The American civic center: Urban ideals and compromise on the ground

Reformers introduced the term 'civic center' into American architectural and urban discourse in the years around 1900. This study examines civic centers as key elements of idealistic municipal programs, focusing on attitudes toward public life and democracy during this period. For many contemporaries and historians, the generous open spaces and coordinated architecture of these projects signaled a shift from private, individualist development of American cities to a new focus on collective concerns. Examination of the process through which cities developed civic centers reveals continuing conflicts between these attitudes, as well as new insights into key political, social, and art historical issues.; Research is organized around case studies, with an introduction and conclusion treating underlying themes and issues. Chapters one and two introduce the history and theory of civic centers, identifying architectural and spatial issues in debates about municipal planning at the turn of the century. Chapter two further outlines methodological and historiographic issues, examining themes such as the City Beautiful; the American Renaissance; patterns of urban spatial organization; Progressive political reform strategies; and professional architectural programs. Chapters three, four and five present case studies of Cleveland, San Francisco, and New York, respectively. Historical investigation reveals different approaches and results in each case, yet all three examples contribute to general conclusions about the process and meaning of civic center development.; Examination of Cleveland focuses on the history of its Group Plan in the context of national architectural programs, local Progressive political reform, urban design, and the spatial organization of the city. Analysis of the San Francisco civic center emphasizes architectural reform, real estate pressure to rebuild after the earthquake and fire of 1906, and comparison with competing cities in the region. Investigation of New York concentrates on the development of municipal Progressivism, urban redevelopment, the democratic rhetoric of urban reform, and the concept of centralization inherent in civic center programs.; The study concludes by balancing the contextual approach of each case study with broader interpretive models, to suggest theses about public life in cities, urban form, and the municipal character shaping public projects.