Last month, we told you about the state's endangered landmarks list, which included the famed Michigan Avenue Streetwall, the nearly one-and-a-half mile stretch of skyline that runs from 11th Street to Randolph St. Now, the Streetwall is hitting the national scene after being added to the D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of the nation's 11 most endangered historic places, which comes out tomorrow. (Again with a list of 11!) more ›

Landmarks Illinois, "the state’s leading voice for historic preservation," released the 2008 edition of their Endangered Landmarks list today and, keeping with the same counting rules as the Big 10, the Top 10 list actually features 11 buildings. The last-second, list-expanding addition? Wrigley Field. The addition was made in response to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority's interest in purchasing, and subsequently renovating, the stadium. In total, the city of Chicago has four buildings on the list: the Chicago Daily News Building (400-442 W. Madison St.), the Germania Club & Village Theatre (1536-1550 N. Clark St.), the Michigan Avenue Streetwall (Michigan Avenue, from Randolph St. to 11th St.), and the aforementioned Home of the Cubs (1060 W. Addison St.). In case you're counting, that's two buildings on the list owned by the omnipresent Sam Zell: the Chicago Daily News Building and Wrigley. more ›

Preservation Chicago announced its 7 most endangered buildings today, and on the list are surprise entries Grant Park and the Landmarks Ordinance. Also cited are Norwood Park, the American Book Company Building, the Devon Ave commercial district, the Booker Building and the Daily News building. more ›

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks gave its OK to Wrigley Field today to add 70 more seats along the third-base line and some new digital signs along the grandstands. Or as everyone seems saying, "signage." Gaaah. There are already 82 "bullpen box seats" on the first-base side, and now that Wrigley has updated its drainage system, there's room for more money/seats on the third-base side, too. more ›

This week, we're taking another visit back to our childhood stomping grounds on the Northwest side. But we're going way back, waaayyy back to 1917. Our father's side of the family immigrated to America from Greece four years earlier, settling in Greektown. Our mother's side of the family was at least a decade away from moving to the East Village from Virginia. The photo you're looking at at the top of this entry is... more ›

It wasn't your imagination. There really were extra problems on Lake Shore Drive this morning, with 20 vehicles damaged and 3 people injured. Stupid potholes. Now it's even more convenient for the City to take your money! New robot kiosks now accept payments for your parking tickets, water bills and red-light tickets. An update to this morning's story about the 4-year-old who was shot and killed: her brother has been charged, as a juvenile,... more ›

You might have already heard of the City 2000 project. The mission was to document life in Chicago in the first year of the 21st century for future generations and all that (which, as NASA's "Ask an Astrophysicist" informs us actually started in 2001). Over 200 photographers set out to capture life in the city, as well as sounds and video, which are housed at UIC's library. You can watch parts of the project... more ›

Let's start with a tough question: Who is Chicago's greatest filmmaker? When it comes to experimental film some might advocate for James Fotopoulos, whose output is both prodigious and relentlessly probing. When it comes to documentaries, Steve James is more than formidable. And on the narrative end of things although neither Andrew Davis nor John Landis quite make the grade, they've both had their moments. We would argue that the title should go to Tom... more ›

Even though Illinois won't be inundated with presidential candidates like Iowa or New Hampshire, we will be able to boast one thing that residents of those states will not — the Green Party's national convention. The Green Party will hold its convention July 10-13 next year at the Chicago Theatre. The recently renovated (and finally re-opened) Blackstone Hotel will serve as home base for 1,500 or more participants — though we doubt there will be... more ›

Here's what happened while you were chasing The King: The Trib’s Chris Jones profiles local playwright Marisa Wegryzn, whose latest show Killing Women opens Friday night, and addresses larger concerns about whether young talent is being properly nurtured and how the economics of Chicago theater tend to drive talented playwrights to the coasts. A booth filled with Jack Nixon’s “super-realist” penciled renderings of Chicago landmarks was the most unexpected sight at Northhalsted Market Days (and... more ›

In 1907 Essanay Studios shot a short slapstick film on the streets of Old Town entitled An Awful Skate. It cost a few hundred dollars but went on to make thousands; perhaps as much as $10,000 (which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $216,000 today). A recent profile in the Trib gives a brief history of the once-booming studio, which had facilities in both Chicago and California. Between 1907 and 1917 Essanay churned out... more ›

- People keep giving Barack Obama money. This quarter he raised $34 million for his Presidential campaign. - Capitalism in action: The Mercantile Exchange will cut 400 Board of Trade jobs in their merger and receive as much as $40 million in aid from the city to assist in getting the world's biggest futures market off and running. - The Chicago Landmarks Commission designates 208 S. LaSalle with landmark status. - Another Whole Foods... more ›

">Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool. more ›

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network." It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by... more ›

“Had the Des Plaines and Chicago Rivers not been so close and had a mountain -- instead of a small hill -- separated them, perhaps there might not have been a Chicago.” Before launching into the story of the Chicago River, the exhibit at the McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum contemplates this thought, illustrating the essential relationship between the development of Chicago into its current metropolis and the river that flows through it.... more ›

