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Charles Mulford Robinson

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Charles Mulford Robinson
Born(1869-04-30)April 30, 1869
Ramapo, New York, US
DiedDecember 30, 1917(1917-12-30) (aged 48)
Albany, New York, US
EducationUniversity of Rochester
OccupationJournalist
Spouse
Eliza Ten Eyck Pruyn
​
​
(m. 1896)​

Charles Mulford Robinson (1869–1917) was an American journalist and a writer who became famous as a pioneering urban planning theorist. He has the greatest influence as a missionary for urban beautification.[1] He was the first Professor for Civic Design at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which was only one of two universities offering courses in urban planning at the time, the other being Harvard.

Biography

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Charles Mulford Robinson was born in Ramapo, New York on April 30, 1869. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Rochester in 1891.[2]

Robinson wrote "The Fair as a Spectacle" in 1893, an illustrated description of Chicago's World Columbian Exposition, a watershed event for the City Beautiful Movement, and went on to write the first guide to city planning in 1901, titled The Improvement of Towns and Cities.

He married Eliza Ten Eyck Pruyn in 1896.[2]

In 1909, he developed the original plans for the Fort Wayne Park and Boulevard System in Fort Wayne, Indiana.[3]: 5–6  He was hired in 1910 to review the city design and planning of St. Joseph, Missouri. Fully half of his report dealt with the need for park space in the city, leading to the design of the National Register of Historic Places–listed St. Joseph Park and Parkway System.[4]

Robinson died in Albany, New York on December 30, 1917.[2]

Works

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  • "The Fair as a Spectacle". A History of the World's Columbian Exposition. New York, D. Applelton and Company. 1893. Chapter 26.
  • "Improvement in City Life". Atlantic Monthly. 83. 1899.[5]
  • Rochester Ways. Scrantom Wetmore & Company, Rochester, New York, 1900.
  • The Improvement of Towns and Cities. Or the Practical Basic of Civic Aesthetics. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1901.
  • Modern Civic Art, or the City Made Beautiful. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1903.
  • The Call of the City. Paul Elder & Company, San Francisco/New York, 1908.
  • City Planning. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1916.

References

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  1. ^ Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 573. ISBN 9780415252256.
  2. ^ a b c "Genius Won Him Many Honors as a City Planner". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. December 31, 1917. p. 10. Retrieved July 15, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved July 1, 2015. Note: This includes Camille B. Fife; Meg Storrow; Paul Lippens (May 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Fort Wayne Park and Boulevard System Historic District Part 1" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2015. and Camille B. Fife; Meg Storrow; Paul Lippens (May 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Fort Wayne Park and Boulevard System Historic District Part 2" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2015. and Accompanying photographs.
  4. ^ Deon K. Wolfenbarger (June 20, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (PDF). pp. 92–102.
  5. ^ Arthur Meier Schlesinger (1933), "Critical Essay on Authorities: Urban Life", Rise of the City, 1878-1898, NY: Macmillan, p. 448+, OL 6285280M (fulltext via OpenLibrary)
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