Students explore the growth of cultural institutions in four American cities--Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia--in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For much of the time under consideration, the elite and the citizenry in each of these cities competed to establish exemplary cultural institutions that would be emulated--or envied--by other cities. Early urban planning, religious edifices, monuments, parks, museums and libraries, and department stores are among the topics considered. Counts toward American Studies minor. Same course as HS351. IU