10 Buildings That Changed America

(Rochester, New York) -- 10 Buildings That Changed America, a special about American buildings that changed the way we live, work, and play, airs Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV. The film features striking videography, rare archival images, distinctive animation and interviews with some of the nation’s most insightful historians and architects (including Frank Gehry and Robert Venturi), tied together with fast-paced editing and contemporary music.

The 10 were selected in consultation with a panel of historians and architects from across the country:

• Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, VA
• Trinity Church, Boston, MA
• Wainwright Building, St. Louis, MO
• Robie House, Chicago, IL
• Highland Park Ford Plant, Highland Park, MI
• Southdale Center Mall, Edina, MN
• Seagram Building, New York, NY
• Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, VA
• Vanna Venturi House, Chestnut Hill, PA
• Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA

10 Buildings That Changed America is a journey that takes viewers inside these groundbreaking works of art and engineering. It is also a journey back in time, to discover the shocking, funny and even sad stories of how these buildings came to be. Ultimately, it is a journey inside the imaginations of 10 daring architects who set out to change the way we live, work, worship, learn, shop and play.

10 Buildings That Changed America is hosted by Geoffrey Baer, an Emmy Award-winning producer and program host. Best known for his popular feature-length specials about Chicago architecture and history, Baer has also hosted national PBS documentaries profiling the architects Robert A.M. Stern and Michael Graves, as well as Saved from the Wrecking Ball, a half-hour program about the preservation of Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. The program is written and produced by Dan Protess, who has been creating acclaimed television programs for WTTW for more than a decade.

Pictured: Host Geoffrey Baer at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.
Credit: PBS Pressroom