other living man. He does not
plan buildings, merely; he is planning
cities. And yet he said not o very
long ago in answer to a request for
some Information about the work he
has done:
"I haven't done much; I have just
served on a few commissions."
Mr. Burnham's "not much" Includes
the creation of the famed "White City"
of the Chicago World's Fair; the maj
esty and beauty of the buildings, which
made the great exhibition an artist's
vision of loveliness, were inspired by
hlrn. He is looked upon as the father
of a business accessory peculiarly
Araerioan the skyscraper; In a score
of great cities he has designed mass
lve commercial structures In which del
icacy of outline and skeletonlike con
struction have been combined with en
during strength. The Mafeonic Temple
and nearly all the other famous sky
scrapers of Chicago are his work,
while the Flattron building is among
the big structures in New York for
which he furnished the plans.
As a representative of his Govern
ment, he planned great sweeps of
driveways and harbor lines and Im
pressive public buildings in Manila.
The architectural beauty of San Fran
cisco, blotted out In the great earth
quake, was due to him; and what arch
itectural beauty the new San Fran
cisco will have will be due almost
solely to blm also. He Is chairman of
the commission whose plans will
eventually make Cleveland one of the
most beautiful cities in the world. He
la chairman of the National commia
sloon which has for its task the beau
tifying of Washington on a scale so
vast that the Improvements are esti
mated to cost 'between a half and
three-quarters of a billion of dollars.
And some of the things he has In mind
for the beautifying of hie home city
are harbors, outer parks, great boule
vards, widened streets and uniform
architecture.
Truly, a man whose art is varied,
whose Imprint Is almost indelibly
shown In every type of structure that
goes to make up architecture of the
present generation: yet he himself
says that he has not done much only
served on a few commissions.
Sixty-one years of age. and now In
the prime of his achievement, Mr.
Burnham's friends say, and his course
in life quite bears the statement out.
that the greatest luxury which his
successful yeaTs have brought htm is
the fart that ho need not work en
tirely for money. It Is undoubtedly
true that more commissions are wait
ing for him than wait for any other
living architect, yet he gives a large
portion of his time, to their exclus
ion, to labor along spirited lines. This
is his great hobby to make the great
cities of America even more beautiful
than their European rivals, and when
he sees the remotest possibility of fur
thering his hobby he will not allow so
little a thing as a fat commission to
stand in the way of his schemes of
beautiflcation.
When Mr. Burnham works for pri
vate Individuals his fees are probably
larger than those ever paid to any
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7Z2nT 'AND HEAD
CA5S G-ZLRJPRT AND THE: TZZNNESOTA.
CAPITOL WHICH: HE. CONSIDERS HIS
WORIZ.
other architect, but, now that he has
plenty, when he works for the public
his services are given gratis. This is
a matter of pride and principle with
him. He considers he is sufficiently
rewarded in seeing the city beautiful
brought a step nearer to realization.
Another matter of principle with
Mr. Burnham is that he will take up
no work in which there could be a sus
picion of political jobbery. 'Burnham,"
said one of his close friends, "has re
fused many a profitable commission
simply because politics controlled the
undertaking. Tou will not lind his
name upon the frontal of any Govern
ment building in the country. He even
eschews courthouses and city halls!"
It was Burnham who. almost single
handed, made the Chicago World's Fair
a memorable one, architecturally.
When Chicago secured the fair, Mr.
Burnham was a member of the firm of
Burnbam A Root, which was among the
first architectural firms called on to
help build the "White City." The firm
had gained an enviable reputation in
Chicago, and Mr. Burnham was early
made chief of construction and super
vising architect of the exhibition.
Later, he was given the additional
power and title of Director of Works.
This was subsequent to the death of
his partner. Mr. Root, -when the whole
responsibility of the architectural suc
cess of the fair devolved upon his
shoulders.
When he was made chief of construc
tion wise men went about declaring
that Burnham could never get the
buildings completed In twice or thrice
the time allowed him. When he became
the one directing hand of the work his
detractors were well-nigh legion, and
not a few influential men went so far
In their enmity of him as to throw all
sorts of obstacles In his way. Burn
ham knew all this, yet not even to
his closest friends did he make a. re i tice his profession, when he was given,
mark that could be construed Into a
complaint or protest. The only notice
he was ever known to take of the
doubters and the opposition was em
braced in a simple declaration which he
was overheard to make to himself one
day as he stood surveying the half
finished buildings of the fair:
"By heiivens, I've undertaken to build
this fair and I'm going to do it."
