Editing Daniel Burnham (section)

===World's Columbian Exposition===
Burnham and Root had accepted responsibility to oversee the design and construction of the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in [[Chicago]]'s then-desolate [[Jackson Park (Chicago)|Jackson Park]] on the south lakefront. The largest [[world's fair]] to that date (1893), it celebrated the 400-year anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s famous voyage. After Root's sudden and unexpected death, a team of distinguished American architects and landscape architects, including Burnham, [[Frederick Law Olmsted]], [[Charles Follen McKim|Charles McKim]], [[Richard M. Hunt]], [[George B. Post]], and [[Henry Van Brunt]] radically changed Root's modern and colorful style to a [[Neoclassical architecture|Classical Revival]] style. Only the pavilion by [[Louis Sullivan]] was designed in a non-Classical style. To ensure the project's success, Burnham moved his personal residence into a wooden headquarters, called "the shanty" on the burgeoning fairgrounds to improve his ability to oversee construction.<ref>Larson (2003), pp.76-77</ref> The construction of the fair faced huge financial and logistical hurdles, including a worldwide financial panic and an extremely tight timeframe, to open on time.

Considered the first example of a comprehensive planning document in the nation, the fairground featured grand [[boulevard]]s, classical building [[facade]]s, and lush [[garden]]s. Often called the "White City," it popularized neoclassical architecture in a monumental, yet rational [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style. As a result of the fair's popularity, architects across the U.S. were said to be inundated with requests by clients to incorporate similar elements into their designs.

The control of the fair's design and construction was a matter of dispute between various entities, particularly the National Commission which was headed by [[George R. Davis (Illinois politician)|George R. Davis]], who served as Director-General of the fair. It was also headed by the Exposition Company which consisted of the city's leading merchants, led by [[Lyman Gage]] which had raised the money needed to build the fair, and Burnham as Director of Works. In addition the large number of committees made it difficult for construction to move forward at the pace needed to meet the opening day deadline.<ref>Larson (2003), pp.119-120</ref> After a major accident which destroyed one of the fair's premiere buildings, Burnham moved to take tighter control of construction, distributing a memo to all the fair's department heads which read "I have assumed personal control of the active work within the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition{{nbsp}}... Henceforward, and until further notice, you will report to and receive orders from me exclusively."<ref>Larson (2003), p.178</ref>

After the fair opened, Olmsted, who designed the fairgrounds, said of Burnham that "too high an estimate cannot be placed on the industry, skill and tact with which this result was secured by the master of us all."<ref>Larson (2003), p.283</ref> Burnham himself rejected the suggestion that Root had been largely responsible for the fair's design, writing afterwards:

<blockquote>What was done up to the time of his death was the faintest suggestion of a plan{{nbsp}}... The impression concerning his part has been gradually built up by a few people, close friends of his and mostly women, who naturally after the Fair proved beautiful desired to more broadly identify his memory with it.<ref name="Larson 2003, p.377">Larson (2003), p.377</ref></blockquote>