From the state capitol building that first declared our architectural independence from Great Britain to an iconic Prairie-style home by Frank Lloyd Wright, from the factory that housed Henry Ford’s first Model T moving assembly line to the original indoor regional shopping mall, from H. H. Richardson’s iconic Trinity Church in Boston to Frank Gehry’s game-changing Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, we see the influence of America’s best architects all around us – in the homes where we live, the offices where we work, our public buildings, and houses of worship. Many have been shaped in one way or another by a handful of imaginative, audacious, and sometimes even arrogant Americans throughout history whose bold ideas have been copied far and wide. Sometimes in a flash of inspiration these architects have dared to strike out on their own and design a radical new building that has permanently altered our built environment. 10 Buildings that Changed America is a journey that will take you across America and inside these groundbreaking works of art and engineering. It is also a journey back in time to discover the shocking, funny, and even sad stories of how these buildings were created. And it is a journey inside the imaginations of ten daring architects who set out to change the way we live, work, and play.
10 Homes that Changed America highlights 10 architecturally adventuresome dwellings, which provided Americans with more than just a “roof over their heads” – these homes elevated living to an art form. Meet the talented architects who brought these buildings to life, along with their often-eccentric clients, and the lucky individuals who live in these historic homes today. A primer in domestic architecture, 10 Homes will also offer a lesson in the history of American domestic life, as the evolving design of these homes over time reveals Americans’ changing relationship with nature, technology, and each other.
10 Parks that Changed America tells the story of 10 visionaries who took open canvases of God-forsaken land, and transformed them into serene spaces that offer city dwellers a respite from the hustle and bustle of urban life. From the elegant squares of Savannah, Georgia, to a park built over a freeway in Seattle, to the more recent High Line in New York, each story introduces the heroes who brought these parks to life, and the villains who preferred to exploit the land for private enterprise. Discover the evolution of our nation’s city parks, and learn the history of landscape architecture – an American-born art in which human beings try their best to mimic nature. The 10 parks: Square of Savannah – Savannah, GA Fairmount Park – Philadelphia, PA Mt. Auburn Cemetery – Cambridge, MA Central Park – New York, NY Chicago’s Neighborhood Parks – Chicago, IL San Antonio River Walk – San Antonio, TX Overton Park – Memphis, TN Freeway Park – Seattle, WA Gas Works Park – Seattle, WA High Line – New York, NY
10 Towns that Changed America focuses on ten “experimental” towns that did not evolve organically over time, but instead were designed (or redesigned) from the ground up by visionary architects, corporations, and citizens, who sought to change the lives of residents using architecture, design, and urban planning. Some of these visionaries were driven by an ideology, others were trying to serve their own financial interests, but all had one thing in common: they believed in the power of our built environment to change the way we live. The 10 towns: St. Augustine, FL Philadelphia, PA Salt Lake City, UT Riverside, IL Pullman – Chicago, IL Greenbelt, MD Levittown, NY Southwest Washington, D.C. Seaside, FL Pearl District – Portland, OR
It’s a whirlwind tour of 10 streets that change the way we get around. 10 Streets that Changed America begins and ends on Broadway in New York. We’ll trace the street’s 400-year evolution: from Native American road, to Dutch trading route, to the home of America’s earliest public transit, to an electrically-lighted theater district known as the “Great White Way." At the end of program we’ll see how Broadway has become the poster child for the “complete streets” movement, in which automobiles take a back seat to more sustainable forms of transit.
It’s a whirlwind tour of 10 wholly-original American monuments, and the historical moments that inspired them. We’ll visit little-known locations like the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, a sculptural masterpiece dedicated to one of the first African-American units to serve in the Civil War; and we’ll explore the surprising stories behind American favorites like the Statue of Liberty, which was devised as a propaganda piece by French republican politicians.
It’s a whirlwind tour of 10 engineering feats that made our civilization possible. 10 Modern Marvels that Changed America is a show about engineers who’ve scoffed at the laws of nature. They’ve defied the naysayers — and sometimes even gravity — by undertaking amazing feats of engineering. Each story in this episode includes a fun physics lesson and a tale of human folly.
