tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47744328861023636112024-02-19T10:05:11.132-06:00Chicago TexturesA Chicagoan posts on architecture and our sense of place, preservation and our collective and unexpected history, and the urban beauty that surrounds us every day.The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-63972266667565969252011-01-01T19:56:00.000-06:002011-01-01T19:56:16.335-06:00Moving again......on the web, that is.<br />
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I got sick of trying to make Blogger show my photos right, so I got lazy and haven't been posting. But I really do have a lot of cool stuff to show you guys, and I can't keep it in any longer, so I'm moving to Tumblr. Here's my new blog address: <a href="http://oldcoolthings.tumblr.com">http://oldcoolthings.tumblr.com</a> . Hope to see you there! -LooshThe Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-46379180597503609462010-04-29T07:00:00.000-05:002010-04-29T07:00:11.203-05:00Vignette #4: Hobbit HouseWhile wandering around in Oak Park one morning, we discovered this. Not sure what to make of it. I would call it "Hobbit style" but I think it's officially some sort of English Cottage style. I can't help wondering how they roof it - and what do the rafters look like?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7812.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-58679739248151146922010-04-28T07:00:00.000-05:002010-04-28T07:00:06.881-05:00Bridge to the PastIf there is a truly forgotten architectural mecca in Chicagoland, it is the town of Blue Island, just south of Chicago. It has neither had the redevelopment pressure to have teardowns, nor has it had the disinvestment that prompts neglect and arson. Rather, for the past 170 years, it has been stable but working class. That is the perfect environment for preservation.<br />
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Blue Island has much architectural grandeur, and you will see some of it here in the future, because I will definitely be exploring it more. But, just as interesting is its amazing array of ancient infrastructure. We were wandering around town one day and came across this old bridge. Obviously it's seen better days. Actually, it's kind of collapsed. But, if you look closely, you can see that the roadbed used to be wood planks. The supports are steel or iron, in patterns much like those you see on the oldest parts of the 'L'. So, I would date this bridge back to perhaps 1900, just as a guess.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Blue%20Island/IMG_7764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Blue%20Island/IMG_7764.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-85932385077151863122010-04-27T07:00:00.007-05:002010-04-27T07:00:01.812-05:00Vignette #3: FunhouseTextures. An old brick hotel morphed and mutated by the materials of its modernist neighbor across the street. Awesomeness.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7755.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-80044428458028312392010-04-26T07:00:00.018-05:002010-04-26T07:00:02.203-05:00Raber HouseThis Chicago Landmark is fairly well-known, but it's the first time I've seen it in person. Located at 58th & Lafayette in the Englewood neighborhood, it is a three story brick building. At first glance, and really at any glance, it's a fairly ordinary Chicago apartment building. There are a couple of reasons that it was made a city landmark, though. First of all, it predates the Chicago Fire, though not by much. Property records date its construction to 1869 or 1870. Also unique is that it was built as a country house, on a huge open lot, before Englewood even became a suburb, not to mention an urban neighborhood.<br />
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As you can see, though, it is in sorry condition. In 1895, it was divided into apartments and kept that arrangement until its abandonment and decay. The Englewood neighborhood was an extremely vibrant neighborhood up until the 1950s, but since then it has fallen about as hard as an urban neighborhood can fall. It has among the highest crime rates in the city and among its highest rates of foreclosure and abandonment. It has become something of an urban prairie, though not to the extent seen in neighborhoods of some rust belt cities, such as Detroit. The house has taken the brunt of the ravages of the neighborhood around it. Neglect and arson have taken a deep toll. However, it still stands, though mostly gutted. Ironically, though, when it was built 140 years ago, the house stood alone and stands mostly alone today.<br />
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An idea that has sprouted from that ironic state is to create an urban park that mostly mimics the old country estate in its form, about eight acres in size. This would require very little eminent domain and demolition. The idea is being actively recruited as part of a plan for a brighter future for the neighborhood surrounding it, though it will probably take many years to actually realize.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Raber%20House/IMG_8310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Raber%20House/IMG_8310.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Raber%20House/IMG_8323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Raber%20House/IMG_8323.