Form and Function: The Development of Parks and Monuments in 20th Century United States
Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Mink, Joseph
Keywords
Public Art, Public Space, City Planning
Area of Concentration
Environmental Studies
Abstract
The difficulties faced by rapidly industrializing cities in the early twentieth-century warranted urban planning that was in a large part inspired by the rural cemetery movement in mid-nineteenth century United States. These scenic cemeteries combined pastoral scenery and commemorative art within the burial grounds to unexpected ends. Urban reformers looked to nature to ease the moral and physical depravity of the urban environment. Public parks allowed people unwelcome in the cemetery to temporarily escape the struggles of city life. Reformers also promoted the neo-classical art and architecture within the cemetery in an attempt to cultivate upright citizens. The proliferation of spaces of natural respite and national memory has produced some of the most fertile and evocative expressions of the American legacy. This thesis takes two such spaces into account: Grant Park and the development of Millennium Park in Chicago, and The National Mall and its monuments in Washington, DC. It will explore how the lived experience of these spaces creates a unique interchange between the public and the meaning of these spaces. Increasingly the spaces have evolved to offer a sense of place to the individual within the built environment. The relationship of the viewer and the structure are researched to understand how this public process has grown to reflect the intricacies of American society at large.
Recommended Citation
Bassett, Dana, "Form and Function: The Development of Parks and Monuments in 20th Century United States" (2009). Theses & ETDs. 4059.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4059