Tag: architecture

At the right place, the right time

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At 10 a.m. precisely, the Chrysler’s famous spear is perfectly aligned with the corner of the MetLife Building.

At 1 p.m. the shadows recede and The Glory of Commerce, shines through. We are outside Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street, walking past a masterpiece: the Tiffany glass clock surrounded by a sculptural group by Jules-Félix Coutan, representing Minerva, Hercules and Mercury – or to us Greeks, Athena, Hercules and Hermes.

Midtown, Manhattan

November 29th, 2017

Bye-bye Chicago

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It’s been a great trip, started in Ithaca and Cayuga Lake, went on to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, round Lake Ontario to Gananoque and the Thousand Islands, a few hours spent in Ottawa and finally, in Chicago. Here we are in 120 North La Salle Street, under a Daedalus and Icarus mosaic, father and son together in flight, their wings spread wide, as if to tell us it is time to take off. And took off we did, so here we are, back to base with a little walk in Tribeca, taking in Manhattan’s crazy architecture. Hello New York!

November 5th, 2017 – Chicago: Daedalus & Icarus mosaic designed by Roger Brown and painstakingly installed by Costante Crovatto.

November 12th, 2017 – Manhattan: walking in Tribeca towards the One World Trade Center, here seen behind the wing of Oculus.

 

 

 

Chicago || In the Loop

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The elevated Loop, part of the iconic Chicago ”L” circuit, looping around a rectangle in downtown Chicago. It runs right in front of many windows of shops, gyms, offices – thankfully, no private apartments. Sometimes so close, it might as well run through them.

From the moment we arrived here, we felt that Chicago is what Manhattan would have been, had it not been an island: orderly, clean, with enough space for development; where pedestrians need not fight for the last millimetre of  pavement space; and with its ”L” trains still running.  Still in the Loop, almost time to leave but not before catching glimpses into two more lobbies: this is the City of Chicago City Hall and, further down, the One North LaSalle Building, with its lavish art deco cathedral for a lobby.

Lobby hopping in the Loop, Chicago

November 5th, 2017

At the end of the day [four]

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Just when you think it can’t get any better.

Airplane views of Chicago from The Signature Room at the 95th, a cocktail bar located, well, on the 95th floor of the 360 Chicago tower, better known as the John Hancock Center. The cocktails must be good but who would remember after experiencing these dizzying views?

As if to prepare us for the experience, an explosion of light at the lobby: Lucent, an installation by Wolfgang Buttress, representing the 3,106 brightest stars visible with the naked eye from the Earth’s Northern hemisphere.

And, finally, a smooth landing back to Earth, walking past the iconic Wrigley Building on N Michigan Avenue.

Chicago by night on November 5th, 2017

Chicago || Hill Street Blues and the Wickedest Police District in the World

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From the waterfront and Grant Park, on our way to meet a legend – both cultural and architectural.

Meet Maxwell Street Station, aka the 7th District Station, aka UIC Police HQ, aka Hill Street Station. The red brick building that was part of Chicago’s history long before it became the signature image of the Hill Street Blues television series (which, by the way, was not filmed in Chicago but in Los Angeles – on location and in studio). 

I’m reading on the UIC Police website: ”The building, designed in 1888 by the firm of Edbrooke and Burnham, is a well-preserved example of an early Chicago neighborhood police station. It was built of red pressed brick and Joliet limestone, with walls three feet thick at the base — a true fortress.”

”The station was built during a period of tremendous growth after the Chicago Fire of 1871, as the city’s population exploded from 298,000 to almost 1.1 million. As late as 1850, the entire police force of Chicago consisted of just nine men. But the growing population, along with social and economic changes, created the need for more law enforcement.”

”In 1906, the Chicago Tribune called the district “Bloody Maxwell” and “the Wickedest Police District in the World.” The police station was considered a fortress in a precinct that had grown to 200,000 residents and boasted more saloons per capita than any place in town. Over the years, the legendary station played host to some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, including Sam Giancana and Al Capone.”

Listen to the theme song which took Mike Post two hours to write:

And now, try to get the tune out of your head – see if you can! 

943 West Maxwell Street, Chicago

November 5th, 2017

When in Chicago…

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… weather permitting, go on an Architecture Foundation River Cruise on board Chicago’s First Lady. You will see some of the city’s most interesting buildings from a unique viewpoint and hear some of the stories behind them. You will learn how, in an effort to prevent their sewage waste flow into Lake Michigan – the city’s clean water source – Chicagoans reversed the flow of the very river you are touring, so that sewage would flow to Illinois and Michigan Canal,  and ultimately to the Mississippi River instead; a no mean engineering feat, admirable even today, let alone in 1900 when it was completed. Last, but not least, you will have some hot apple cider – spiked if necessary for that extra warmth.

You will take hundreds of photos.
You won’t regret it.

November 3rd, 2017

Chicago || The Carbide and Carbon Building

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Aka The Hard Rock Hotel – although that was about to change. We didn’t know it at the time, but a month later, the hotel would close for renovation; it now operates under a new brand, as the St. Jane Chicago. But the exterior, covered in polished black granite, topped by a tower dressed in dark green terracotta with gold leaf ornaments, must surely remain as impressive as it has always been, since the day of its completion in 1929.

Then, there is the dazzling lobby, all bronze and dark Belgian marble and Art Deco features – minus, I guess, the guitars which will have probably found a new wall to grace.

The building was designed by the Burnham Brothers, a commission by the Carbide and Carbon Company to house their regional headquarters.

November 3rd, 2017