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-51529285383042697162010-04-24T17:00:00.023-05:002010-04-24T17:00:00.601-05:00Prism Glass SightingIn honor of VersionFest 2010, or perhaps because I think that Bridgeport Coffeehouse is one of the best coffee houses in the city, I was walking down Morgan Street in Bridgeport this morning. Walking down that street, it is pretty obvious why artists have selected it as their next frontier. Lots of beautiful old building spared the destruction that is the usual wrath of time. The street is full of Czech gables and iron fronts. Even more rarely, though, is a sighting of intact prism glass in the city. For some reason, at least in economically stable parts of the city, it has become increasingly rare. Prism glass used to be quite popular in storefronts before the widespread introduction of electric lighting, and was used to throw light into the back reaches of a long, dark shop spaces. In the inner suburbs, such as Oak Park, you see it a bit more often.<br />
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Anyways, this is the fabulously forgotten building at 3143-3145 S. Morgan:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Prism%20Glass/IMG_8331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Prism%20Glass/IMG_8331.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-22585012608515981032010-04-23T07:00:00.025-05:002010-04-23T07:00:03.473-05:00Vignette #2: Layers of SteelThe Chicago 'L' has been described as the eighth wonder of the world. How many cities, after all, have flying trains?? In reality though, the 'L' is very much an earthbound system, and one with twelve decades of history. Over those many years, it has had things tied to it, riveted onto it, welded to it, strapped to it, and crashed into it. It has been many colors over the years. The whole thing was that putrid yellow color until they painted it maroon last year, actually. Such are the necessary truths, or perhaps necessary evils, in order for a Victorian-era train system to enter the twenty-first century. The many layers of its fabric sure make for interesting perspectives.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7508.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-48554627730622332032010-04-21T07:00:00.001-05:002010-04-21T07:00:02.915-05:00What's Worse Than a Facadectomy?A facadectomy used to cover up the seating area for a fast food restaurant.<br />
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I was in Memphis a couple months ago, and got to witness this complete preservation failure up close and personal. Memphis Heritage, the city's preservation organization, on the other hand, chalks this up as <a href="http://www.memphisheritage.org/cms/index.php?q=node/50">a success</a>.<br />
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This Chick-Fil-A opened at 1978 Union Avenue in early 2009. A gothic church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, built in 1951, had stood on the site before. While the church wasn't particularly special and wasn't particularly old, it is the preservation "compromise" that was worked out that raises eyebrows.<br />
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Rather than keep the church completely or demolish it completely, everything but the front facade was demolished and a small patio was added behind the retained facade, with tables for seating placed on it. Reproduction (or maybe refurbished) church lamps hang above the tables. The fakeness of the whole thing is reinforced by the "brick" that is painted onto the back of the coating that was put onto the back of the facade.<br />
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So, since I live in Chicago, I don't know the whole story on this one. But, I would tend not to blame Chick-Fil-A for this one. They are a modern corporation that doesn't particularly care about local character. Though they technically should, in our society it's assumed that they don't. However, the mission of Memphis Heritage is to defend that local character, and they seem to have failed. This church is old but not that special. Still, if they wanted to save it, they should have put out the manpower to really save it. Otherwise, the manpower should have been reserved for something that is more worthy of it. Going half-heartedly into a battle like this yields, very visibly, half-hearted results. And, if they keep going in this direction, Memphis will someday be a city of half-eaten carcasses of grand buildings that once were.<br />
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<i>A note: I got an internship with an architecture firm in Buffalo, New York, which I am very excited about. So, for a while this summer, this blog will be Buffalo Textures. It will be fun to write about and explore one of America's grandest, and older, architectural cities.</i>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-57007228555048140912010-04-19T19:28:00.000-05:002010-04-19T19:28:44.166-05:00Vignette #1: DragonsI was walking down the street today and who should I meet right there at eye level? These guys!<br />
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So, where does one go about finding kindly dragons in Chicago? Well, I assume they are kindly, since I'm still alive. That first one looks a bit mean, though.<br />
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Pretty awesome how the sculptor of the terra cotta gave them each their own unique looks and personalities. I stopped to take a picture and started petting one, and a woman and her kid noticed it, and she had a hard time getting him to stop petting it. So cute...<br />
