Plate 131 from The Plan of Chicago, 1909: Chicago. Elevation Showing the Group of Buildings Constituting the Proposed Civic Center.

Although only portions were put into effect, the 1909 Plan of Chicago remains one of the largest and most compre- hensive proposals for the transformation of an American city. One central aspect of the plan was a large civic center intended for an area just west of the Chicago River. Modeled on the monuments and boulevards of 19th-century Paris and Daniel Burnham’s Court of Honor at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the complex features a tall domed building, reflecting pool, and large public square. Ultimately unrealized, Burnham’s plan imagined the Civic Center as secular temple that would serve to unify the citizens of this growing modern metropolis at a time of labor strikes and civic unrest around the country.