With the White City at last com
pleted and its beauty apparent to every
one, Mr. Burnham's detractors raised
the cry that the result was not due
to him, but to the plans of his dead
partner, which he had simply followed.
Again there was no public statement
by air.. Burnham, but to every one who
talked with him about the architectural
side of the fair he freely gave a large
portion of the credit to Mr. Root. One
of his strongest characteristics is to
take no notice of cavillers. When he
feels that he is right no amount of
adverse criticism, no matter how sting
ing, can move him.
His World's Fair work revealed his
eye for beauty on a grand scale, his
wonderful executive ability and his
shrewdness In surrounding himself
with a corps of architects recognized
as leaders of their profession in this
country. His architectural daring was
shown when, some years previously, he
became the father,- so-called, of the
skyscraper.
"Father of the Skyscraper.
The late W. L.' B. Jenny; of Chicago,
had erected an office building in Chi
cago on plans approximating the mod
ern skeleton construction to the extent
that some of the walls were carried on
iron beams. A year or so later the
idea was carried a little further in
the Tacoma building In the same city.
An architect noted for his progressive
ideas from the time he began to prac-
CHRISTOPHER G-RANT ZA-
TARGE, ARCHITECT CT THE
ZATHEZ)&AL OF ST cTOHN
THE DIVINE
in 1889, the commission for the Rand
McNally building. Mr. Burnham dared
to take a the step that brought the
skyscraper into being he used a steel
frame throughout, carrying the walls
for each story separately on beams,
thus doing away entirely with the ne
cessit yfor heavy masonry support at
the base.
This was a veritable revolution In
the building world. The enormous
thickness of walls hitherto considered
unnecessary in the construction of tall
buildings, with attending contraction
of valuable apace, had long been a seri
ous problem with property-owners.
Then, too, the Immense cost of stone
and the slowness of erection had re
tarded building operations In every
great city. But here was a building go
ing up with a dead wall area one-eighth
that of the all building preceding It; and
the cost was tobe less tha half as much
If erected under the old way. Small
wonder that Mr. Burnham's experiment
was watched with the kencst interest by
architects throughout America and Eu
rope. There were numerous predictions,
of course, that the building would col
lapse and not all of them were made by
laymen, gaping upward In astonishment
at the skeleton frame and the walls be
ing stuck on here and there in apparent
haphazard fashion and without appar
ent means of support- Indeed, months
after the building was occupied archi
tects from all over the country traveled
to Chicago especially to Inspect It and
incidentally to marvel at Its failure to
crumble Into" twisted beats and shat
tered masonry. "
The Masonic Temple, which does not
revolve at high noon on its axis. d?epite
assertions to the contrary; the Rookery,
the Monadnock, the Woman's Temple,
the Railway Exchange these are but a
few of the many buildings which have
made Chicago famous, architecturally,
that are the handiwork of Mr. Burnham.
Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco
and New York are some of the other
large cities that number Burnham sky
scrapers among their noted ones. In
brief, nearly every city of the first and
second class in this country can boast of
towering specimens of Burnham architec
ture. He has been the father of more famous
skyscrapers than any other architect.
And yet. from his point of view, he hasn't
done much. His friends say that he will
probably go to his grave eet in the belief
that he hasn't done much, unless he can
be assured beforehand that his plans for
beautiful Cleveland, or beautiful Chicago
or beautiful Washington, or beautiful San
Francisco will ultimately be carried to
completion in wbol or large part. So
wrapped up is he in the idea of the city
beautiful that it is the one subject on
which he will talk to any great extent
with a stranger or an acquaintance. Of
late years he has spent a good-sized for
tune studying the cities of Europe famed
for their beauty, and in collecting data on
his favorite subject. He is, beyond perad
venture of a doubt, the country's leading
authority on the city beautiful, and his
collection of data cannot be equaled in
this country or abroad. His fellow mem
bers of the National Commission for
beautifying Washington freely admit that
his was the master mind in the prepara
tion of the plans which, if carried out,
will make Washington a city of greater
beauty, even, than Paris. These plans
were much written up in the newspapers
about four years ago.