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Guesses on which building? They're in plain sight, actually, flanking the southern entrance of the Fisher Building, on Van Buren just east of Dearborn.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Vignettes/IMG_7477.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-47543226817599615082010-04-15T20:32:00.000-05:002010-04-15T20:32:43.148-05:00The Ramova TheatreOne of my current projects is to help evaluate the National Register nomination that is being developed for the Ramova Theater in the Bridgeport neighborhood, located just south of the intersection of 35th & Halsted. Because it is on the south side of Chicago, despite its relative wealth and the tourist draw that being home of the White Sox provides, the neighborhood has been unable to attract significant development to adaptively reuse the theater. Opened in 1929 and designed in an effusive Spanish Revival theme, the theater is very similar to the Music Box Theatre on the north side, which has seen quite fruitful reuse. Built as a movie theater, the auditorium is part of a mixed-use building. The bottom floor along Halsted is restaurants, including the long-lived Ramova Grill whose chili has a great reputation (and is quite yummy!) and the second floor houses apartments. These auxiliary uses remain in full operation, but the auditorium has been abandoned since the mid-1980s. At some soon before its abandonment, all the original seating was replaced with cheap plastic seats, but its elaborate ornamentation remains intact, though worse for the wear.<br />
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The lobby includes a double-sided staircase with sweeping railings and elaborate windows that glimpse into the spaces beyond. Sadly, one side of the lobby has been mostly obliterated from an unknown force. The auditorium is decorated to resemble an open-air Spanish courtyard and remains essentially intact, including the original air conditioning system which fed through holes in the floor. The twinkling stars painted on the ceiling of the auditorium, not unlike Grand Central Station in New York City, make the Ramova one of the last standing atmospheric theaters in the city. Like any abandoned building, the Ramova's biggest enemy is water. The auditorium and lobby are covered in fallen plaster and penetration continues, worsening the problem. The building has needed a new roof for several years, though it has been patched at times. Since the building is currently owned by the city of Chicago, maintenance has not been all that could be hoped for.<br />
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The exterior facade contains a beautiful terra cotta parapet and its centerpiece is a tall window in front of the entrance lobby. Often noticed is the theater's massive sign and marquee. The vertical sign is not the original, but it is quite old, having been added in the 1950s in a blast of neon glory. "Ramova" means "peaceful peace" in Lithuanian, a naming choice that gives a good sense of the character of the neighborhood when the theater was built. Originally a working class community centered around the Chicago River, Bridgeport housed several phases of immigrants, from Czechs and Swedes in the early days, to Irish, Italians, and Lithuanians by the 1920s. It was a neighborhood institution and quite successful for six decades. And it is apparently still quite loved. It has its own preservation group, Save the Ramova, which is still quite active and dedicated to the cause five years after its founding.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ramova%20Theatre/IMG_5785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ramova%20Theatre/IMG_5785.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-88027917642471328812010-04-12T14:29:00.000-05:002010-04-12T14:29:28.067-05:00Chicago's Modernist TraditionsI am, essentially, a modernist. I was trained in the tradition of Mies van der Rohe, the most conservative of modernists, but when I say that word, I actually am applying it quite a bit more loosely. Modernism is, essentially, the search for a personal architecture, rather than working to create an architecture that you believe society will expect. It is the great conflict in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.<br />
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As I see it, Chicago has four major modernist architectural traditions:<br />
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- Frank Lloyd Wright and his disciples, Barry Byrne and Walter Burley Griffin. In his creation of the "Prairie" style, Wright was trying to create an architectural vocabulary that was in tune with the landscape in which he was building. <br />
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- Mies van der Rohe and his disciples, Myron Goldsmith, Jacques Brownson, and many others. This is the tradition that follows directly from "form follows function" and derives its roots from the German Bauhaus. It is a heavily aesthetic tradition that ignores many of the human elements of architecture in the pursuit of simplicity. While it is often stated to ignore history, in reality its sense of order is based primarily on values espoused in Classical architecture. The corporate architecture of the 1960s through 1980s was a continuation of this tradition, usually carried out by one of the city's two massive modernist firms of the time, C.F. Murphy Associates and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill.<br />
