Seven American Utopias: The Architecture of Communitarian Socialism Dolores Hayden

BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 18 | Issue 4 Article 12 10-1-1978 Seven American Utopias: The Architecture of Communitarian Socialism Dolores Hayden W. Ray Luce Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Luce, W. Ray (1978) "Seven American Utopias: The Architecture of Communitarian Socialism Dolores Hayden," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 18 : Iss. 4 , Article 12. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol18/iss4/12 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Luce: <em>Seven American Utopias: The Architecture of Communitarian Soc HAYDEN DOLORES seven american utopias the architecture of communitarian socialism 1790 1975 cambridge mass the MIT press 1976 ix 401 pp ap 16.95 1695 reviewed by W ray luce an historian for the national register of historic places dolores haydens pathbreaking american utopias examines architecture landscape architecture and town planning in seven american utopian communities to see how the communities physical facilities aided or retarded social interaction and larger community goals the settlements examined range from the nineteenth century shaker settlement at hancock massachusetts to the twentieth century llano del rio community of california and louisiana which continued until 1938 the book shows familiarity with historical and anthropological as well as architectural secondary works and benefits from Ms haydens familiarity with the impact of planning on utopian communities of the 1960s and 1970s in many ways the study is architectural history as it should be written integrating a communitys history with its design concepts which range from community planning and vernacular building forms to provisions for private and public spaces she examines each community in terms of three dilemmas the balance between authority and participation community and privacy and uniqueness and replicability readers of BYU studies will find greatest interest in chapter 5 eden versus jerusalem the longest chapter in the book which deals with the mormon experience in nauvoo this chapter examines mormon architecture from new perspectives and should influence most later studies on nauvoo and mormon architecture unfortunately however the study is often more suggestive than definitive and suffers from a limited familiarity with mormon history and thought As the chapter title indicates professor hayden views nauvoo architecture and planning in terms of a conflict bea garden tween two goals eden a model of earthly paradise city of single family dwellings and jerusalem a model of heaven a cult center dominated by twin monuments the temple and the prophets residence the interaction interaction between the secular and religious ideals for the city of zion in theory and practice is an important theme in mormon architectural history which needs further examination however building a community of substantial houses surrounded by gardens is not necessarily in conflict with the building of a religious community any more than present ad seven 589 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1978 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 18, Iss. 4 [1978], Art. 12 ions by mormon leaders to clean up houses and commumonitions munitions monit nities and plant gardens is in conflict with appeals for building funds for chapels and temples what is disturbing about haydens analysis is that she seems to view the two strains in great conflict without fully understanding the underlying religious motivation of the city the ideal of the secular city eden was not viewed as an abstract goal separated from the concept of a religious center but as a method to realize the religious goal the disagreement over the location of nauvoos Nau voos business district which hayden uses to illustrate the conflict between eden and jerusalem for example was much more a surfacing of growing religious disagreements over resource allotment which she mentions and issues such as polygamy than it was an abstract planning disagreement the same problem exists in her contention that the conflict between the two ideals was resolved in utah with a victory of the secular city and a change in the function of the temple from a place of assembly to a monument in the funerary sense a tomb such a view does not understand the importance of the temple in later mormon thought and ignores works such as richard 0 cowans temple building ancient and modem modern which trace changing functions and plans of mormon temples haydens chapter on nauvoo does not fully develop two of the three basic themes she examines about all seven communities her discussion of public spaces in nauvoo concentrates almost entirely on the temple and nauvoo house dismissing the seventies hall and the masonic hall at one point as two small institutional buildings these two halls along with the concert hall the grove and such semipublic spaces as joseph smiths store played a much more important role in the public life of nauvoo than she indicates and it appears that the replication of these forms in later mormon towns far more than the creation of definite town centers in utah fostered the later harmony between public and private space she notes secondly haydens section on the replicability of nauvoo could have been much stronger in fact most of the early architectural tural history of salt lake city and much of utah can be viewtec ed as an attempt to reproduce nauvoo this includes not only the basic city plan but buildings ranging from religious and community structures like the temple the salt lake theater and the social hall to private residences while hayden is right in noting that the stepped gables which seem to be the most prominent ar 590 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol18/iss4/12 2 Luce: <em>Seven American Utopias: The Architecture of Communitarian Soc chitectural feature in the area restored by the nauvoo restoration were not transferred in mass to the great basin settlers took another vernacular form directly from the mississippi river town to the intermountain west throughout utah and idaho are still found numerous examples of the nauvoo house a simple rectangular building with a central hall one or two stories high one or two rooms wide often with simple greek revival details these houses patterned after the houses church members remembered in nauvoo were built long after the rest of the country had moved on to other styles the books illustrations are excellent including diagrams and plans for the nauvoo temple along with a wide variety of photographs and drawings two errors in illustration identification are however annoying she identifies the jonathan browning house 5.10 figure 510 510 as the james ivins printing complex located across 554 as a contemporary view of th (...truncated)