Yesterday, I took a walk through Chicago’s River North neighborhood and along the Chicago River. Here are my thoughts about and the images from my stroll.
All tagged Marina City
Off-Kilter
Today, I ventured out with an infrared camera. My subject was the Chicago River from Michigan Avenue to Chinatown. The output includes high contrast monochrome images, with some color tossed in. These are classic tourist shots, but with a twist. Along the way, László Moholy-Nagy and Bertrand Goldberg make appearances. After watching a documentary on Moholy-Nagy, I had to bend things a bit.
Reflected Riverscape
[Click on the photograph to enlarge it and for additional commentary]
Sometimes your best shot is behind you, which was the case today (and maybe everyday in the case of this location). Standing at the foot of glass tower, I looked up, discovering the reflective qualities of its skin. The partitioned mirrors serve to compress the six blocks of riverscape to the east. Even better, the mirrors create wavy distortion. A great take on the riverscape.
Turquoise
Among everyone's favorite buildings in Chicago, Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City still towers over the Chicago River. I will undoubtedly post many photographs of this mid-20th Century gem (designed in 1959, completed in 1964). It was the first post-war residential tower built in the United States in an effort to stop middle class flight from the city to the suburbs, a trend that after 60 years is in full reversal.