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- Walter Netsch, Harry Weese, and Bertrand Goldberg. While each of these men was influenced by the Miesian tradition, they carry other influences as well, often from outside Chicago. This shows in each of their architectural styles, and each developed a very distinctive style in time. Netsch developed "field theory," which takes the modernist square or rectangular, uses many of them, and rotates them to create complex, if disorienting, forms. Weese was interested in an 'architecture of accidents' that allowed for unexpected moments in a buildings. Goldberg worked from the Miesian tradition but refused to be bounded by the orthogonal, and worked to push materials to their limits sculpturally as well as structurally.<br />
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- Bruce Goff, George and Fred Keck, and Paul Schweickher. Perhaps the least studied of Chicago's modernists, this group did some of its most interesting and unconventional work. Each of them used materials in bold and unexpected ways, was willing to defy tradition, and played with technologies that hadn't been yet fully explored. There was an interest in manufacturing techniques, and the use of everyday materials in architectural ways. These architects, in direct contrast to the Miesians, were intensely focused on the site on which they were to build, and their buildings relate directly and intimately to their sites.<br />
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Each of these traditions owes a debt to the very earliest men who developed a sculptural and personal architecture. Among the best known of them would be Louis Sullivan and Frank Furness, his mentor.<br />
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The last two of these four traditions have not been fully explored and researched, and they fascinate me. This blog will be my medium through which to explore them in the near future, so you will see bits and pieces of knowledge about them here.The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-1041171423760796452010-04-09T14:30:00.000-05:002010-04-09T14:30:58.171-05:00Fay Jones Does MemphisI was in Memphis a few months ago and snapped shots of this beautiful house. It is located at 5715 Sycamore Grove in East Memphis. The architect is E. Fay Jones, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright who did most of his greatest and best-known work in Arkansas. His namesake work is Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, which is so loved that it was put on the National Register at only 20 years old. His typical material is wood and stone, in tune with the natural environment, and he often uses novel methods to integrate modern technologies such as air conditioning into his designs. I believe this house was built in the mid-to-late 1960s.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Fay%20Jones%20Memphis/IMG_5916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Fay%20Jones%20Memphis/IMG_5916.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Fay%20Jones%20Memphis/IMG_5917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Fay%20Jones%20Memphis/IMG_5917.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-87665063464329404482010-04-02T07:00:00.033-05:002010-04-02T07:00:09.224-05:00Sears Campus Power HouseA couple weeks ago, I had the honor of taking a tour of what has been rated the Best Historic Preservation Project of 2009. The power house for the old Sears campus in East Garfield Park has been renovated into a new charter high school specializing in green technology. The result, carried out by the Homan-Arthington Foundation, is pretty incredible. The old turbine room was kept as the central gathering space and the cafeteria, whereas the other (south) half of the building was filled with four stories of classrooms and offices. It is LEED (not sure what level yet, probably Gold) as well as very true to its historic preservation principles. Architect Farr Associates didn't have the expertise to really integrate preservation concerns into their design, but luckily they hired a very good historic preservation consultant and the two aspects of the project work very well together.<br />
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I know these aren't the greatest pictures. Hopefully I can get back and take some better ones someday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Power%20House%20High/IMG_7170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Power%20House%20High/IMG_7170.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Power%20House%20High/IMG_7168-mod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Power%20House%20High/IMG_7168-mod.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-46271075629330919852010-04-01T18:39:00.000-05:002010-04-01T18:39:48.834-05:004722 N. Winthrop - UpdateI wrote a <a href="http://chicagotextures.blogspot.com/2009/11/little-house-on-winthrop.html">post</a> in November about 4722 N. Winthrop. It was an orange-rated historic house in Uptown that Chicago's Demolition Delay ordinance caught. Designed by architect Harvey L. Page, it was dilapidated but still viable.<br />
