Richard Morris Hunt : Administration Building Chicago 1893 :: Architecture History

missing hearRichard Morris Hunt Administration make, Chicago, 1893This 11 by 14 inch gravure of the great Administration Building at the Chicago Worlds Columbian diethylstilbestrolcription of 1893 was taken from a set of 25 drawings of the exposition structures. It was the main counseling of the fair, and one of the masterpieces of its architect, Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895). With its fine classical detailing and sweeping scale, this over sized building was integral to the White City concept of the fair. To this day it carcass one of the most recognizable landmarks associated with the Columbian Exposition. The Administration Building was conceived by a board of architects led by Daniel Burnham as fate of the scheme for the Court of Honor, the major public space at the fair. As director of architecture and construction for the entire Columbian Exposition, Burnham was responsible for selecting designers for every(prenominal) the major buildings. After much debate, this gr oup of mostly east sailing practitioners decided that all the major buildings were to be cast in a pristine and highly decorative classical style based on the architecture of Antiquity. Burnham assigned the task of designing the most prominent building to arguably the most prominent man of the group, the New York architect Richard Morris Hunt.By the time Hunt was selected to design the Administration Building, he was near the block off of his distinguished career. The first American architect to attend the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Hunt had acquired the status of dean of American architecture (Stein 3). His nature was supported by his large output of fine eclectic buildings much(prenominal) as the Breakers in Newport (1892-95) and Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina (1888-95), two estates for the wealthy Vanderbilt family. These two stylistically diverse buildings exhibit the quality of Hunts architecture known as the grand manner, where he achieved mo numentality by combining different sources of classical architecture. This quality was what attracted the fair organizers, and it would be carried to its furthest expression in the Administration Building.As the focal point of the fair, the Administration Building had an beta symbolic function. Although not intended for anything related to the fair other than living accommodations offices, the picture shows that it was much larger than necessary for administration purposes. Its great size related to its function as triumphal gateway into the fair. The large legal age of visitors arrived by train at the station located directly croupe the Administration Building.