Whenever any one has the temerity to
mention to Mr. Burnham that he may
have a personality other than that of a
boss architect he shies like a scared colt.
A Chicago Interviewer once called on him
by appointment. Mr. Burnham answered
politely enough all queries put to him re
garding architecture. Then the inter
viewer worked the old gag of asking him
who some of his friends were. Burnham
looked the caller In the eye and said ac
cusingly: ''You are after funny stories, aren't
you ?"
The other didn't answer.
"I haven't any friends who will tell you
any," he declared, and, rising, bowed the
other out.
One of the man's dominating traits is
his wish to be taken seriously, and to
this end he has succeeded admirably In
hiding his strictly personal side behind
his professional one.
To those who have mot all three, ' Mr.
Burnham at first sight Inevitably sug
gests two other notable men In lines not
far divergent from his own. One of these
was Stanford White; the other Is that
poet-novelist-arcbitect-engineer whose ge
nius Is equally at home when he sits be
fore his easel with his water-color brush
es poised, when he stands upon the rocks
of famous Diamond Shoal directing the
construction of the most difficult light
house on the American coast, and when
he sits In silent study, pen in hand, pro
ducing notable works of fiction F. Hop
klnson Smith. The men can scarcely be
said to resemble one another facially, but
the resemblance is at once apparent. Both
Stanford White and F. Hopkinson Smith
came instantly to my mind when I en
tered Mr. Burnham's office and saw him
for the first time.
Mr. Burnham's voice is pleasant and
reverberant, as Is Smith's and as was
White's; he has a habit of the other two
In studying habitually some small object
on his table as he talks; like both other
-men, he is very loath to speak about him
self. It Is conceivable that Hopkinson
Smith might tell a good story on himself,
even to a stranger; Stanford White would
have been almost sure to do it. Daniel
Hudson Burnham is quite incapable of it.
If his surroundings are to judge him. he
is simpler in his tastes than either White
or Smith. His offices in the Railway Ex
change building, one of his late skyscrap
Ing children, are purely business; hand
some enough, but severely plain. Smith's
are more elaborate. White's were ele
gant, luxurious. ' Burnham's office win
dows command a splendid view of Lake
Michigan; it is one of his delights to have
a few minutes of spare time to gaze out
over the panorama of water and study it
with the eye of an artist He frequently
becomes absorbed as deeply in this pleas
ure as he does In his other still more de
lightful recreation of planning cities
beautiful.
Born in . 1S4S, Burnham is eight years
younger than Smith. A native of New
York, he was taken to Chicago by his
parents when he was 10 years old. He
received his preparatory education
there. After getting his collegiate and
technical education in the East he re
turned to Chicago and began the prac
tice of his profession. He was burned
out in the fire. You already know how
he has helped to build the new Chi
cago, and to him Chicago is the choic
est spot on God's footstool.
Mr. Burnham is more than medium
in height, gently inclined toward portli
ness, with a complexion bright and clear
as a boy's, and hair and heavy mustache
in which gray has not by any means en
tirely overcome the natural brown. 9
Cass Gilbert, famous in tne North
west as the architect of the Minne
sota Capitol and in New York as the
architect of the new Custom-House,
has felt the hardships that come from
lack of money. something that Mr.
Burnham, whose father was fairly
wealthy, has. never experienced.
Perhaps his "leanest" days came to
him when he was studying abroad and
paying his way with work. While he
wa's in London he engaged In newspa
per work to get his dally bread, and,
truth to tell, he made such a poor
newsgatherer that he was often com
pelled to subsist on one meal a day,
and that not a very satisfying one at
times. He and a companion, like him
self a newspaper worker, often lessened
the importunities of hunger by re
maining in bed most of the day.
Before going abroad he had been a
student of architecture at the Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology,
where he had won various prizes in
scholarship. One day, while ho was
wandering about the London streets and
wondering where his next meal was to
come from, he fell In with other form
er students of his college. They soon
made themselves acquainted with Gil
bert's state. Through their influence
he gave up the London struggle, re
turned to America and secured employ
ment with McKim, Mead & White.