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The property's demolition permit was released on Dec. 3, 2009. Sadly, the site has now been cleared. All that remains are scraggly tree limbs. The block is full of parking lots interspersed between many of the remaining buildings already, so it's getting to feel a bit vacant of a built environment.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7748.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7751.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/4722%20N%20Winthrop/IMG_7752.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-45406658178084558332010-03-12T07:00:00.000-06:002010-03-12T07:00:07.479-06:00Cabrini-Green DemolitionIn January, one of the last of the Whites at Cabrini-Green fell to the forces of "progress," just northeast of Halsted & Division. These photos give a glimpse inside one of the notorious buildings, from a perspective we couldn't have seen while they were in operation. It's pretty fascinating the colors that people painted their apartments to make what were pretty dismal quarters more bearable. The icicles add to the composition. These photos were taken by a friend who has a more artistic eye than I, so don't hold me to that standard :-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Cabrini-Green%20Demolition/IMG_6561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Cabrini-Green%20Demolition/IMG_6561.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-55695488987296694732010-03-09T07:00:00.001-06:002010-03-09T07:00:09.112-06:00Chicago Metropolitan Correctional CenterOne of Chicago's most under-appreciated architects is Harry Weese. He was a modernist but he fell in his own mold, far apart from the conformist followers of Mies van der Rohe or the rebellion of Bertrand Goldberg. His influences came from studying under Eero Saarinen and physically visiting the work of Alvar Aalto while in Scandinavia. Weese is often pegged as a brutalist, but his work actually spans many styles. He was also a pioneer in several ways in the city. For example, he was among its first preservation architects, as his firm carried out the first restoration of Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Building.<br />
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One of Weese's most well-known works, and one of my favorite, is Chicago's city jail, the Metropolitan Correctional Center. It is a 27-story triangular building located along the 'L' tracks just south of the Loop at Van Buren and Clark Streets. Completed in 1975, it was intended to be one of America's first jails without bars. Its design supported this ambitious agenda by dividing the prisoners up onto different floors by the seriousness of their offense and making the whole floor viewable from a central location. Weese also designed the windows to be five inches wide and high enough off the street (the cells are on the upper floors) that escape would be impossible. Using an elevator for prisoner transport is a good idea because it helps eliminate the risks to guards in transporting prisoners long horizontal distances.<br />
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The jail itself is unabashedly brutalist and was even more so before the previously raw concrete was painted tan around 2005. The complex also includes a brutalist parking garage next door and a garden along the building's southeast facade.<br />
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Relating to Weese's growing respect for the historic integrity of the South Loop (Weese would begin the process to revitalize Printer's Row three years later,) the jail shows deference to the historic buildings around it within its form. The Fisher, Old Colony, and Manhattan buildings face the jail along its east side, and have a fairly consistent cornice line. The tenth floor of the jail is left blank (it is a mechanical floor) at the same level. A subtle gesture, but an intended one.<br />
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In case you are interested in Weese's work, here are a couple of the books available on him. There are a few more, but these are the most accessible.<br />
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<i>Harry Weese Houses</i> by Kitty Baldwin Weese. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1987.<br />
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<i>Harry Weese: Humanism and Tradition.</i> Process Architecture No. 11. Katushiko Ichinowatari, ed. Tokyo: Process Architecture, 1979.<br />
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Probably the best source on him, though, is his oral history taken as part of the Chicago Architects Oral History Project by the Art Institute of Chicago. The oral histories of his brother, Ben Weese, and his long-time employee, Jack Hartray, also contain large sections about the man, his work, and his firm. For a time in the 1970s and 1980s, Harry Weese Associates was among the most prolific firms in Chicago. While Harry Weese died in 1998, both Ben Weese and Jack Hartray are still alive.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Metropolitan%20Correctional%20Center/IMG_6833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Metropolitan%20Correctional%20Center/IMG_6833.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Metropolitan%20Correctional%20Center/IMG_6853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Metropolitan%20Correctional%20Center/IMG_6853.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-60632722924742376652010-03-05T07:00:00.001-06:002010-03-05T07:00:11.469-06:00Michigan Avenue YWCAIt's kind of flown under the radar, but if's you've walked down Michigan Avenue in the last week or so, you might have noticed a gaping hole in the famous streetwall. Located at 830 South Michigan, the hole was filled by the YWCA Building, a grand blue Beaux-Arts facade that for the last three decades has stood with blank eyes onto Grant Park. Before that, though, from when it was built in 1895, it was an affordable housing building for young women new to the city. You can still see where the light wells were in the floor plan by noticing where the neighboring buildings were clad or left raw. A second story open space above the front entrance looked out onto the lake. From 1929 until its abandonment, the building was used as a hotel. It apparently had some pretty major structural issues as well as severe degradation, as even landmarks organizations wrote it off as unsalvagable. Cool building, though. I might be in the minority here, but I kind of liked the blue-gray paint.<br />