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried... more ›

If you take a walk down Erie just a few blocks west of the hustle-and-bustle (and slow-walking) of Michigan Avenue, you'll find yourself surrounded by grand, newly-rehabbed architecture of yesteryear — namely, the Cable House, Nickerson House, and the John B. Murphy Auditorium. What began as admiration by a young man named Richard Driehaus turned into a full-fledged labor of love. Driehaus noticed the old mansions years ago, when he would park on Erie to... more ›

There are so many cultural institutions in Chicago that it'd be easy to overlook the Alliance Française de Chicago. In addition to being located inside a really cool building, this non-profit cultural exchange organization sponsors everything from language classes to lectures and gourmet food tastings. And movie screenings too. Tomorrow as part of their Ciné-club they'll be showing Playtime, Jacques Tati's 1967 classic. more ›

One of the most notable features of S.R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology is that its massive open space on the first floor can be manipulated to accommodate numerous activities -- sometimes all at once. This was all apparent at last night's event, "Mixing the Perfect Mies: Celebrating Mies van der Rohe's 121st Birthday," hosted by the Mies van der Rohe Society at IIT. When Chicagoist arrived, we walked right into a black and white ball, complete with jazz music and martinis and tiny quiches, but as we became more aware of our surroundings, we noticed that numerous due date-driven students were hard at work behind a series of portable, collapsible walls on either side of the centrally located affair. We immediately flashed back to our college days, where we were pros at procrastinating, always working very casually until the last minute when a project was due. We'd then pound a couple of Red Bulls and frantically do two weeks worth of work in one sitting. This image made us feel sorry for the students being taunted by the appetizer buffet and open bar that suddenly appeared in the middle of their work space. more ›

Wells Street or 5th Avenue? more ›

Last night, the American Institute of Architects’ Illinois chapter announced their “150 Greatest Places in Illinois.” And no, your bedroom’s not on the list. Commemorating 150 years of highlighting our state’s “built environment,” the AIAIL 150 is a what’s-what of places historically significant, uniquely designed, or really frickin’ cool. Chicagoland’s dominion extends beyond safe, popular choices like Wrigley Field, Sears Tower and Navy Pier to include the northwest side’s Schurz High School (a Prairie School... more ›

Wellsir, after much hemming and hawing, it is done. The last nail was rammed into the coffin yesterday for the Farwell Building. At a special meeting to determine the edifice’s fate, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved a plan to destroy it and rebuild it entirely, using only the current façade in the new construction. Commissioners passed it sweepingly with an 8-1 vote, believing that this was the best fate for the crumbling Farwell. Technically... more ›

Here we go again. more ›

The architectural preservationist signal went up all over town Thursday afternoon. On that day, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks went to vote on the fate of the Farwell Building, an Art Deco/French-inspired edifice at 664 N. Michigan. Prism Development Company, the Farwell's current owner, put their proposal in front of the board: To strip the outside of the 11-story landmarked building of its facade, demolish the skeleton, and reattach the facade to a newly-built 40-story... more ›

First he loses the private elevator, what’s next? The family name off of the hospital? We speak today of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, whose days of riding a private elevator are over. Stroger was given the private elevator in the County Building last month, in order to keep him from chatting with all of the regular elevator riders. When he rode the public elevator, his chatty side got the best of him and... more ›

We here at Chicagoist love good ideas. We’re so joyful when a simple idea benefits almost everyone, and even more joyful when that good idea benefits historic architecture. more ›

Although many members of our staff are involved in noteworthy projects outside of our daily blogging duties, we generally don’t report on everything we do, reserving our self-coverage to only the coolest activites. Rachelle Bowden on "Eight Forty-Eight"? Cool. Scott Smith on "Chicago Tonight"? Trés Fab. Shannon Saar’s intricate ode to Louis Sullivan in gingerbread form? Well, that’s worth telling you about. Shannon, who writes on the weekend shifts and is one of our... more ›

For the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, the answer is simple: put down the blowtorch. This year, two high-profile historic buildings have been destroyed by torch-related accidents. The Pilgrim Baptist Church, a centenarian Adler and Sullivan beauty, smoldered in January, and just a few weeks ago, scrap workers accidentally torched the Wirt Dexter Building using the same tool. The LPC calls for new laws restricting such cutting and welding operations at historic sites. Beyond these... more ›

Ah, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. What a store. Or, at least, what a building. While we don't shop there that often, mostly for their propensity to take plus-size fashion tips from retired schoolteachers, we admire the hell out of the building. Built between 1898 and 1906, not only does everyone in Chicago know it and take vast pride in its beauty, logic stands that there must be a ton of history tied up in it. more ›

Exhibit A: Pilgrim Baptist Church Location: 3301 S. Indiana Avenue Built: 1890-91 Notable facts: Originally built by Louis Sullivan and his partner, Dankmar Adler, as the Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv synagogue. Became the Pilgrim Baptist Church in 1922. Often called the birthplace of gospel music, due to musical director Thomas Dorsey. Designated as a Chicago landmark: Dec. 18, 1981 Fate: Destroyed by fire, Jan. 6, 2006. Caused by workers doing roof restoration. Future: Possible rebuilding. Exterior... more ›