Results tagged “chicagoarchitecture”

Looks like the spire that's to go on top of the Trump Tower downtown is having as much trouble with Chicago winds as The Donald's comb over. The permit for the spire installation was approved on Friday, and workers were all set to proceed yesterday morning but had to stop due to high winds. So they scheduled another go at it this morning, but the pesky weather got in the way once again. The permit issued was only valid for two days, and as we plunge further into a Chicago winter who knows when the next decent weekend weather might present itself. Maybe for now they should just focus on selling the condo units.

Former Bears linebacker Jim Schwantz is running for mayor of Palatine. [Trib]

You're running out of time to shop--and giganto stores are going to be so butts-to-nuts crowded you'll want to kill yourself--but there are still options. We're partial to the Chicago Architecture Foundation's store on Michigan and Jackson ( 224 S. Michigan) if you still need a gift for someone geeky and awesome. Also, give that person our number.

We always appreciate when the New York Times Travel Section takes time out of its busy day to come and visit our little Midwestern city. The last time they stopped by they discovered that the West Loop is cool! This time, they send "the frugal traveler" to answer one of life's big questions: Is it possible to spend a weekend in Chicago and spend less than $500? The answer, of course, is not only that...

We all know that Chicago has great architecture. We burned in 1871 (no, not because of a cow), and up from the ashes rose some of the most original architecture on the continent. But the Chicago Architecture Foundation is taking a more residential stance these days as they prepare their latest educational tool called The Architecture Handbook: A Student Guide to Understanding Buildings.

Today’s your last chance to visit ARTropolis. It’s “Student Day” at Art Chicago, where students, professors, and professionals discuss the basics of an arts career. A pass admitting two people to five fairs is $15. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism has announced its Seven Wonders of Illinois, the top regional attractions selected by popular vote. Cubs fans hit the polls early and often, naming Wrigley Field Chicago’s top attraction. Wilmette’s gorgeous Baha'i Temple represents...

The Chicago Architecture Foundation architecture river cruise season opens on April 28. Warm up your arm! The US Air Guitar tour will be here on June 15. The Chicago Craft Mafia has a new show called "Spring Loaded" taking place on Saturday, May 5. The show will also be a fundraiser for Rainbow House. The 2nd Annual Juried Photographic Exhibition is taking place at the Morpho Gallery from April 20 - 28, with the...

Did you guys hear about that watch that made it to eBay? It was Gary Familglietti's and was from the Bears' 1940s championship. Well, Al Baisi Jr. played for the Bears in the '40s and got a watch after the 1946 championship but lost it, so he bought Familglietti's watch on eBay for $8,100. Remember how they kept saying, "Don't worry, there will be a parking garage and restaurant ... just as soon as...

Frank Lloyd Wright may have been one of the greatest architects of our time. Let us rephrase, Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the greatest architects of our time. Intrestingly enough however, Frank Lloyd Wright was kind of ... well … how do we say it, kind of an asshole.

What's Going on with the North Avenue Bridge?

Is the 50th anniversary of a historic Frank Lloyd Wright building worth pausing that "Dick in a Box" video and paying attention for a minute or two? What if we told you that building was in Bartlesville, OK? We can see you going back to the YouTube window. You may not give a rat's ass about an architectural wonder in a town you've never heard of, but the Chicago Architecture Foundation does.

Architect Santiago Calatrava and developer Garrett Kelleher are making the rounds, looking to generate buzz for their newly redesigned Drill Bit on the Lake. The Chicago Spire (nee Calatrava Spire) as planned will be exceedingly thin and stand around 2,000 feet tall (160 stories): the Manute Bol of skyscrapers. When completed (or if, if you ask Donald “you’re fired” Trump), it could be the world’s tallest, eclipsing Taipei 101 and NYC’s planned Freedom Tower. The...

Uniquely Chicago Gifts?

Every once in a while an opportunity presents itself that we must hoist upon you from way up high at the Chicagoist offices, an opportunity not to be missed.

In North Lawndale, you’re more likely to notice the massive billboards peering over the Eisenhower and the flashing police surveillance cameras than the 100-year-old greystone homes, industrial towers, and boulevards. Too bad the neighborhood’s architectural legacy often gets lost over concerns for public policy and public safety. Roebuck built the original Sears Tower here a century ago, and Magic Johnson might bring new business here soon.

The Mandarin Oriental Tower is vying to be the next big development in the Millennium Park/New East Side/Shadow of the Prudential Buildings area. One of the few luxury property chains that hasn’t yet set their claws into downtown, the Mandarin promises a new level of mondo luxury on Stetson Street in 2009, when residents and executives will be spared schlepping a few blocks north for spa treatments and pretty desserts.

Since “Project Runway” didn’t start till nine; we decided to do something educational to pass the time. We traipsed our hot, sweating, rear-ends over to the Chicago Architecture Foundation to hear Meredith Mack, VP of Finance and Operations of the Art Institute, discuss its new addition.

