Edmund Bacon
Encyclopedia
Edmund Norwood Bacon was a noted American
urban planner
, architect
, educator and author
. During his tenure as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970, his visions shaped today's Philadelphia, the city in which he was born, to the extent that he is sometimes described as "The Father of Modern Philadelphia."
Comly) and Ellis Williams Bacon. He grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and graduated from Swarthmore High School
in 1928. He was educated in architecture
at Cornell University
, where his senior thesis for a new civic center for Philadelphia included an urban park at the position where Philadelphia's famous LOVE Park was later built. After college, while traveling the world on a small inheritance, Bacon found work as an architect in Shanghai
, China, a city that exerted a deep influence on his thinking, and Philadelphia. After a year in China, he returned to Philadelphia where he worked for architect William Pope Barney.
He soon was awarded a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with renowned Finnish
architect/planner Eliel Saarinen
, whom Bacon revered and whose theories about the city as a living organism as expressed in Saarinen's book The City were a basis for Bacon's later work. Saarinen sent Bacon to Flint, Michigan to guide a WPA traffic survey. This project transformed into a permanent position for Bacon at the Flint Institute for Planning and Research. Bacon became very active in civic life in Flint, helping to establish the Flint Housing Association and reforming the city's Planning Commission. During his time in Flint, Bacon witnessed the 1936-37 Flint Sit-Down Strike
, and felt empathetic to the workers. Bacon gained close contacts with individuals who were active in establishing the Federal Housing Authority, such as Catherine Bauer and Lewis Mumford. Through these contacts he helped secure federal housing dollars for Flint. However, the local real-estate industry came to see this Federal funding for public housing as a threat to their business (as was the case in several cities early in the history of the FHA). The funding was turned down, and Bacon was effectively run out of Flint in 1939.
aboard the USS Shoshone in the Pacific in World War II
. In 1947 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission under then-Executive Director Robert Mitchell
(not the Canadian politician), and served as co-designer to the 1947 Better Philadelphia Exhibition in collaboration with Oskar Stonorov and Louis Kahn
. Bacon was also an early member of the City Policy Committee, a grassroots movement of young Philadelphians, established by future civic leader Walter M. Phillips, that was instrumental in Philadelphia's political reform movement. Members of the Committee went on to become leaders in Philadelphia government after 1952, when the reform Democrat
(and later U.S. Senator
) Joseph Sill Clark was elected Mayor
, Richardson Dilworth
became District Attorney, and a new Home Rule Charter was instituted.
In 1949, Bacon succeeded Mitchell as Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Serving under Mayors Samuel, Clark, Dilworth, and James Hugh Joseph Tate
, his work brought him national repute along with his counterparts Edward Logue in Boston
and Robert Moses
in New York
during the mid-century era of urban renewal
. His face graced the cover of TIME magazine in 1964, and in 1965, Life magazine devoted its cover story to his work.
That same year, Bacon was appointed by President Johnson to serve as a member of the White House
's Conference on Recreation and Natural Beauty. In 1967, he wrote Design of Cities
, still considered an important architectural text.
It was during his tenure at the City Planning Commission that Bacon and his staff conceived and implemented numerous large- and small-scale design ideas that shaped today's Philadelphia. These design concepts became Penn Center, Market East
, Penn's Landing
, Society Hill
, Independence Mall, and the Far Northeast
. The Center City Commuter Connection
, a seemingly radical idea at the time, was conceived during the 1950s by Planning Commission staff member, R. Damon Childs, who succeeded Bacon as Executive Director.
Not all of the concepts that Bacon supported materialized though. One proposal that he inherited from Robert Mitchell was to encircle Center City
with a series of expressways, including the so-called "Crosstown Expressway" (I-695) linking the Schuylkill Expressway
(I-76
) with the Delaware Expressway I-95
via South Street
. Three of the four expressways were built; however, the Crosstown Expressway faced significant local opposition, and eventually the plan was scrapped.
As an unintended consequence
, the Crosstown Expressway proposal depressed property values and rents in the South Street corridor, leading to a turnover of the neighborhood's character from largely Jewish-owned garment shops to the thriving bohemian
commercial and nightlife center that it is today. Other concepts conceived during Bacon's tenure, such as Schuylkill River Park, included in the 1963 Center City Plan, came into being many years later.
