10 That Changed America is a series of television documentary films about the history of architecture and urban planning produced by US public service broadcaster PBS member station WTTW from 2013 to 2018. The series is presented by Geoffrey Baer and produced by Dan Protess.[ 1]
The series comprises seven separate films, each approximately 55 minutes in length. The initial episode on 10 Buildings That Changed America was broadcast in 2013. A three part season 1 comprising episodes on 10 Homes , 10 Towns and 10 Parks followed in 2016.
Season 2 with three further episodes covering 10 Streets , 10 Monuments and 10 Modern Marvels aired in July 2018.[ 1]
10 Buildings That Changed America
Buildings in presentation order with credited architect, location and year
Building
Credited Architect
Location
Year
1
Virginia State Capitol
Thomas Jefferson
Richmond, Virginia
1788
2
Trinity Church
Henry Richardson
Boston, Massachusetts
1877
3
Wainwright Building
Louis Sullivan
St. Louis, Missouri
1891
4
Robie House
Frank Lloyd Wright
Chicago, Illinois
1910
5
Highland Park Ford Plant
Albert Kahn
Highland Park, Michigan
1910
6
Southdale Center
Victor Gruen
Edina, Minnesota
1956
7
Seagram Building
Mies van der Rohe
New York, New York
1958
8
Dulles International Airport
Eero Saarinen
Chantilly, Virginia
1962
9
Vanna Venturi House
Robert Venturi
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1964
10
Disney Concert Hall
Frank Gehry
Los Angeles, California
2003
10 Homes That Changed America
Homes in presentation order with credited architect, location and year
Home
Credited Architects
Location
Year
1
Taos Pueblo
Taos, New Mexico
1400s
2
Monticello
Thomas Jefferson
Charlottesville, Virginia
1809
3
Lyndhurst
A J Davis
Tarrytown, New York
1842
4
The Tenement
New York, New York
mid 1800s
5
The Gamble House
Charles and Henry Greene
Pasadena, California
1908
6
Langston Terrace Dwellings
Hilyard Robinson
Washington, DC
1938
7
Fallingwater
Frank Lloyd Wright
Mill Run, Pennsylvania
1937
8
Eames House
Charles and Ray Eames
Pacific Palisades, California
1949
9
Marina City
Bertrand Goldberg
Chicago, Illinois
1962
10
Glidehouse
Michelle Kaufmann
Novato, California
2004
10 Towns That Changed America
Towns in presentation order with credited planners and year
Town
Credited Planners
Year
1
St. Augustine, Florida
Laws of the Indies
1565
2
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
William Penn
1682
3
Salt Lake City, Utah
Joseph Smith
1847
4
Riverside, Illinois
Frederick Law Olmsted
1868
5
Pullman, Illinois
George Pullman and Solon S Beman
1880
6
Greenbelt, Maryland
Clarence S Stein
1935
7
Levittown, New York
Levitt and Sons
1947
8
Southwest Washington, DC
Louis Justement and Chloethiel Smith
1952
9
Seaside, Florida
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co
1981
10
Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
Portland Planning Commission and Jane Jacobs
1997
10 Parks That Changed America
Parks in presentation order with location, credited planner and year
Park
Location
Credited Planner
Year
1
Squares of Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
1733
2
Fairmount Park
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1812
3
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn
1831
4
Central Park
New York, New York
Frederick Law Olmsted , Calvert Vaux
1857
5
Chicago's Neighborhood Parks
Chicago, Illinois
1869
6
San Antonio River Walk
San Antonio, Texas
Robert Hugman
1929
7
Overton Park
Memphis, Tennessee
George Kessler
1906
8
Freeway Park
Seattle, Washington
Angela Danadjieva
1976
9
Gas Works Park
Seattle, Washington
Richard Haag
1975
10
The High Line
New York, New York
James Corner
2009
10 Streets That Changed America
The chosen streets, in rough chronological order of establishment, were New York City's Broadway , the Boston Post Road linking Boston, MA to New York, NY, St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, LA, the National Road linking Cumberland, MD to Vandalia, IL, Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway in New York City, Woodward Avenue in Detroit, MI, the Lincoln Highway from New York, NY to San Francisco, CA, Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, OK, Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA, and the Kalamazoo Mall outdoor pedestrian shopping mall at Kalamazoo, MI.[ 2]
10 Monuments That Changed America
The chosen monuments were the Bunker Hill Monument at Boston, MA (1843), the Statue of Liberty (1886), Standing Soldiers monuments to Civil War dead (post 1865), the Robert Gould Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial at Boston, MA (1897), the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, DC (1922), Mount Rushmore (1941), the Gateway Arch at St. Louis, MO (1965), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Washington, DC (1982), the AIDS Memorial Quilt (1987), and the Oklahoma City National Memorial at Oklahoma City, OK (2000).[ 3]
10 Modern Marvels That Changed America
The civil engineering feats were the Erie Canal (1825), the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River at Cincinnati, OH (1866), the Transcontinental Railroad (1869), the Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO (1874), the Reversal of the Chicago River (1900), the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New York, NY to Jersey City, NJ (1927), the Hoover Dam (1936), the Colorado River Aqueduct (1935), the Interstate Highway System (1956), and New Orleans' Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (2005)
Critical response
The initial episode on 10 Buildings That Changed America received mixed reviews from architecture critics. It was recognised as achieving the goal to "explain complex battles over architectural ideas, in clear language, to a broad audience".[ 4] However, it was also criticised as lacking substance and failing to address "the historical, social and economic impact of these 10 buildings".[ 5] The Minneapolis Star Tribune highlighted the series 1 episode covering 10 Homes That Changed America for informativeness on "influential homes that transformed residential living".[ 6]
References
^ a b Rockett, Darcel (10 July 2018). "Marvels, monuments and streets: '10 That Changed America' is back for another season" . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 July 2018 .
^ Crawley, Melissa (3 July 2018). "Stay Tuned: TV Review: '10 That Changed America' " . The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 25 July 2018 .
^ Waldek, Stefanie (4 July 2018). "10 Monuments and Memorials That Changed America Forever" . Architectural Digest. Retrieved 25 July 2018 .
^ Hawthorne, Christopher. "'10 Buildings That Changed America' is a rewarding tour" , Los Angeles Times , 13 May 2013. Retrieved on 1 July 2018.
^ Kennicott, Philip. "Little of substance in PBS’s ‘10 Buildings That Changed America’" , The Washington Post , Washington, 9 May 2013. Retrieved on 1 July 2018.
^ Palmer, Kim. "Worth watching" , Star Tribune , Minneapolis , 2 Apr 2016. Retrieved on 2 July 2018.
External links