Biography
Charles Bowler Atwood (1849–1895) was an architect whose designs were used throughout the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He also designed a number of notable buildings in the city of Chicago.
Atwood was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1849. He attended the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University.
Atwood trained in the office of Ware & Van Brunt in Boston, where he quickly made a name for himself as a skilled draftsman and designer.
Atwood was the most prolific architect for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, designing more than seventy-five buildings and structures, ranging from the stock to the sublime, including great exhibition halls such as the Palace of Fine Arts and Anthropological Building, the Peristyle, Casino, Terminal Station, and Music Hall complex.
The Palace of Fine Arts is the only structure built on the grounds of the Columbian Exposition which still stands in its original location. It houses Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Atwood also designed several other buildings in Chicago, as a member of Daniel Burnham’s staff. These include the Reliance Building (the first skyscraper to have large plate glass windows make up the majority of its surface area), and the Marshall Field and Company Building.
Nationality:
American
Dates:
1849–1895
Occupation:
Architect
Schools attended:
Harvard
Taught at:
Student of / Worked for:
Ware & Van Brunt, Burnham & Root
Teacher of:
Movement / Group:
Beaux-arts