After Bacon's retirement from the Planning Commission in 1970, he served as vice president for the private planning firm Mondev U.S.A., was an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and at the University of Pennsylvania
, from 1950 to 1987, and narrated "Understanding Cities", an award-winning series of documentary films describing the history and development of Rome under Pope Sixtus V, Paris under Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Regency London under John Nash
, American cities, and cities in the future post-oil era. He vociferously but unsuccessfully opposed the development of skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia taller than Philadelphia City Hall
, which until 1984 set the informal height limit for downtown at the hat of the statue of William Penn
. That custom, known as the "Gentlemen's Agreement
," was broken forever by developer Willard G. Rouse III
's One Liberty Place. The New York Times
correctly noted Bacon's opposition to the project, but it was incorrect in saying that "in opposing the skyscraper One Liberty Place, Mr. Bacon refused to attend the tower's 1986 groundbreaking and stopped speaking to his friend Willard G. Rouse III, who built it. I think it's very, very destructive that he and he alone has chosen to destroy a historical tradition that set a very fine and disciplined form for the city, Mr. Bacon said at the time." Bacon was present at the groundbreaking, which took place in May 1985. Of course, Rouse was not capable of singlehandedly changing the custom, even if it was not formally legal. Rouse's enormous project had the support of Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Philadelphia City Council, and the City Planning Commission, which was forced by the announcement of Rouse's plan to admit that it had no up-to-date plan of its own for the future of Philadelphia's downtown. Coincidentally, the groundbreaking ceremony for Liberty Place occurred within minutes of the catastrophic confrontation between the Philadelphia Police and MOVE
in West Philadelphia.
Bacon won numerous honors including the Frank P. Brown Medal in 1962, the American Institute of Planners Distinguished Service Award, the Philadelphia Award, and an honorary doctorate from Penn. From 2004 until his death at the age of 95, Bacon helped found and served as an Honorary Director of the foundation that bears his name, The Ed Bacon Foundation.
Bacon continued to assert his vision for Philadelphia's future actively in his later years. During the 1990s he proposed new concepts to improve Independence Mall, Penn's Landing, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
. In 2002 at age 92, he skateboarded in LOVE Park
, the plaza he founded and designed at Cornell in 1932, as a protest against the City's ban on the sport. In 2003 he appeared in the documentary My Architect
about Louis Kahn
, a Philadelphia architect
. In September 2006, at the northwest corner of 15th Street and J.F.K. Boulevard, by LOVE Park, The Ed Bacon Foundation and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
dedicated a state historical marker honoring Bacon's memory and commemorating his work.
, musician Michael Bacon
, and four daughters, Karin, Elinor, Hilda and Prudence (later Kira). His wife was Ruth Hilda Holmes, a teacher and liberal political activist. His friends included Buckminster Fuller
, Steen Eiler Rasmussen
, James Rouse, and Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
urban planner
Urban planner
An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, educator and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. During his tenure as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970, his visions shaped today's Philadelphia, the city in which he was born, to the extent that he is sometimes described as "The Father of Modern Philadelphia."
Early life
Bacon was born in Philadelphia, the son of Helen Atkinson (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Comly) and Ellis Williams Bacon. He grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and graduated from Swarthmore High School
Swarthmore High School
Swarthmore High School was a four-year public high school in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania serving the Boroughs of Swarthmore and Rutledge.Swarthmore established its own independent school district when Swarthmore Borough incorporated in 1893. The Swarthmore and Rutledge School Districts merged in 1955...
in 1928. He was educated in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where his senior thesis for a new civic center for Philadelphia included an urban park at the position where Philadelphia's famous LOVE Park was later built. After college, while traveling the world on a small inheritance, Bacon found work as an architect in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China, a city that exerted a deep influence on his thinking, and Philadelphia. After a year in China, he returned to Philadelphia where he worked for architect William Pope Barney.
He soon was awarded a scholarship to the Cranbrook Academy of Art, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, with renowned Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
architect/planner Eliel Saarinen
Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century....
, whom Bacon revered and whose theories about the city as a living organism as expressed in Saarinen's book The City were a basis for Bacon's later work. Saarinen sent Bacon to Flint, Michigan to guide a WPA traffic survey. This project transformed into a permanent position for Bacon at the Flint Institute for Planning and Research. Bacon became very active in civic life in Flint, helping to establish the Flint Housing Association and reforming the city's Planning Commission. During his time in Flint, Bacon witnessed the 1936-37 Flint Sit-Down Strike
Flint Sit-Down Strike
The 1936–1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike changed the United Automobile Workers from a collection of isolated locals on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry....
, and felt empathetic to the workers. Bacon gained close contacts with individuals who were active in establishing the Federal Housing Authority, such as Catherine Bauer and Lewis Mumford. Through these contacts he helped secure federal housing dollars for Flint. However, the local real-estate industry came to see this Federal funding for public housing as a threat to their business (as was the case in several cities early in the history of the FHA). The funding was turned down, and Bacon was effectively run out of Flint in 1939.