Some years later, when that firm se
cured the contract for constructing all
the stations and other buildings of Im
portance on the Northern Pacific Rail
road, Gilbert had risen so high in the
estimation of his employers that he
was sent West to handle all this work
nnder Henry Villard, who had obtained
control of the road. Everything looked
rosy, Gilbert was in the seventh
heaven, or fast nearlng it, when Vil
lard fell from power, the Northern Pa
cific passed into the hands of receivers,
and the architect, stranded In St. Paul,
was left to his own devices.
It turned out all right In the end.
Being a little shy of money, and also
because his widowed mother was liv
ing In St. Paul, Gilbert decided to open
up an office in that city. Three years
later consistent, hard plugging had made
him one of the city's leading architects.
That waif in 1386, when he formed a part
nership with James Knox Taylor, now
supervising architect of the Treasury De
partment. Quite a few years later, when
his plan for the Capitol of Minnesota
was accepted. Mr. Gilbert had cause to
thank his star fervently that on a day
way hack in the early 'SOs he had been
stranded In the city of his boyhood, his
parents, when he was 5, having moved
to St. Paul from Ohio, where he was
born. SL Paul is full of Gilbert's work,
just as Chicago is of Burnham's.
When Gilbert went Into partnership
with James Knox Taylor the latter was
the big man of the firm. A few years
later it was really the other way about,
though Taylor was still looked upon by
laymen as the brains of the combina
tion. According to a story of Wide circu
lation in St. Paul, - Gilbert stood for bt
ing the second man for some months;
then, one day he went to Taylor and in
the friendliest spirit actually talked him
Into the belief that he was tho one to
leave the firm. At any rate, the part
nership was dissolved by Taylor pulling
out. This occurred in 1S91, quite some
time before Gilbert received the commis
sion to build the Now York Custom
House, recently occupied by the Gov
ernment. In certain quarters the opinion has
been held that Gilbert got the big job
because he and Taylor were still part
ners at the time It was handed out. As
a matter of fact, Gilbert had no thought
of entering a design in the competition
for the Custom-House until he was urged
to do so by the Boston capitalist for
whom he planned the famous New York
skyscraper known as the Broadway
Chambers. Then he turned out his de
sign under high pressure, partly because
other work was pressing, and partly be
cause he believes that he does his best
work when so keyed up..
Gilbert's first training in his profession
was acquired several years before he
went to college, when he helped to build
a church at Red Whig, Minn., under the
eye of one RadcllfT, a curious character
who combined the callings of architect
and patent medicine seller. Radcliff was
forever preaching attention to the slight
est detail, and practicing his preaching,
too. Gilbert has been known to throw
over remunerative prospective business
that he might have time to look after
the details of work in hand. He is a phe
nomenally rapid worker. Were It not for
this fact, he would be compelled, doubt
less, to leave the oversight of detail to
assistants, as other big men of his call
ing do.
Gilbert has a remarkable memory. Let
him catch a fleeting glimpse from a rail
road train of a building with some nov
elty of construction, and days later he
can reproduce It "true to life" In a
sketch of water colors. In which he Is
fond of working. He has found this
power of memory of such great help to
him that he drills his assistants with the
persistence of an old-time schoolmaster
in the same methods of quick compre
hension and retentiveness.
As a devotee of the sport made famous
by Izaak Walton, Mr. Gilbert has
whipped many a stream In the Nortn
west. When he was a resident of St.
Paul he also got from under business
cares by helping to row the shells of tho
Minnesota Boat Club to victory. He has
a great reputation In St. Paul for sor
ciability, which he has not dimmed as a
resident of New York. He delights in
the company of artists, sculptors, musi
cians and the like, and his friends say
that he ever stands ready to assist any
such deserving it. By way of illustration
they tell the story of a young Norwegian
sculptor who, penniless and stricken
with consumption in Minneapolis, loneed
to see his old home aeain before he died.
Gilbert having accidentally become ac
quainted with the sufferer and incidental
ly learning of his wish, promptly sup
plied the necessary funds for the voy
age home.
Small and stooped, with an extremely
prominent forehead, a clean shaven face,
prematurely gray hair, the chin of a
doer and the eyes of a dreamer this la
Ernest Flags, hater of the skyscraper
and yet the father of the Singer building,
the loftiest business building In the
world today.
Fifteen years ago Flagg was writing
vigorously against the skyscraper and
doing all else in his power to arrest the
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