Evening star., 1912-06-02
DEATH COMES AS SHOCK
Great Designer Did Much for Ma
tional Capital.
PLANNED THE UNION STATION
New City Post Office Building Also
Part of Famous Chicagoan's
Work

in the real of architecture artist and
engineer Of rare professional skill, whose
sudden death at Heidelberg, Germany.
was chronicled yesterday by cablegram.
was one of the foremost men in his pro-
fession in America. if not in the world.
He was known as the founder OF the Chi
cago plan, and was the creator of the
marvellous white city Of the worlds fair
in Chicago. He was one of the master
minds which evolved the permanent park
and boulevard system for Washington,
and also of the project of the park COM
mission for the District OF Columbia.
Chicago was Mr. Burnham's home city
and because of his interest in the great
metropolis of the middle west it is prob
ably true that the beautifying Of Chi
cago was what he regarded as his great
est idea But he did not live to see it
actually and tangibly under way. Much
of his work along similar lines in other
cities remains unfinished
Praised by President.
News of Mr. Burnhams death was
carried to the White House yesterday aft
ernoon and President Taft paid a high
tribute to the deceased architect. He
said:
The news of Mr.. Burnham's death
greatly shocks me. Mr.. Burnham was
one of the foremost architects of the
world, but he had more than mere pro-
fessional skill. He had breadth of view
as to artistic subjects that permitted
education of the public in art or the
development of art in every branch of
our busy life.
Without pay: pay: at my instance. ne
to make plans for the Identification of
Manila, and for the laying out of a
capital in the mountains in the fine
climate of Baguio.
He was at the head of the fine arts
commission. and ! venture to say that
there was no man in the professional life
of the United States who has given more
of his life to the public. without having
filled public Office. than Daniel Burnham.
His death is real loss to the whole
community.
Ill But Few Hours.
Mr.. Burnham was sixty-six years old.
He had been seriously i'll only a few
hours when he died. He was travelling
With his wife his son. Hubert Burnham,
his daughter. Mrs. 4. b. Wells, and Mr..
Wells at the time of his death. They
had been motoring through France. Italy
and Germany when the Chicago architect
became suddenly ill., He died at = O'Clock
In the morning.
There is scarcely an American architect
who has completed the amount of work
which Mr.. Burnham has and who has re-
ceived the honors. both in America and
abroad, which have been accorded him.
Mr.. Burnham was born in Henderson.
\. Y, September 4, 1916. He went to Chi
cago in 1876. and ever since has called
that city his home.
The architect began to be well known
following his building of the first sky
scraper. He was made chief architect and
director of works of the worlds fair in
1893. and from then on his career fur
nished a succession of triumphs in archi-
lecture. In the last ten or fifteen years
he has made the plans for buildings that
are valued at $1.nD.OOO.m. Nearly every
large city in the country has one of Mr.
Burnham's buildings as one of the sights
of the city.
Since he began his work of municipal
beeautification a few years ago several
cities have been entirely reconstructed
along his plans. San Francisco. following
her destruction by earthquake. was built
upon the ideas that Mr.. Burnham
furnished Manila was made one of the
beautiful cities of the world through
him. Portland. Minneapolis, Brooklyn
and Cleveland are in the process of beau
tification by means of his city beautiful
plans.
Planned Union Station
The most striking Burnham creation
in the National Capital is the great
Union station, which found its first
suggestion in the mind of the great
Chicago architect. and which was car
ried on the wave of his enthusiasm to
the point of accomplishment Mr..
Burnham also planned the new city
post office building, which now is in
course of construction on the corner
of North Capitol street and Massa-
chusetts avenue. adjacent to the Union
station.
he first direct. personal interest taken
by Daniel Burnham in the city of Wash
fngton grew out of the creation of the
Mcmillan park commission, so-called be-
cause it was provided for by Seante
resolution. drafted and introduced in the
Senate by the late Senator Mcmillan, and
finally carried to enactment BY this res
olution an appropriation was made to
defray expenses of a commission of the
foremost building and landscape archi-
tects and artists of the country. to visit
all of the foreign capitals. and any
American cities and towns to which they
might elect to go. with the idea that
they should prepare a permanent plan
for the continued development Of Wash
tngton and the District of Columbia as a
co-extensive national city.
Work for the Capital.
Senator Mcmillan aurned to Daniel
Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, jr
Of Boston, August Saint Gaudens and
Charles F. McKim. These four. as the
Mcmillan park commission. made extend
ed observations and then presented their
recommendations. which contemplated q
wide extension of the park system of
the District of Columbia: the joining of
Rock Creek Park and Potomac Park,
with the open treatment of the
valley of Rock creek and a boulevard
following the course of the creek between
the two parks: the placing of all future
governmental departments between the
Capitol and the White House with parks
around them; great ''belt-line' boule-
ward forming eastern and northern
connecting parkway, linking the upper
end of Rock Creek Park with an Eastern
branch. or Anacostia river park and In
general the extension of the great ave-
nues and streets of this city along the
lines laid down by the Father of His
Country and the great French engineer,
IEnfant.
OF the plans of the park commission, il
has been said that they evolved nothing
startlingly new. but 1t was and is recog-
nized that they gave to the problem of
the development of the Nations Canital