Trib Gets Loopy, Part III
By Margaret Lyons in News on Jul 28, 2004 6:25PM
After yesterdays curiosities we were beginning to doubt the Tribunes commitment to Sparkle Motion. Um, the Loop. Anyway, they get back in the groove today with an Unusual Tour. While its pretty tough to get off the beaten path while on the citys most beaten path, the Trib gives it a good try. As promised, the recap; drum roll, please.
Picking the ugliest buildings in the Loop is like picking the trashiest woman at a White Sox game. Yes, theoretically, that person exists, but its simultaneously too hard (how can I pick a best?) and too easy (how can I possibly go wrong?). The Trib picks the Mr. Submarine building at 18 West Jackson, and we have to admit that they really hit the nail on the head. That building is busted. They continue their love affair with the Monadnock building by naming it the most beautiful.
The write-up of the "dozen visual gems" is OK, but the cool part is definitely the slide show. Alex Garcia, who appears to have taken all the photos for the Loop feature, gets our awesome award of the week. We like how the pictures often show a human scale (like the one of the side of the Chicago Theater)it's a good picture either way, but having that guy walking through it changes the entire tone of the piece.
While we're glad to know about the cow head tacos, we'd like to hear more about the falafel and the adult bookstore. Is it really best, or is it just the only? Cause we really like falafel, and we're all avid readers over here at the Chicagoist literature office, so uh, if anyone wants to pass along some more details, we can move on to that leather condom case
Oh, repent! Repent! And go worship in the Loop at one of its conveniently located godstations. You can hit up the obvious placesthe Loop Synagogue, the Downtown Islamic Center, the First United Methodist Church, St. Peter'sor you can head to the I Am Temple at 176 South Washington. The I Am movement, which perhaps you recall from U.S. v. Ballard (1944), prefers to think of itself as "'religious activity,'" and only the first-floor reading room is open to visitors.
And here's where the Trib catches us off guard. Way off guard, actually. You might even say with our pants down. They provide us with a breakdown of the nicest and narstiest bathrooms in the Loop. It's a little too obvs to complain about a McDonald's bathroom, but we're totally with them on the Borders bathroom on North State. That is easily the grossest bathroom in the city, let alone the Loop.