Career
From Flint, Bacon would return to Philadelphia to serve as Managing Director of the Philadelphia Housing Association. He served in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aboard the USS Shoshone in the Pacific in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1947 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission under then-Executive Director Robert Mitchell
Robert Mitchell
Robert Mitchell may refer to:* Robert Mitchell , Canadian politician* Robert C. Mitchell , Canadian politician from Ontario* Robert Boyed Mitchell , Australian artist...
(not the Canadian politician), and served as co-designer to the 1947 Better Philadelphia Exhibition in collaboration with Oskar Stonorov and Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
. Bacon was also an early member of the City Policy Committee, a grassroots movement of young Philadelphians, established by future civic leader Walter M. Phillips, that was instrumental in Philadelphia's political reform movement. Members of the Committee went on to become leaders in Philadelphia government after 1952, when the reform Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
(and later U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
) Joseph Sill Clark was elected Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, Richardson Dilworth
Richardson Dilworth
Richardson K. Dilworth was an American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, who served as the 91st Mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962.-Education and early career:...
became District Attorney, and a new Home Rule Charter was instituted.
In 1949, Bacon succeeded Mitchell as Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Serving under Mayors Samuel, Clark, Dilworth, and James Hugh Joseph Tate
James Hugh Joseph Tate
James Hugh Joseph Tate was an American politician. He served as the Mayor of Philadelphia between 1962 and 1972. He originally ascended to the office of Mayor when Richardson Dilworth resigned to make an unsuccessful run for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 1962 election. Tate was elected to full...
, his work brought him national repute along with his counterparts Edward Logue in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during the mid-century era of urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
. His face graced the cover of TIME magazine in 1964, and in 1965, Life magazine devoted its cover story to his work.
That same year, Bacon was appointed by President Johnson to serve as a member of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
's Conference on Recreation and Natural Beauty. In 1967, he wrote Design of Cities
Design of Cities
Design of Cities, first published in 1967 by Thames & Hudson, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form, written by Edmund Bacon , who was the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970...
, still considered an important architectural text.
It was during his tenure at the City Planning Commission that Bacon and his staff conceived and implemented numerous large- and small-scale design ideas that shaped today's Philadelphia. These design concepts became Penn Center, Market East
Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Market East is part of the downtown district known as Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Market East corresponds to the area along Market Street between Arch Street to the north, Chestnut Street to the south, Juniper Street to the west, and 6th Street to the east...
, Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing
Penn's Landing is the waterfront area of the Center City along the Delaware River section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is so named because the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, docked near here in 1682, along the now paved over Dock Creek, after landing first in New...
, Society Hill
Society Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Society Hill is a neighborhood in the Center City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood, loosely defined as bounded by Walnut, Lombard, Front and 7th Streets, contains the largest concentration of original 18th- and early 19th-century architecture of any place in...
, Independence Mall, and the Far Northeast
Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
. The Center City Commuter Connection
Center City Commuter Connection
The Center City Commuter Connection, commonly referred to as "the commuter tunnel", is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, built to connect the stub ends of the two separate regional commuter rail systems, originally operated by two rival railroad...
, a seemingly radical idea at the time, was conceived during the 1950s by Planning Commission staff member, R. Damon Childs, who succeeded Bacon as Executive Director.
Not all of the concepts that Bacon supported materialized though. One proposal that he inherited from Robert Mitchell was to encircle Center City
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
with a series of expressways, including the so-called "Crosstown Expressway" (I-695) linking the Schuylkill Expressway
Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
(I-76
Interstate 76 (east)
Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
) with the Delaware Expressway I-95
Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running from Miami, Florida north to Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route is known by many as the Delaware Expressway, but is officially named The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. and locally known as "95"...
via South Street
South Street (Philadelphia)
South Street is an east-west street forming the southern border of the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the northern border for the neighborhoods of South Philadelphia. The stretch of South Street between Front Street and Seventh Street is known for its "bohemian"...
. Three of the four expressways were built; however, the Crosstown Expressway faced significant local opposition, and eventually the plan was scrapped.
As an unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
, the Crosstown Expressway proposal depressed property values and rents in the South Street corridor, leading to a turnover of the neighborhood's character from largely Jewish-owned garment shops to the thriving bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
commercial and nightlife center that it is today. Other concepts conceived during Bacon's tenure, such as Schuylkill River Park, included in the 1963 Center City Plan, came into being many years later.
