10 buildings that changed america | wttw pbs chicago

10 Buildings That Changed America is the companion book to the PBS special of the same name airing nationwide on May 12, 2013.

The show and the book take readers on a journey inside these groundbreaking marvels of engineering and design and reveals the sometimes shocking, funny, and tragic stories of how these buildings came to be.

From the glorious Trinity Church, designed as an envelope for the voice of the churchs rector, Phillips Brooks (best known today as the writer of O Little Town of Bethlehem), to the Highland Park Ford Plant, designed by Jewish architect Albert Kahn, (whose partnership with Henry Ford flourished despite Fords anti-Semitic writings), to the Vanna Venturi house, a built essay in postmodern design theory that architect Robert Venturi designed for his mother, the book explores how their construction affected communities across the country.

Ultimately, the book like the program is a journey inside the imaginations of the architects who created these influential structures.

The books author, Dan Protess, has been producing and writing critically acclaimed programs and films for two decades, and his work has appeared on PBS, ABC, C-SPAN, and other television stations.

Co-author and show host Geoffrey Baer is familiar to Chicago television audiences for his Emmy Award winning programs about the citys architecture and history.

The books text has been adapted from the show script to best illuminate the stories behind these important buildings.

With an engaging mix of contemporary photography that illuminates how these buildings look today, along with a range of rare archival images, 10 Buildings That Changed America is a fascinating book for both for architecture buffs and for everyone else interested in the development of America s visual identity and urban space.