Evening star., 1932-09-13
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
/, g. M.

al 1VA4NOOW4 |
I. 6. M.
THE DISAPPEARING CITY. BY Frank
Lloyd Wright. New York: william
Farquhar Payson.
BY professional habit the builder ac-
quires the forward-looking mind. To
the architect, concern over the struc-
ture that he Is planning today, lies
half . century, more or less. ahead Of
him. His mind makes pictures OF that
future In something like q test Of the
character and validity Of his own con-
tribution to it.
That Is To say, this Is true when the
worker in brick and stone Is an artist
possessing Imagination to add to the
technic Of plan and design, knowing
history and seeing 1t In the passing
splendors Of Tyre and Sidon. Of Egypt
and Troy. Realizing the present in its
message Of shelter for the new millions
, Of a new future.
Frank Lloyd Wright Is an artist who
appears to have thought out, to have
reasoned out. many things beside
ground plan and air plan. beside roof
age and the inner accommodation Of
parts to their various uses. An archi-
tect Of high practice and distinguished
authority, he turns out to be poet and
authentic historian Is well. Sounds
like prophet, too.
Working away, It comes to him that
into cave dwellers and wandering
tribes. The cave man became the cliff
dweller and learned. slowly. to build
cities. He stayed within the shadow
Of the wall" His swifter brother de-
vised the folding tent. An adventurer.
he became, moving from place to place
over the earth. Changing seasons be-
came the law Of his mobile career.
1t is the cliff man that enlists con-
Germ here by way Of the modern city.
This, by the survival OF human habit,
the advance Of science. the growth Of
industry to menacing concentrations at
point after point-all this has become
the Frankenstein Of its own inner life,
Of its own power Of survival.
When the modern city becomes a
completely mechanical institution, Is 1t
is on its way to become when the
pressing Of buttons and the looseniEg
of cranks, sets into efficient activity
that which before had been the bus!-
ness OF mind and hand in partnership
stuff and the mind matter WORKING
together, as these have for so long been
doing?
Granting that the modern city Is,
as Mr.. Wright afirms, bound to dis
appear, the question promptly rises
What next?" In answer. this author
/ lays out a pattern "Broadacre City"
Not "a back-to-the-l land program
Not at all. Rather is this q loosening
OF the city elements into more roomy
spaces. And this loosening takes in
vastly more than the mere edging along
Of city buildings out into the surround
ing countryside. All the frightened parts
Of the modern city are to be taken
apart, shaken. loosened. summed and
aired. let out from immemorial years Of
standing within the shadow Of the
walls"
The "Broadacre City" set spaciously
and beautifully among trees. in a land
scape diversified by hill and valley and
running stream. Mr.. Wright takes up
various city institutions for . fair han
ding. Many of these he throws on
the h-heap. Some OF them he dusts
Of, straightens . part here. secures q
loose one there. counting them worth
while in the city which IS to have but
single paramount aim-the growth
Of individuality. the support Of human
dignity in q community that has not
felt the power Of the few against the
many. No. nothing at all like the old
farm factory, nothing like that. A
modern affair. this city. taking advan-
tage of all that time has gained for 1t
to its profit as q community In the
true sense Of that word.
Very interesting to read what this
man would do here and there and over
yonder. Say. with the city home As It
operates today like the perfect robot
that 1t Is. while the freed missus wad-
dies from one bargain counter to an
other in the contentment OF that gen.
orally vicious device. the charge ac-
count" Say, with the churches, too
Say, with the schools IS well. And say,
also, with nothing more than the cur.
rent manning and murder machine OF
city street trafnc. All these and many
important features of the city are taken
In hand for their preparatory renova-
ton as elements and activities in the
new Broadacre Town. An organic city.
working like the organism Of the human
BODY all parts doing service to main
tain both the life and the individuality
Of the body itself as q whole.
The author names the forces that
are tearing the modern city down
Names. too, the thought. as modern
thought. that is bringing relief. Read
it. All sanity. all moderauon-yet
fortnight and fearless to reassuring
Let us wait. for q minute. to hear MI
Wright talk about the familiar Things
of which we already know 50 mucn,
of which we are so proud. Let's look
at the school in the new town OF
Broadacres. Much like our own. no
doubt. We hardly see at all Wnere
these could be improved. More teach
worked for this particular outcome. AZ
doesn't set so very we'll to hear him use
words like this in respect to our Iree
institution of learning" The Dig
knowledge factory was always a sell de
feating Institution. How like factory
1t looks and Is. How unimaginatlve and
impotent the vicarious product how
many prison houses for the mind are us
distractions. Armchair ethics, philos-
ophy, science and art. Bookology 10
their science and their craft" Wen!
We don't like that! Not little DIT.
But. maybe-"Any school IN Broadacre
City will be. first, park in the ehoacss. @
spot roundabout Water close by. NO
school building more than one story
high. Each unit Of space not to hold
more than 10 children. Forty children
will be a large school. Dining room and
kitchen, gymnasium flower beds Tor
children to work in, learning soil by liv-
ing with its ways Of making green
things grow. BY this time. even be-
fore lessons as such have begun. some
one growls. Who or what could pay
for such enormous layouts Of money on
schooling children?" You see. however.
that this author is thinking Of some
thing vastly more precious than money.
even though he does mention In fair