FIELD MUSEUM. Developing a Pattern

Peirce Anderson, design partner for the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White completed designs for Marshall Field (ca 1902) while employed by Daniel Burnham before starting (after a trip to Manila and Washington DC) the Field Museum (ca 1911). Work on Union Station in Chicago followed (ca 1913). When viewed together, the three Chicago commissions form a pattern: a clear deftness with planning issues and interior circulation; a developing mastery of spatial manipulaton; and ever increasing interest in 3rd Century Roman ornament applied to 20th Century building types. (Marshall Field and Company and Union Station have been previous subjects of this Blog.)

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Marshall Field has its Grand Arcade and great vertical spaces. Union Station maniuplates train arrivals and departures, automobiles and pedestrians on multiple levels. And at the Field Museum, stairs flank the North entrance while another highlights the South in the otherwise symmetrical Stanley Field Hall. The Hall and the Stairs combine to orient visitors encourage them to move around and through the entire Museum. Nice Job! See Sally A. Kitt Chappell's ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING OF GRAHAM, ANDERSON, PROBST AND WHITE, page 8, at the library for a good first floor plan and great comment. Or splurge at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=58731 to buy it.

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Above: Stairs at the South end of Stanley Field Hall are a visual feature from the First Floor.

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Above and Below: Broad Scissor Stairs Flank the North Entrance.

More on the "developing patterns" with the next post.

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CHICAGO PHOTOS are available for purchase at IMAGES IN THE LOOP