TV Show of the Day: '10 Buildings That Changed America'

Architecture television is a rare thing.

Flickr/Boston Public Library

No, this is not a Buzzfeed post.

It's a PBS show on American architectural history. Hosted by Geoff Baer, expert in all things Chicago, and produced by WTTW Chicago in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, 10 Buildings That Changed America is set to air on May 12th.

The buildings in question range from the very early -- Thomas Jefferson's Virginia statehouse (1788) -- to the very recent -- Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003). In between, Baer says in the preview, he wants to answer this question: "How did our nation's notions about architecture change so dramatically?"

Here's the full list:

  1. Virginia state capitol, Richmond. Thomas Jefferson, 1788.
  2. Trinity Church, Boston. H.H. Richardson, 1877.
  3. Wainwright Building, St. Louis. Louis Sullivan, 1891.
  4. Robie House, Chicago. Frank Lloyd Wright, 1910.
  5. Highland Park Ford Plant, Highland Park, Michigan. Albert Kahn, 1910.
  6. Southdale Center, Edina, Minnesota. Victor Gruen, 1956.
  7. Seagram Building, New York. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1958.
  8. Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia. Eero Saarinen, 1962.
  9. Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia. Robert Venturi, 1964.
  10. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles. Frank Gehry, 2003.

So what are your gripes?

Top image: Boston Public Library, via Flickr.

About the Author