There are a few things that Chicago totally rocks at, like making hot dogs and yelling. One of the more notable areas of expertise over the course of the city’s history, of course, is architecture. And who was more of an expert at architecture than Chicago’s own, Louis Sullivan?

In less than four months, Marshall Field’s will be no more. Some of you are sad, some are pissed, some are ambivalent. But if you’re already feeling nostalgic about the clocks, the Tiffany dome and the Walnut room, you’ve got four chances to pay your respects before the great Macy’s takeover of 2006.

If you like the Aon Tower but wish it weren’t so boxy looking, get ready for Randolph Street’s next fabulous new building: Aqua Tower. Haven’t you heard? Buildings that look like buildings are so last century! Chicago’s latest architectural craze is to build drill bits, hotels that disappear into themselves, and now, shimmering optical illusions. Aqua, as designed by Loewenberg and Studio/Gang Architects, adds to the typical glass box a series of wavy, rippling balconies that evoke Lake Michigan’s restless tides.

Whew, Chicagoist had a busy weekend. We had some friends in from out of town, so we went downtown and had a look at some buildings. Luckily spring is arriving, so even behind the scaffolding of the Federal Center, we could see the easy simplicity of Mies van der Rohe’s big black boxes. We told our friends that “less is more” and “God is in the details” and about the evolution of Chicago’s architecture. We...

Tomorrow night at 6pm, the Chicago Architecture Foundation is hosting a discussion on the lost Chicago landmark, Pilgrim Baptist Church, at the ArchiCenter in the Santa Fe Building (224 S. Michigan Ave.). The discussion is focusing on both the architectural and the historical significance of the church as well as efforts to rebuild.

The Sun-Times reports that The Chicago Loop Alliance plans to turn the Loop into an all-night party with “shopping, dancing, parades, fireworks, concerts, night-clubbing and Cirque de Soleil-type performances” as part of Looptopia, the group’s latest effort to “transform the Loop’s gritty urban look into a funky delight.”

You know how Chicago is so dang proud to be the City in the Garden? The Urbs in Horto? Well, did you know that LA has more than 2x as much parkland as Chicago and NYC, the freaking concrete jungle, has 3x as much? Guess we're not doing as great as we'd like to think. What can we do about it? How about starting by investigating the evolving conditions of public space in Chicago, from large spaces like Millennium Park to the development of streets and gardens in the neighborhoods. In a new exhibit called "OPEN: New Designs for Public Space," the Chicago Architecture Foundation does just that.

We've talked more about Chicago's endangered buildings than those sparkling new ones. Consider the sturdy construction, fine craftsmanship, and sentimental value, it’s not hard to see why. But don’t believe today’s architects lack imagination. They’re working around rising material and labor costs, risk-averse patrons and mounting pressure to deliver on time and under budget.

Chicagoist has mixed feelings about the proposed Fordham Spire (a.k.a Chicago’s next tallest building). It’d be an innovative structure by a celebrated “star-chitecht” that plays well with its neighbors. But does Chicago need another insanely tall skyscraper? Is this a fitting next chapter in the history of Chicago architecture? Three free, informative exhibits at the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s ArchiCenter provide some perspective. In 1972, five up-and-coming architects wrote “Five Architects”, a manifesto detailing how they’d...

Chicago is the gifted child of the architecture world who can’t just settle for being top of its high school class. Recent developments at the Art Institute of Chicago, the worldwide praise for Millennium Park and the perennial success of the City’s Great Spaces and Places weekend make us feel like proud parents sending Junior to the university. Breaking ground on its new north wing, the Art Institute is embarking on the most significant expansion in its history. By 2009, the current building will connect to a majestic set of 21st century pavilions housing new space for modern and contemporary art, photography, temporary exhibits and architectural art. Helping make this vision a reality is newly hired architecture curator Joseph Rosa, who’s been wooed away from a similar post at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Chicagoist seems to be rapidly developing a weekly feature here called “Cool Pictures From John.” Last week it was the Sun-Times Demolition Derby and this week it’s a series of screencaps from the recently-released-on-DVD I, Robot. The movie takes place in Chicago in the year 2035. Apparently, this city’s in for quite the architectural boom over the next generation, the west side in particular (guess there’s a reason for that Circle Line after all!). Ah...

The Chicago Architecture Foundation honored its Patrons of the Year yesterday in the commercial, institutional and governmental categories. This is the first year for the awards, and they're meant to encourage and recognize architectural innovation. Listen up, Block 37.

The Hollinger scandal has finally busted itself wide upen, but the ensuing legal battles have probably just begun. Hollinger International, which owns the Sun-Times, has admitted, after a three-month investigation, that they inflated the Sun-Times' circulation by over 50,000 for weekdays and 17,000 on Sundays. According to Hollinger's press release, Saturday circulation was not inflated. Weird.