Daniel Burnham Quotes

Without a shadow of doubt, Trafalgar Square has to be one of the most crap urban public spaces in the world.

The city of magnificent intentions.

Certain parts are bad in every city, but Chicago is beautiful.

In Paris, there has to be a presence. History becomes the most interesting when it's compared to the present. I mean there's a whole group of people that want to build new buildings that look like old buildings.

The design of a city is like a strange archeology.

What's similar between Britain and America is the lack of good-quality civic buildings.

During the Second World War, nobody built any concert halls or theaters. After the war, Lincoln Center was a very brave project because all those architects had never built a theater before. We've learned a lot since then about the nature of materials and the isolation that's required.

When you look at a city, it's like reading the hopes, aspirations and pride of everyone who built it.

Houston is undoubtedly my showcase city. I saved all my best buildings for Houston.

Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.

What is lacking in the cities, and most of the men, however, is charm and taste.

The City gets more and more beautiful every time I come home.

My goal is always to create something exceptional that enhances cities and enriches the lives of the people who live and work in them.

If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved.

Architecture is one of the art forms best able to improve and revitalise cities both artistically and functionally.

Many of our buildings have large format murals that are of varying subject matter, and we've found that those are the sort of things that make people stop, digest, and absorb.

You can't have a single design for all cities. The look and feel of the streetlights are very important.

London is a vast, complex city designed by the same guy who created the Habitrail.

A city, far from being a cluster of buildings, is actually a sequence of spaces enclosed and defined by buildings.

There is a sense of civic connection to the city when you light up iconic buildings or sites.

It is still the arena of those who dream of the City of Man and those who envision a City of Things. The battle appears to be forever joined. The armies, ignorant and enlightened, clash by day as well as night. Chicago is America's dream, writ large. And flamboyantly.

Architecture is the work of nations

You cannot have good architecture merely by asking people's advice on occasion. All good architecture is the expression of national life and character; and it is produced by a prevalent and eager national taste, or desire for beauty.

As mayor I don't intend to be just a voice for Portland. I intend to be a voice for urban America.

I am Chicago. I'm from Chicago. I bleed Chicago. I really think I can help the city. I think I can save the city.