More Burnham Memorial Coverage

We've been following the competition and plans to build a memorial for Daniel Burnham on the Museum campus, so with that in mind we wanted to bring to your attention a post from Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune Cityscapes Blog.

Kamin thinks that the winning project would be an improvement for the Museum Campus, but an unnecessary use of resources that could be better used elsewhere:

There is much to like in the winning design, by Chicago architect David Woodhouse, especially how it would direct our attention outward to Burnham's real memorial -- the stunning cityscape of downtown Chicago.

Yet there is also much to question, particularly why equally fitting but much-needier lakefront sites, such as the derelict public space to the east of Lake Shore Drive near Buckingham Fountain, were passed over in favor of the already-sylvan Museum Campus.

We completely agree. In our opinion the Queen's Landing project would be a much better use of these funds. Below is a photo from his post showing a familiar scene at Buckingham fountain (west of lakeshore drive). It's a mess and could become much more pedestrian friendly if resources were devoted to it.
And here is a drawing of the potential idea for a renovation of Queens Landing:
This would be much more beneficial for the city and a great tribute to the man who is partially responsible for what it is today!