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The building was condemned November 12, and demolition began in January. All that remains now is the facade of the first two floors. <br />
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(First image credit: Landmarks Illinois)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/YWCA%20Building%20Michigan%20Ave/YWCAMichiganAvenue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/YWCA%20Building%20Michigan%20Ave/YWCAMichiganAvenue.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/YWCA%20Building%20Michigan%20Ave/IMG_7095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/YWCA%20Building%20Michigan%20Ave/IMG_7095.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-689558118556596492010-03-03T22:07:00.000-06:002010-03-03T22:07:33.867-06:00Ghost of a BuildingSometimes "textures" are things that you seek out in a city, things are only visible when you are looking for them. A reward for those who seek the unexpected. Other times, "textures" are pretty obvious. What was once a building between 8th and 9th Streets on Wabash, is now a parking lot. But it leaves behind the ghost of what it formerly was. The ghost image is a "living section" of what, it seems, was a timber-frame loft building of six stories. Still, I love looking at the silhouette. From it, you can immediately learn more about a building than you would normally be able to learn, even from working within it everyday. <br />
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The story is actually that there were two buildings here (the two on the right end of the block in the Google StreetView image below.) They had some sort of code issues and East-West University, rather than worry about remodeling them, just decided to tear them down. They weren't historic or anything, so they could just do that. Funny how that surprises me these days. It's a little annoying, just because the South Loop already has so many parking lots and so more were really not necessary. And, given the economy, redevelopment in the near term is unlikely.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/StreetView01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/StreetView01.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/IMG_7107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/IMG_7107.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/IMG_7108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Ghost%20Building%20on%20Wabash/IMG_7108.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-34887611605278785542010-02-26T07:00:00.001-06:002010-02-26T07:00:09.433-06:00Bachman HouseI have a couple of major posts, on projects I'm working on, planned for next week. For now, though, you'll have to make do with yet another random photo post. It's a really cool one, though. Below are photos of the Bachman House, by Bruce Goff. As you probably know, Goff was an extremely eccentric, and extremely talented mid-century architect. His style was completely his own. His work has been referred to as "UFO"-like. What made him great as an architect was his ability to simultaneous balance the specific needs of his clients with his own very personal design explorations. Goff's designs have a tendency to use very unique materials and have very unique forms - but, despite all that, they are extremely functional.<br />
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Did you know we had Goff houses in Chicago? Well, he's buried in Graceland Cemetery, not far from Mies (the triangular headstone and green crystal on top match his personality perfectly.) That was my first clue. There are actually two Goff houses. One is the Turzak House located in Edison Park (on the northwest side, almost into the suburbs), and the other, this, is smack dab in the middle of the city, a five minute walk from the Red Line Argyle station, at 1244 W. Carmen. It is actually one of his less crazy, and very little known, works. Built in 1947-1948, it was actually a renovation (or perhaps we could call it a complete reworking) of an existing house that had been built in 1889. Both Goff houses in Chicago are designated Chicago Landmarks. There are several more of his works out in the suburbs.<br />
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My favorite part of Goff? He's from Tulsa, just like me :-) so we're kin, kind of. And I've seen some of his work, there, from when he was less than 20 years old, and it's pretty amazing. I'm not gonna lie, a perfect gift for me would be a copy of<i> Bruce Goff: Toward Absolute Architecture</i> by David G. DeLong. But the lowest price for it online is like $175. Sad but true. One day I'll have an attack of spontaneity and buy it anyway.<br />
