Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-21
BY EDGAR ANsEL MowRER.

BERLIN.-The Chicago Century of
Progress Fair of 1888 is attracting the
attention of Old World architects. But
the assumption that they look up with
awe at the American builders of sky
scrapers is the sheerest illusion. In
fact, Europe is suspicious of towering
buildings. American constructions are
mammoth in size, to be sure, but size
means little to Europe. What about
the quality of the product?
An outspoken opponent OF Amer
lean megalomania" is Municipal Archt-
tect Martin Wagner, chairman of the
the building committee of the city OF
Berlin. Herr Wagner has the advantage
of many critics of Americanism in
knowing flrst-hand what he Is talking
about. His recent visit to the United
States, and in particular his discussions
with Chicago architects, is still in
American memory.
X X X
The conclusions drawn from his trip
are embodied in a little volume recently
published, Municipal Building Prob
lens in American Cities and Their In
fluence on German City Construction"
One entire chapter Of this challenging,
richly illustrated booklet is devoted to
the coming Chicago fair. Herr Dr..
Wagner does not much care for the
plans submitted by American architects.
What he says is worth reproducing in
part:
America leads the world in archi-
tecturer" mo miSprintD America
leads the world in architecture! There
is not the slightest doubt of 1t. We do
not only cheerfully admit 1t. but Europe
doesn't deny it. These are the intro
ductory words to the History OF Archi-
lecture in America an article by
Daily News (June "a, 1920, entitled,
Creation of the Skyscraper, a Chicago
Gift to the World
"Once before Chicago astounded the
world at the time of the international
competition in 1922 for the Chicago
Tribune Tower No modern European
was admitted to this task; it had to be
an American, patented by the 'Ecole DIES
Beaux Arts in Paris. But even Tai
madge admits that the design of the
Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen created
the deepest impression and influenced
the present form Of the SkyScraper
Another such international competition
and America will undeniably lead the
world in architecture!
1T do not deny that mass of sky
scrapers can be grouped to a very pic
SioniStic when seen from an airplane
But down below it's gruesomep in the
words of a German ballad. If the
worlds cities must look like that dust
and ashes on their heads'-as over
Manhattan!
at will not here speak of the traffic
djfficulty, the economical and social
breakdown of the skyscraper cities. A
builder of cities must recognize that the
skyscraper is an unnatural excrescence,
but not an intentional economical and
artistic creation by American architects
| The skyScrapers have been brought into
being by entirely different forces.
Chicago is planning world fair In
| 1888. To an American world exhibit
| ton means the exhibition of his world
not Of the world OF the other peoples on
this earth. There will certainly be in
ternational participation. But primarily
this will be an American exhibition
and for this kind Of exhibition Chicago
! is the best imaginable location.
| Chicago is, or will be, the 100 per
cent American capital. Its geographic
cal position is decisive. In 1910 Chi
cago had 100000 inhabitants. Today
it has 100000 In 1850 there will be
| $500 900 inhabitants. Chicago must
become a capital. And this develop
ment into the capital Of the United
States must further the world fair. A
generous plan has been generously
tackled!
IT, as an architect and builder of
| towns, am interested in the standards
set for American architects for the
plans of the exhibition, which most
certainly cannot be mastered in an
artistic way. Only take a look at the
land separating the business section
| from the lake which has been divided
into q garden with enormous gravel
Of proportion. The Field Museum, q
| fine specimen a pEcole des Beaux Arts,
| IS lost in the vastnesS. And now this
| Field Museum is planned as the head
piece of an exhibition more than two
miles long, on land which is going to