Heaven on Earth: Swedenborgian Correspondences in the Plan of Chicago

Abstract

Daniel Hudson Burnham, the Chicago architect and city planner, is recognized for his work on the development of American tall office building; for the construction of World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893; and for his city plans for Washington, D.C., Cleveland, San Francisco, and Chicago. He is also remembered for the quote “Make no little plans.” What is not recalled is his Swedenborgian faith nor how it influenced his work. Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist and engineer who, beginning in the mid 1730s, underwent a spiritual awakening. The focus of his work changed to the mystical aspects of human experience. He believed that all Christian churches were dead and in need of revitalization and the key to revitalization was to be found in a new interpretation of scripture. His followers founded the Church of the New Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as the New Church or the Swedenborgian Church.