The West Loop got a big shiny new El station, but would the $38 million been put to better use elsewhere?
Morgan Street Station Opens To Critical Acclaim
Preservation Chicago Announces "Chicago Seven" List
Preservation Chicago unveiled its annual list of the city's seven most threatened historic places Wednesday. The list is exclusively hospitals, movie houses and churches, but the represent parts of Chicago history they and others believe need to be preserved.
Google Honors Mies' Birthday With Doodle
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe would have been 126 today and Google is honoring the architect most associated with Modern architecture with a doodle of what some consider his best work: Illinois Institute of Technology's Crown Hall. Check out the video below.
In Pictures: Shepherd's Temple Baptist Church
Last week Chicago lost a major piece of its architecture history with the demolition of Shepherd's Temple Baptist Church. The city issued an emergency demolition of the structure in December, after trying in vain for two years to get the Byzantine-revival style structure into code compliance.
Architecture Team Selected For Navy Pier Redesign
According to board members, James Corner Field Operations received the nod due to the strength of the firm's projects in other major metropolitan areas, notably New York City's High Line project.
Friday Flashback: Chicago Landmarks Under Construction
This is a collection of Chicago's baby photos. See the Adler Planetarium, Navy Pier, the Northern Trust Bank Building, Harper Library, the Mandel Brothers Store and the LaSalle Hotel, then and now.
Old Town School Of Folk Music Debuts New Facility
This morning the Old Town School of Folk Music debuted its fancy new digs across the street from its other Lincoln Square location, and it started its 55-day celebration of the institution's 55-year anniversary.
Geoffrey Baer Revisits the Chicago Skyline in New WTTW Documentary
WTTW will premiere Chicago’s Loop: A New Walking Tour, the latest in Geoffrey Baer's series of tours, tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. We discussed the new documentary with Baer.
Around Town
If you're a flickr user and wish to have your photography considered for "Around Town" or other Chicagoist features, please tag your photos with "Chicagoist" and enter them into our flickr pool.
Around Town
The pipes of Rockerfeller Chapel's E.M. Skinner organ are huge. They kick off today's gallery.
Around Town
Look for the cutest photo of two kangaroos at Lincoln Park Zoo in today's gallery.
Around Town
If you're a flickr user and wish to have your photography considered for "Around Town" or other Chicagoist features, please tag your photos with "Chicagoist" and enter them into our flickr pool.
Around Town: Scenes from the Chicago Theatre
To celebrate the Chicago Theatre's 90th birthday today, we dug deep to find some favorite photos of the interior, detail and the theater's famous marquee. Enjoy.
Around Town
In honor of Jeanne Gang's MacArthur Fellowship, today's gallery is full of photographs of her architecture and landscape designs.
Landmarks Illinois Names Top 40 Preservation Projects in Past 40 Years
The Landmarks Illinois Preservation Council released its list of the 40 most significant preservation achievements since it formed in 1971. Chicago owes a major debt to the organization.
Big Plans for Old Post Office
British Developer Bill Davies has no small plans for the Old Chicago Post Office, as revealed in his redevelopment project yesterday.
It's New to Us: Landmarks Chicago App
Developer Steven Romalewski has created an iPhone app that allows users to discover the historical architectural landmarks of the city with just a couple of taps of a touchscreen.
Lego to Release Robie House Model
Frank Lloyd Wright's best example of Prairie style architecture is set to receive the LEGO treatment.
Prentice Women's Hospital Added to National Trust for Historic Preservation Endangered List
An influential historic preservation think tank adds old Prentice Women's Hospital to its list of America's 11 most endangered buildings.
Board of Trade Building on Market
The Tribune reports today that CME Group, owners of the Chicago Board of Trade Building, has hired brokers to market a sale of the classic Art Deco-style building.
Willis Tower Owners Testing Waters On Putting Building Up For Sale
The owners of Willis Tower have hired two brokerages to market the nation's tallest skyscraper in the search for an investor or an outright sale of the building.
Chicago Motor Club Building Up for Landmark Status
Today's agenda for the city Landmarks Commission includes a preliminary landmark recommendation hearing for the former Chicago Motor Club building that, if granted, could give the building a new lease on life.
It's New to Us: Holy Name Cathedral and City Methodist Church 360-Degree Virtual Tours
Photographer Joseph Fouts also has a passion for creating high-resolution virtual tours of his photography, which he's parlayed into a business called 360 Comes Alive. Fouts recently contacted us to share with us links for virtual tours he's created of Holy Name Cathedral and City Methodist Church in Gary, IN.The City Methodist Church tour sucked a good portion of our work day away yesterday as we zoomed in and out, enraptured with the detail of Fouts's work.
Prudential Building to Serve as Obama 2K12 HQ
The Obama campaign machinery is being tuned up for the President's 2012 re-election campaign. Sun-Times Washington Bureau chief Lynn Sweet reports that Obama will be hosting a series of events across the country in donor cities very lucrative for Democratic fundraising to officially kick off the Obama 2012 campaign. The Obama 2012 team will also call the Prudential Building its headquarters. The new location is steps from Obama's 2008 campaign HQ and overlooks Grant Park, which famously hosted Obamapalooza.
Weekend Diversion: Happy Birthday, Mies!
In honor of the legendary Chicago architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who was born on this day in 1886, here's a delightful (and informative!) ear worm for you:
Tiny White Castle Nominated for Landmark Status
A 150-square foot former White Castle at Cermak and Wabash may be granted landmark status, according to an article in today's Sun-Times. The restaurant has been a gourmet chicken shack for close to 30 years, but owner Dave Gupta (who used to send us press releases for his restaurant as "Chef Luciano") and his son Rocky have restored the building on the southeast corner of the intersection to its full architectural glory. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks proposed the designation earlier this month and the Guptas are in full support of the move.

