Philadelphia, Jane wrote in a story about the city’s redevelopment in July 1955, was perhaps the only American city really grappling with the stark contrasts of urban life. A native Philadelphian, 45, born of a staunchly conservative publishing family, Bacon was a graduate of Cornell’s school of architecture. And yet it’s not clear how much — or even, just possibly, whether — Jane visited Philadelphia to research her story. He was, of course, practised at such showmanship, at one point treating Jane to a kind of before-and-after exercise in urban redevelopment. Jane, Bacon urged her, stand right here, look down this street, look what we’ve done here.

Source: thestar September 23, 2016 21:56 UTC