The flow and armature of Riverside Village near Chicago
Riverside village, located 9 miles west of the city of Chicago was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and it is a National Historic Landscape District now. Riverside, IL is the first planned suburban community in the United States, which has curved roads and patterns in the context of Land Ordinance which leads to the result that cities are all planned and divided by rectangular(See figure 1).
Riverside, IL attracts me by the beautiful master plan drawn by Frederic Law Olmsted. In other word, the aesthetic aspect of the curvilinear roads. When Olmsted design the site, he set the goal to create a “suburban village” by blending the countryside with the urban environments and develop an organization of open space and views. To reach this goal, Olmsted set four design principles including the one “Choreography of views”. That may be one of the reason for the curvy road. Also, I think the concept is similar to the concept of “ walking King vary” in Chinses traditional garden.
The flow of people really contributes to the formation of Riverside, IL. Chicago located at the converge point of the the transcontinental railroad completed in 1869. So, Chicago was a necessary stop for any travel crossing the continent. This condition provides people easy access to the Riverside, which has a railway station in it. Many wealthy people stay in Riverside hotels at summertime for recreation and escape from the bad environment like increasing traffic congestion and sanitation problems in cities.
In 1871, the Great Fire destroyed the city of Chicago. People did flock to the hotels of Riverside as a refuge from the chaos of the charred Chicago landscape. After the fire, demands of staying in Riverside increased and kept Riverside hotels open all winter. People began to consider year-round residence in the suburban community and the suburban communities emerged.
