In Larson’s book The Devil in the White City, Larson portrays Jackson Park, the location of the Chicago World’s Fair, in different ways, based on the characters’ knowledge of the park. He uses three characters’ quotes and thoughts to give the reader an image of the park: Olmsted, Burnham, and the east coast architects.
The image he gives the reader is never perfect, but the first impression he gives the reader is acceptable. At first, Larson describes Jackson Park as a place that may not have been extraordinary at the moment, but it had plenty of potential. At that point, none of the architects working on the fair had seen Jackson Park for themselves. Larson writes, “In the plans [Olmsted] had produced for the commissioners, he envisioned …show more content…
In Olmsted’s case, he is driven by his previous experience with the park, but that was several years before now. Larson portrays Olmsted’s attitude as hopeful and optimistic despite his knowledge of the Jackson Park’s flaws. Larson writes, “The park’s gravest flaw, at least from Olmsted’s perspective, was that its shoreline was subject to dramatic annual changes in the level of the lake, sometimes as much as four feet. Such fluctuations… would greatly increase the difficulty if planting the banks and shores”(96). When the architects finally look at the park for themselves, Olmsted looks for their reactions, hoping they would see that the park had some hope. Olmsted recognizes the park’s flaws, which was shown when Larson writes, “Olmsted himself has said of Jackson Park: “If a search has been made for the least parklike ground within miles of the city, nothing better meeting the requirement could have been found’”(95). In spite of this, he tries to be an optimist and encourage his fellow architects into seeing the park’s potential. Larson uses quotes from Olmsted, or primary sources, to support Olmsted’s perspective of Jackson
The image he gives the reader is never perfect, but the first impression he gives the reader is acceptable. At first, Larson describes Jackson Park as a place that may not have been extraordinary at the moment, but it had plenty of potential. At that point, none of the architects working on the fair had seen Jackson Park for themselves. Larson writes, “In the plans [Olmsted] had produced for the commissioners, he envisioned …show more content…
In Olmsted’s case, he is driven by his previous experience with the park, but that was several years before now. Larson portrays Olmsted’s attitude as hopeful and optimistic despite his knowledge of the Jackson Park’s flaws. Larson writes, “The park’s gravest flaw, at least from Olmsted’s perspective, was that its shoreline was subject to dramatic annual changes in the level of the lake, sometimes as much as four feet. Such fluctuations… would greatly increase the difficulty if planting the banks and shores”(96). When the architects finally look at the park for themselves, Olmsted looks for their reactions, hoping they would see that the park had some hope. Olmsted recognizes the park’s flaws, which was shown when Larson writes, “Olmsted himself has said of Jackson Park: “If a search has been made for the least parklike ground within miles of the city, nothing better meeting the requirement could have been found’”(95). In spite of this, he tries to be an optimist and encourage his fellow architects into seeing the park’s potential. Larson uses quotes from Olmsted, or primary sources, to support Olmsted’s perspective of Jackson