Sticks and Stones · Character

Daniel Burnham

The City Beautiful planner who pointed to Periclean Athens as a way to attract tourists, letting the architect become an accessory of business and surrender leadership to the engineer.

supporting

Also known as Burnham, Mr. Daniel Burnham, Mr. Burnham

First appearance: Chapter II: The Imperial Age and the City Beautiful

As a supporting figure in Sticks and Stones, Daniel Burnham is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Co-creator of the World's Columbian Exposition and designer of Union Station in Washington; a leading figure in the imperial style.

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Burnham's plans sought the dignity and decisiveness of the formal plan, but accepted improvements at the value placed on them by Big Business, as creators of land-values and commercial attractiveness. His weakness was neglecting the billboard, the skysign, the subway, and the tall building that undermined the plan even when achieved. He represents the moment the architect, cut off from serving the community, lost his leadership to commerce.

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See Daniel Burnham in Chapter II: The Imperial Age and the City Beautiful

Character Web

9 connections

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Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Beaux-Arts Architects
Diverse Architectural Influences

+4 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt is the narrative climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of the author’s ind…

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Relationships

Charles McKim
professional · positive
They were prominent architects and close colleagues, often collaborating on major… How this plays out →
Charles McKim
professional · positive
They were prominent architects and close colleagues, often collaborating on major… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

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See Daniel Burnham in Chapter II: The Imperial Age and the City Beautiful

In the story

Daniel Burnham appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

VI: The Imperial Façade
Co-creator of the World's Columbian Exposition and designer of Union Station in Washington; a leading figure in the imperial style.
Chapter II: The Imperial Age and the City Beautiful
Cited as a leader of the City Beautiful movement and a proponent of the imperial Roman style; his Chicago plan with Bennett is mentioned, and he is criticized for valuing commercial attractiveness over true civic beauty.
The Imperial Age and Its Architectural Legacy
Quoted on the World's Fair as what Romans would have wished to create permanently.
VII: The Age of the Machine
Mentioned as the architect of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, a monument that fell to the pressures of real estate growth.
I
Referenced as the architect of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago.
III
Mentioned in relation to the Monadnock Building, which influenced German architects.
Biographical Studies
Subject of 'Daniel H. Burnham' by Charles Moore.

Chapter companion notes

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See Daniel Burnham in Chapter II: The Imperial Age and the City Beautiful

See Daniel Burnham in VI: The Imperial Façade