Edith and Mies: Archaeology and Architecture of Chicago and Its Environs

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Cities on the Move: Reflecting on Urban Archaeology in the 21st Century", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Chicago’s cultural heritage is dominated by architectural preservation organizations and supported by an architourism industry that celebrates extant works by famous architects like Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Current archaeological research in Chicago in collaboration with architects and architectural historians has demonstrated how the social histories of these celebrated structures can be illuminated, if not outright discovered, through archaeology. This paper considers recent archaeological work at two sites associated with famed Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe: the Edith Farnsworth House, a National Historic Landmark 60 miles from Chicago and the material apex of Mies’ “less is more” aesthetic; and the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, where Mies’ modernist vision was made possible through a program of urban renewal. These two sites demand attention to the interconnectedness of the city and the country, which a focus on urban archaeology can and should include.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Cities on the Move: Reflecting on Urban Archaeology in the 21st Century   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow