A Guide to 150 years of Chicago architecture

About this book

In returning the architecture of Chicago, in a state of fresh apperception, to its inhabitants we have fulfilled most of our original intentions: "to make known a city and its architecture, without theoretical pretensions, without exclusiveness, and without any biases except those that were imposed on us". But there were some things we could not do. We could not effectively represent all Chicaog architects and the numerous individuals within the major firms. Nor could we completely translate the dynamism of the city in its native land. However, on its own soil, the exhibition broadened its representation to include additional firms and new material that we could not transport economically across the Atlantic. And we have retained the original organization of the exhibition in its four parts: Chicago I, "Early Chicago"; Chicago II, "the Prairie School and Frank Lloyd Wright"; Chicago III, "Realities", where the influence of Mies van der Rohe and the larger Chicago firms are shown; Chicago IV, "Trends", which documents the work of different architects and different currents.