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Sorry the pictures are all kind of the same. There's only one perspective to photograph this house from. And yes, that is unpainted corrugated metal on the facade...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Bachman%20House/IMG_6999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Bachman%20House/IMG_6999.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Bachman%20House/IMG_7000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Bachman%20House/IMG_7000.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-31083289945643614492010-02-23T23:31:00.000-06:002010-02-23T23:31:20.815-06:00Majestic Mens StoreThis is a building I know nothing about. It's just kind of a forlorn remnant of Chicago history, but you can see that some effort was made to make it beautiful once upon a time. This is located directly under the Red Line a couple blocks south of the Lawrence station. I would assume it was built when the embankment above it was, about 1920. It looks all to be terra cotta.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5523.jpg" width="440" /></a> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5525.jpg" width="440" /></a> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5526.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Majestic%20Mens%20Store/IMG_5527.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-53379931245612745132010-02-20T20:10:00.000-06:002010-02-20T20:10:09.321-06:00The View from Behind the CorniceI work behind the cornice level of the Carson Pirie Scott Building on State Street. As you might imagine, you can see some interesting stuff from up there. Here are some shots:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/IMG_6927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/IMG_6927.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/IMG_6931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/IMG_6931.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-37814072726193907802010-02-16T07:00:00.001-06:002010-02-16T07:00:08.812-06:00The Chicago Bee BuildingJust down the street from the Overton Hygienic Building is the Chicago Bee Building. It was built by the same man, Anthony Overton, but seven years later, in 1929. It is actually a combination of two buildings, a smaller brick one and a great Art Deco edifice. All the Art Deco ornamentation is rendered in shades of green. From 1929 onward, this building held all of Overton’s businesses, of which the Chicago Bee, one of Chicago’s African-American newspapers, was one. Overton Hygienic, the cosmetics company, continued to be headquartered in this building until the early 1980s. The architect for both the Overton Hygienic Building and this one was Z. Erol Smith, whom I've never heard of - was he an African American architect? There would have been very few of those in the 1920s.<br />
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From the 1980s until the mid-1990s, the building was abandoned until the Chicago Public Library stepped in to save it.The first two floors of both pieces of the building were restored and integrated together into the current Chicago Bee Library. It’s a weird location for a library because the Martin Luther King branch is only half a mile away, and given its usage patterns, it’s pretty much a glorified computer lab. Still, I’m glad it’s there because they did a nice job of saving the building.<br />
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The Chicago Bee Building is another of the nine buildings that make up the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville City Landmark District, which was created in 1998, and has also been on the National Register since 1986.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Chicago%20Bee%20Building/IMG_6609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Chicago%20Bee%20Building/IMG_6609.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Chicago%20Bee%20Building/IMG_6610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Chicago%20Bee%20Building/IMG_6610.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-65989032778319061092010-02-12T07:00:00.020-06:002010-02-12T07:00:07.695-06:00The Overton Hygienic BuildingI was down at IIT last week and wandered by this grand old edifice in Bronzeville. I’d heard of it before but never really stopped to look at the details. While I personally like the Chicago Bee Building down the street more, this building is still really nice. A cornerstone building in what used to be “The Stroll,” the grand African American Main Street of Chicago, it is located at 3619-3627 South State Street. The building was built in 1922, commissioned by Anthony Overton, who ran several businesses from within the building, including Douglass National Bank, Victory Life Insurance Company, and the Overton Hygienic Company. Overton Hygienic was one of the biggest-name African American cosmetics companies during the early to mid-20th century and remained in business until the early 1980s. In the later 20th century, Bronzeville fell on hard times, and the building became a 375-bed flophouse. It was recently restored by the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission as an incubator for small businesses. There were lights on in the upper floors but the retail in the first floor is vacant, looking for new tenants.<br />
