John Vinci: Life and Landmarks

John Vinci: Life and Landmarks is the first authoritative survey of the life and work of one of Chicago s most acclaimed architects and preservationists. Long awaited by scholars as well as by architecture aficionados, John Vinci provides an intimate look at an architect whose portfolio spans half a century and includes the restoration of some of the city s most important historic structures as well as numerous award-winning original projects.This illustrated biography traces Vinci s origins as a child of Italian immigrants on Chicago s South Side and his coming of age at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which was then under the direction of the legendary Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. It follows his career through his subsequent immersion in the historic preservation movement and the work of such early Chicago architects as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and John Wellborn Root.Vinci s pioneering restoration projects include Frank Lloyd Wright s Robie House and Home S