Think Pink....

Stepped outside my front door this evening, and saw lots of pink! Carson Pirie Scott has new lighting. This must be in preparation for the completion of the restoration of the facade which they have been working on at least the last three years. The pink must be for Breast Cancer??

Corner Shot...

Looking at the images I have taken over the past month or so, I noticed that I seem to have taken quite a few shots looking up at the corner of buildings. So, I thought I would share a few of the better ones.

Standing on the corner of Adams and Dearborn, looking up at the top of the Dearborn Tower (2003).


The nearly finished One South Dearborn (2005). Dearborn and Madison.


Metropolitan Correctional Center (1975) on Van Buren and Clark.


Old Colony Building (1894) on Van Buren and Dearborn.


191 North Wacker (2002) at Lake Street. I like this one because the corner is literally over the street. I had to stay on the sidewalk to avoid getting hit by a cab.


A corner that is near and dear to me. The Reliance Building (now the Hotel Burnham) at State and Washington. I remember reading about this historic 1890's skyscraper when I was a little kid in the 70's.

301 Taylor...

What exactly this is, I am not sure. A power plant of some kind I would think. This structure has long fascinated me since moving here in 1999. It harkens from an era when industrial architecture was something to be proud of.

Taken from the river cruise this past Saturday, the Roosevelt St bridge in the background.


Taken from the Roosevelt St Bridge the previous Sunday (with much clearer skies).


Perspective of the smoke stack vs. the Sears Tower.

North Branch...

A couple of close friends and my significant other, went on the Chicago Architecture Foundations Architecture Cruise this afternoon. I have taken several architecture cruises in the past, but this one is the grandaddy of them all. Our docent Sylvia was fantastic, entertaining, and didn't dumb the facts down to the palatable level of most Navy Pier visitors.

Part of the trip involved going up the north branch of the Chicago River, which is missed by most of the architecture cruises. So, since the north branch isn't often seen, I thought I would bring it to you. This is the bridge house for the Grand Ave Bridge.


Looking back... The three Montgomery Ward buildings. On the left, the oldest of MW warehouse from 1906, now a tech center and condos. On the right, is MW warehouse from 1930, now condos. In the rear center, is the MW corporate office (also now condos) from 1974. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the man that designed the World Trade Center.


At the top of the 1930 warehouse is a bronze figure of Diana, Lighting the Way for Commerce.


Erie on the Park by Lucian LaGrange is one of my favorite buildings of the past ten years. The view from the river does an excellent job of showing off it's diagonal support structure.

Reflections on the Equinox...

Last March I took this image of the sun reflecting off of Dearborn Tower onto the facade of the Berghoff, I captured what I felt to be one of the best images I have taken. The reflection of the sign in the glass has fascinated me ever since.
Well, it has been six months, we are on the other side of the equinox, and I thought I would try this image again. The results (below)? Perhaps not as good.

March-05 (I did a post with this image on 05-09)



September-05


Broader perspective.


Full view of the front.

Macy's on State?... I don't think so!...

Add another nail to the coffin of individuality... For those that spent the day under a rock, Federated, the new owner of Marshall Fields, announced today that they will be deleting Marshall Fields from Chicagoland and replacing it with "Miracle on 34th Street". Only it's a miracle how they think that Chicagoans will tolerate a name change.

If you are interested in letting Federated know your thoughts, the address is here at Chicagoist. You can also add your name to the online petition KeepItFields.com

These images taken this past January during a snow storm exemplifies how it would be, the moment when hell froze over and Chicagoans flocked to "Macy's on State".


The Clock on the SW corner was actually attached to the previous incarnation of Fields that stood here before the current structure was completed in the early 1900's.


As you can tell, it was 11:16 PM, on that blizzardy January 22nd. I had a blast tromping through the snow falling in the vacant streets, taking more than 60 pictures before the stroke of midnight.

One South Dearborn

One South Dearborn is in the final stages of completion. At this point you can get a good general idea of how it is going to look. Shown here with One Chase (Bank One) Plaza reflected in the facade.


The setting sun reflecting light off of One South Dearborn onto the east side of One Chase Plaza.


The two buildings together.


One South Dearborn is quite complicated in it's simplicity. The materials are simple, stainless steel, black granite and glass, but there is asymmetry on all sides.

The Fireworks are Over...

Last night was the final fireworks show of the season at Navy Pier. While I tend to stay as far from Navy Pier as possible, I do enjoy watching the fireworks show they put on during the summer months. It was an exceptional night to be on the west tower roof of Marina City where I captured these images.


The brilliant harvest moon lit up the surface of the lake like I have only seen a few times since I moved here.


The sky was absolutely clear with lights in Indiana and Michigan creating a line on the horizon.


After the show we went down to the Marina Level, and watched as a group of kayakers came paddling down the river.


The kayaker on the left had to stop paddling to answer his cell phone.

Bare Bulbs in the Loop...

Having now taken hundreds of walks around the Loop with my camera, I have seen my fair share of bare light bulbs. The humble bare "Edison Bulb" is becoming less of a common sight than you would think.

Little did I know when I shot this just a few months ago in May, it wouldn't be there now. The Sign was recently replaced with a less than aesthetically pleasing plastic sign back-lit with fluorescent bulbs.


Taken in a service alley off of LaSalle St near Monroe.


Currently under restoration, the (LaSalle Bank) Shubert Theater on Monroe near State is where I found these bulbs. The Theater is currently undergoing restoration, so I doubt they still exist outside the exit in the alley.


These bulbs were found on Van Buren near Wells (I think). I was trying to focus on the pigeon, but the bulbs turned out better. (Besides, there are plenty of pigeons in the Loop, and unlike the bare bulb, there always will be.)

Bascule Bonanza...

Chicago is blessed with the largest collection of bascule bridges in the world. (If you're in to that kinda thing.)

This shot is of the Van Buren Bridge looking East.


Looking north on Wells from Wacker.


North on Clark from Wacker.


The underside of the perpetually open railroad bridge crossing the river from the new Sun Times Building (Apparel Mart) towards the west.

Hotel LaSalle Public Garage, Finally Gone...

This past February, I did a post about the Hotel LaSalle Public Garage and it's closing as of 2/14/05. Well, it is officially gone... I have been chronicling the demolition of this oddly historic structure since this past February.



(linked from: http://www.landmarks.org/chicago_watch_2004_3.htm)

Opened in 1918, this was a whole new type of structure, with no previous design history. Sadly, it was built to park Model T's, and not today's cars. The owners said that it wasn't possible to retrofit it for the modern world.


Taken on this past Valentines day, the first workday it was officially closed.


In mid March, the scaffolding was up, the wrecking ball was only days away...


Close up of the scaffolding, the pattern created was pretty cool in a sad way.


Taken in April, the top is off and it is beginning to come down.


By the 11th of May, there was very little left.


As of today, the scaffold is down (some of it for the first time in years) is finally gone. I remember the sidewalk covering going up in 1999 when I first moved here.


Fin'

Big Monster Door...

Walking around the West Loop Gate (or whatever the area bordered by Halsted to Ashland, and Van Buren to Kinzie) I found this larger than life door. Look carefully on the right side of the image below. There, you will find a standard commercial size door.


Imagine carrying the key for this lock around...


Behind the giant yellow door (and under the monster visible through the window), is home to Big Monster Toys LLC. No website to be found for this company, but a bit of web research shows that these guys invent the toys which the big toy companies produce, sell, and take credit for.