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.

 

This book has been very intriguing to me to say the least. As I have started reading I really believe that biggest issue that is going on in the United States is corruption. Everything was changing so fast skyscrapers were being built cities were growing and everybody wanted to be the best and whatever it took to get there. Cities were fighting to see who could be more impressive and build the grandest of buildings. Political beliefs really just relied on more about who you knew with such buildings just being thrown up without any really proposed planning. Things were happening so fast people were being introduced to so many different ideas. Some being grand and others being a little more sinister. So many were working on being the best that they would do whatever it takes at any costs.

I feel as though having the two stories come together really helped the book keep going. I really felt as though Holmes was the perfect example of what kind of issues were being created. Holmes lacked many ethics and found that he could prey on the others. As the fair was being brought to Chicago so were a lot of people were coming as well. Which allowed him to hide all of his wrong doings because people would be concerned with something else.

Sol Bloom is very innovative at coming up with new ways in making money. “At the Alcazar he inserted into scripts the name of popular products, bars, and restaurants, including the Cliff House, and for this received another stream of income.” (136) Based on this excerpt he was doing product placement and advertising local businesses for a fee, the way that radio and TV stations do nowadays. “He also organized a cadre of professional applauders,”(136) Much like the screens at TV tapings that say applause. I feel that these were revolutionary at this time in America’s history. I think that he was given the opportunity to be the “czar” of the midway was because of his innovation and tenacious attitude.

 

Frederick Law Olmsted was a man of great strength and resolve. He was a man of great forethought. All of his ideas were meant to be realized 10-20 years into the future. It takes great strength and resolve to not let people change your vision, but to have to keep people from changing your ideas for 20+ years is proof of his resolve.”, he learned of another attack on his beloved Central Park.” (169) He was under constant pressure to let somebody put buildings on the Wooded Island. “The island had come under repeated assault, promoting a resurfacing of Olmsted’s old anger about the compulsion of clients to tinker with his landscapes.”(168) After all this he finally relented and let Japan build a temple.

 

H.H. Holmes valued power more than anything else. “What he craved was possession and the power it gave him; what he adored was anticipation – the slow acquisition of love, then life, and finally the secrets within.” (200) He wanted to control the women that worked for him and the women he courted. These were usually one and the same.