After Bacon's retirement from the Planning Commission in 1970, he served as vice president for the private planning firm Mondev U.S.A., was an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
and at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, from 1950 to 1987, and narrated "Understanding Cities", an award-winning series of documentary films describing the history and development of Rome under Pope Sixtus V, Paris under Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Regency London under John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
, American cities, and cities in the future post-oil era. He vociferously but unsuccessfully opposed the development of skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia taller than Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
, which until 1984 set the informal height limit for downtown at the hat of the statue of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
. That custom, known as the "Gentlemen's Agreement
Gentlemen's Agreement
The ' was an informal agreement between the United States and the Empire of Japan whereby the U.S. would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration, and Japan would not allow further emigration to the U.S. The goal was to reduce tensions between the two powerful Pacific nations...
," was broken forever by developer Willard G. Rouse III
Willard Rouse
Willard G. Rouse III was an American real estate developer.Rouse was the developer of One Liberty Place, designed by Helmut Jahn, the first structure in Philadelphia to exceed the traditional height limitation established by the top of the statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall...
's One Liberty Place. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
correctly noted Bacon's opposition to the project, but it was incorrect in saying that "in opposing the skyscraper One Liberty Place, Mr. Bacon refused to attend the tower's 1986 groundbreaking and stopped speaking to his friend Willard G. Rouse III, who built it. I think it's very, very destructive that he and he alone has chosen to destroy a historical tradition that set a very fine and disciplined form for the city, Mr. Bacon said at the time." Bacon was present at the groundbreaking, which took place in May 1985. Of course, Rouse was not capable of singlehandedly changing the custom, even if it was not formally legal. Rouse's enormous project had the support of Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Philadelphia City Council, and the City Planning Commission, which was forced by the announcement of Rouse's plan to admit that it had no up-to-date plan of its own for the future of Philadelphia's downtown. Coincidentally, the groundbreaking ceremony for Liberty Place occurred within minutes of the catastrophic confrontation between the Philadelphia Police and MOVE
MOVE
MOVE or the MOVE Organization is a Philadelphia-based black liberation group founded by John Africa. MOVE was described by CNN as "a loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a "back-to-nature" lifestyle and preached against technology." The group...
in West Philadelphia.
Bacon won numerous honors including the Frank P. Brown Medal in 1962, the American Institute of Planners Distinguished Service Award, the Philadelphia Award, and an honorary doctorate from Penn. From 2004 until his death at the age of 95, Bacon helped found and served as an Honorary Director of the foundation that bears his name, The Ed Bacon Foundation.
Bacon continued to assert his vision for Philadelphia's future actively in his later years. During the 1990s he proposed new concepts to improve Independence Mall, Penn's Landing, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named for favorite son Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway cuts diagonally across the grid plan pattern of Center City's Northwest quadrant...
. In 2002 at age 92, he skateboarded in LOVE Park
LOVE Park
Love Park is a plaza located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park is nicknamed Love Park for Robert Indiana's Love sculpture which overlooks the plaza.-History:...
, the plaza he founded and designed at Cornell in 1932, as a protest against the City's ban on the sport. In 2003 he appeared in the documentary My Architect
My Architect
My Architect: A Son's Journey is a 2003 documentary film about the American architect Louis Kahn. Kahn led an extraordinary career and left three families behind when he died of a heart attack in a Penn Station bathroom....
about Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
, a Philadelphia architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. In September 2006, at the northwest corner of 15th Street and J.F.K. Boulevard, by LOVE Park, The Ed Bacon Foundation and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...
dedicated a state historical marker honoring Bacon's memory and commemorating his work.
Personal life
Bacon was the father of six children: two sons, actor Kevin BaconKevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
, musician Michael Bacon
Michael Bacon (musician)
Michael Bacon is an American singer-songwriter, musician and film score composer. He is the brother of actor Kevin Bacon.-Early life & career:...
, and four daughters, Karin, Elinor, Hilda and Prudence (later Kira). His wife was Ruth Hilda Holmes, a teacher and liberal political activist. His friends included Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
, Steen Eiler Rasmussen
Steen Eiler Rasmussen
Steen Eiler Rasmussen was a Danish architect and urban planner who was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and a prolific writer of books and poetry...
, James Rouse, and Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis
Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis
Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis , was a Greek architect and town planner. He became world wide known as the lead architect of Islamabad, the new capital of Pakistan, and later as the father of Ekistics...
.
Works
- Design of CitiesDesign of CitiesDesign of Cities, first published in 1967 by Thames & Hudson, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form, written by Edmund Bacon , who was the Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970...
(May 20, 1976) Penguin. ISBN 0-14-004236-9 - Understanding Cities documentary film series (1981)