The first planner I chose is Daniel Burnham. He is obviously integral to the story and the building of the World’s Fair, but he has many values and beliefs that are expressed throughout the story. I believe he valued his work and work ethic. I get the sense he worked long hours and put tremendous effort into the largest project of his career. “Burnham saw his family rarely now” (page 128). He valued commitment and followed through to the bitter end. Along with his strong work ethic I think he valued status and being prominent in the community. He had Madeira shipped on a vessel around the world. “He arranged recitals at his home and office and joined the best clubs and collected the best wines and was now leading the greatest nonmilitary campaign in the nation’s history” (page 210). Even though status was important to Burnham, he was a family man. He valued the time he spent with his family. His sons visited him on the job (page 158). And he missed his wife, which is very enduring “He kept a photograph of Margaret in his office. Every time he walked by it, he picked it up and stared at it with longing” (page 222).

The second planner I chose is Frederick Olmsted. He valued respect among the fine arts community for his work in landscape architecture. He was frustrated that he wasn’t receiving the praise and respect he deserved for his life’s passion. “Throughout his career he had struggled, with little success, to dispel the perception that landscape architecture was simply an ambitious sort of gardening..” (page 50). He accepted the task of the World’s Fair because he believed it would give him the notoriety and dignity he felt he deserved. “What landscape architecture needed, Olmsted believed, was greater visibility, which in turn would bring greater credibility” (page 51).

Finally Holmes. He also had many values and beliefs but they were very different from the men listed above. I think he valued having a certain charm that lent him the power to control people and their emotions. “He was always charming and cordial…” “He was the smoothest man I ever saw” (page 72). He also valued status but I believe for a different reason than Burnham. “He wanted to attain a position where he would be honored and respected. He wanted wealth” (page 64). I think he wanted these things to look “normal” from the outside and to be able to indulge in his dark fantasies. From everything I have read so far about Holmes, I think he believed in pushing boundaries. He wanted to see how far he could go without getting caught and he wanted to evaluate what he could get away with.