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The 1914 Grand National Convention of the American Institute of State, County, Parish, City, Town, Village, and Borough Physical Plannerists (AISCPCTVBPP) was the first ever meeting of those that practiced the then-new profession of state, county, parish, city, town, village, and borough physical planning.
I found a record of the conference proceedings while doing some research at a nearby library. I thought you might enjoy the scans I made of some of the photos in the proceedings.
The first Grand National Convention was held in "The City of To-Morrow, A Most Perfectly and Precisely Surveyed and Settled Collection of Inhabitants, Residents, Manufactories, and Shops, With No Rival in the Past and No Equal in the Future, Steubenville, Ohio". At the time, plannerists thought Steubenville would "surely have a population that shames and expectorates copious amounts of Battle-Ax spittle upon the cow-town of Kansas City, the hog-town of Chicago, the bean-town of Boston, and the choo-choo-town of Altoona in 10 years, if not sooner."
The Steubenville German-American Industrial Bank building, "The Finest Erection in the Entire Ohio River Valley". In a couple of years, it would be renamed to the "First All-American Red, White, and Blue Bank and Trust"
Conference sessions were very well attended. The session below was titled "Effective Means to Introduce Even More Gravitas and Extravagance to Your Writing".
The session attracting the largest crowd was "Safe and Sanitary Place-ment and Regulation of Brothels, Bordellos, Cat-houses, Call-houses, Bawdy-houses, Disorderly-houses, Houses of Ill Repute, Sporting-houses, Houses of Assignation, Dens of Iniquity, and Whore-houses; and the Ladies of the Evening, Courtesans, Prostitutes, Tramps, Coquettes, Harlots, Libertines, Felatelists, Tarts, Bawdy-dancers, Minxes, Away-wives, Hire-lings, Daughters of Joy, and Rhode Island Wet Nurses Contained and Working Therein." The madam from the largest brothel in Providence was at the session to describe in exacting detail all the possible kinds of activities that could take place with such a use.
Many signed up for the "Ambulatory Work-Shops", to see examples of current best planning practices in action. The following photos were from a tour called "Making Most Active the Frontages of Streets, Avenues, Boulevards, Roads, Park-ways, Drives, Circles, and Other Traveled Ways to Enliven and Delight Both Normal Pedestrians and Women."
At the time, cities were struggling with the concept of "city swine." Their defenders said city swine reduces the amount of waste that would normally be dumped in creeks and rivers, and "provide an inexpensive and generous source of bacon for the gentle-man of modest means, if he has patience."
The plannerists attending the "Place-ment of Sites for Fine Industry" were disappointed at the lack of smoke. "My eight year old daughter exhales more smoke from her lunch-cigars", said noted plannerist Harlan Bartholemew.
There was much admiration for the orphan-powered transit system that ran up and down the steep slopes of the city. The life expectancy of an orphancar "motor" was eight years, so the system did indeed "keep children out of trouble", as promised when the concept was first proposed.
These plannerists approved of the concept of a "play-ground". This is the Old Potato-Town Play-Ground, about a mile west of downtown Steubenville.
This group of plannerists were impressed with Steubenville's clean, orderly streets and storefronts.
They were more critical of the experimental Enclosed Electro-Petro-Motive Carriage. "An abject failure. It will make men weak to not embrace the open air to turn a crank, saddle a stallion, or drop a token into the open mouth of a streetcar conductor", said legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Then, as now, the exhibit hall was a popular gathering spot to score some swag, and maybe a new job.
Also, just like conferences up until the COVID pandemic, everybody looked forward to the reception, and its open bar.
I found a record of the conference proceedings while doing some research at a nearby library. I thought you might enjoy the scans I made of some of the photos in the proceedings.
The first Grand National Convention was held in "The City of To-Morrow, A Most Perfectly and Precisely Surveyed and Settled Collection of Inhabitants, Residents, Manufactories, and Shops, With No Rival in the Past and No Equal in the Future, Steubenville, Ohio". At the time, plannerists thought Steubenville would "surely have a population that shames and expectorates copious amounts of Battle-Ax spittle upon the cow-town of Kansas City, the hog-town of Chicago, the bean-town of Boston, and the choo-choo-town of Altoona in 10 years, if not sooner."
The Steubenville German-American Industrial Bank building, "The Finest Erection in the Entire Ohio River Valley". In a couple of years, it would be renamed to the "First All-American Red, White, and Blue Bank and Trust"
Conference sessions were very well attended. The session below was titled "Effective Means to Introduce Even More Gravitas and Extravagance to Your Writing".
The session attracting the largest crowd was "Safe and Sanitary Place-ment and Regulation of Brothels, Bordellos, Cat-houses, Call-houses, Bawdy-houses, Disorderly-houses, Houses of Ill Repute, Sporting-houses, Houses of Assignation, Dens of Iniquity, and Whore-houses; and the Ladies of the Evening, Courtesans, Prostitutes, Tramps, Coquettes, Harlots, Libertines, Felatelists, Tarts, Bawdy-dancers, Minxes, Away-wives, Hire-lings, Daughters of Joy, and Rhode Island Wet Nurses Contained and Working Therein." The madam from the largest brothel in Providence was at the session to describe in exacting detail all the possible kinds of activities that could take place with such a use.
Many signed up for the "Ambulatory Work-Shops", to see examples of current best planning practices in action. The following photos were from a tour called "Making Most Active the Frontages of Streets, Avenues, Boulevards, Roads, Park-ways, Drives, Circles, and Other Traveled Ways to Enliven and Delight Both Normal Pedestrians and Women."
At the time, cities were struggling with the concept of "city swine." Their defenders said city swine reduces the amount of waste that would normally be dumped in creeks and rivers, and "provide an inexpensive and generous source of bacon for the gentle-man of modest means, if he has patience."
The plannerists attending the "Place-ment of Sites for Fine Industry" were disappointed at the lack of smoke. "My eight year old daughter exhales more smoke from her lunch-cigars", said noted plannerist Harlan Bartholemew.
There was much admiration for the orphan-powered transit system that ran up and down the steep slopes of the city. The life expectancy of an orphancar "motor" was eight years, so the system did indeed "keep children out of trouble", as promised when the concept was first proposed.
These plannerists approved of the concept of a "play-ground". This is the Old Potato-Town Play-Ground, about a mile west of downtown Steubenville.
This group of plannerists were impressed with Steubenville's clean, orderly streets and storefronts.
They were more critical of the experimental Enclosed Electro-Petro-Motive Carriage. "An abject failure. It will make men weak to not embrace the open air to turn a crank, saddle a stallion, or drop a token into the open mouth of a streetcar conductor", said legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Then, as now, the exhibit hall was a popular gathering spot to score some swag, and maybe a new job.
Also, just like conferences up until the COVID pandemic, everybody looked forward to the reception, and its open bar.