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The Overton Hygienic Building is one of nine buildings that make up the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville City Landmark District, which was created in 1998, and has also been on the National Register since 1986.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6621.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6597.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Overton%20Hygienic%20Building/IMG_6625.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-60508975879408292372010-02-09T22:34:00.000-06:002010-02-09T22:34:50.370-06:00Stateway Gardens DemolitionStateway Gardens, formerly located along State Street from 35th to 39th Streets, was among the most dangerous public housing projects in the city. Before Stateway was built between 1955 and 1958, the area was a low-rise African American community. While not a great neighborhood, it had a grand history near “The Stroll,” and many of its mid-century problems were due the racial covenant policies of the city, which had caused severe overcrowding in the African American districts. Like all public housing, Stateway was built with good intentions, but through both problems of design as well as persistent neglect and disinvestment, the eight sixteen-story highrises became severely run-down. By the 1970s, they were a hot spot for murder and drug sales that not even the police could control. In fact, the police often took part in the problems rather than solved them.<br />
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Public housing is a topic I am fascinated with, so you will see more on it on this blog in future posts. For now, enjoy these pictures I took of the demolition of the last building in this complex, in 2007. Note the bright colors a lot of the tenants painted their units – a way to fight the dark conditions that surrounded them in life, perhaps.<br />
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Good books to read if you are interested in the history, architecture, and sociology of public housing in Chicago:<br />
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<i>Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets</i> by Sudhir Venkatesh, 2008.<br />
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<i>The Poorhouse: Subsidized Housing in Chicago, 1895-1976</i> by Devereux Bowly, 1978.<br />
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<i>There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America</i> by Alex Kotlowitz, 1992.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo3.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo4.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo6.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo7.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Stateway%20Gardens%20Demolition/statewaydemo8.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4774432886102363611.post-57333654760475017932010-02-05T02:12:00.000-06:002010-02-05T02:12:36.215-06:00Esquire Theatre: Historic PhotosThese are from an article from 1938 in <i>Architectural Forum</i> in which the Esquire Theatre was honored as their Building of the Year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/front.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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Front with marquee and unspoiled scallops<br />
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Vestibule at front doors. This theatre, like many of its era, touted its cooling system. With modern climate control came the need to keep that climate inside the building.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/lobby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/lobby.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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View of the lobby. What you don't see in this photo is that the colors were salmon, bright blue, and brown. Vibrant and plush.<br />
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Second floor hallway (access to the balcony, art gallery, bathrooms.) Circles are a common decorative theme throughout the theatre.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/littlegallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/littlegallery.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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This space is known as the "Little Gallery." Because the Esquire catered to a high-class clientele, it offered them an art gallery in which to relax before and after shows.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/auditorium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/auditorium.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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The incredible auditorium. Believe it or not, the Esquire was a movie theatre from the beginning.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/auditorium-soffit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/auditorium-soffit.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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A side view of the auditorium, including the balcony.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/ladies-lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/ladies-lounge.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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As with any grand building of its era, the womens' bathroom included a lounge for socializing. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/mensroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1012.photobucket.com/albums/af247/lalucedm/Esquire%20Theatre/mensroom.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
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The mens' room, on the other hand, looks surprising uninspired, given the grandiosity of the building. This could easily have been built today.The Looshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167238649161648522noreply@blogger.com0