Luzon Architect to be Featured in PBS Documentary ( 3. September 2010, 12:12 by Daniel Rahe) ~
Tacoma’s Luzon Building, alas, is no longer with us. But the legendary career of its architect lives on. In a PBS special called “Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the America City”, the innovative legacy of this pivotal designer will be explored, with narration by acclaimed actress Joan Allen.
“Make No Little Plans” will air on KCTS at 11p.m. on Monday, September 6th. Details about the program can be found here.
Daniel Burnham designed the Luzon building 120 years ago, in partnership with John Wellborn Root. With the Luzon and several of his other notable buildings, Burnham laid the structural groundwork for the eventual possibility of the modern skyscraper. Despite its historic significance, the Luzon was deemed hazardous after years of neglect and was torn down in 2009.
This certainly sounds like Must-See TV to us…
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Luzon was deemed hazardous by then Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson and was demolished by his favorite private contractor company (Dickson) over the objections of a Tacoma City Council member majority who were frankly powerless to resist.
2 | Posted by RR Anderson | Sep 3, 01:08 PM
Perhaps there will be footage of the Luzon being torn down. How ignominious. We once had history, now we have Eric Anderson’s hole.
3 | Posted by crenshaw sepulveda | Sep 3, 07:54 PM
George Taylor: You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!
5 | Posted by crenshaw sepulveda | Sep 4, 01:54 AM
The young artist/historian who I believe constructed the memorial doesn’t even live in Tacoma, yet fully understand what was thrown away. She has more hindsight and foresight than all those responsible for the Luzon’s destruction.
7 | Posted by Dave L. | Sep 6, 06:08 PM
Brilliant. Enlightening.
Chicago, Detroit, Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, and D.C. as a whole, Pittsburgh, the Philippines, New York, Kenosha…. And we tear down our example. Describing the repercussions of the San Francisco earthquake, ending Burnham’s plans for the city, the documentary states how acts of god and acts of man have often thwarted Burnham’s best intentions. Over a century later. place the Luzon in the latter category.
9 | Posted by Dave L. | Sep 7, 12:17 AM
Words are cheap. Money would have saved it. Too bad we (us bloggers) could not have scraped the sheckels together to re-furbish it.
We need to start playing the lottery, win it, and set aside a fund for historic preservation and construction of class A office space.
10 | Posted by Altered Chords | Sep 7, 07:13 AM
It’s not too late to reopen Woolworths on 11th & Broadway!
11 | Posted by Mofo from the Hood | Sep 7, 08:24 AM
The Luzon is not the first Burnham and Root building torn down in Tacoma. The other, even bigger, was on the site of the old Woolworth’s. Check out the Fidelity building at the library’s website:
12 | Posted by crenshaw sepulveda | Sep 7, 10:58 AM
The Woolworth building is home to an AT&T wireless telecom switch. It is a monstrosity that I doubt AT&T would like to move.
I heard that Eric Cedarstrand convinced the city council years ago to allow a non-retail entity to occupy the space if there was a rotating art display in the windows.
Maybe I heard that right here on Exit 133.
14 | Posted by Altered Chords | Sep 7, 05:59 PM
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