All in Architecture
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Photographers always find new opportunities whenever a new building is completed. 150 North Riverside Plaza provides many opportunities given the elevated public space in back of the building and the promenade running along the Chicago River. Once it opens, the Starbucks may also offer some interesting opportunities, but that will depend on the depth of the outlet.
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Last year at this time, the building under construction at 150 North Riverside Plaza had not yet topped out. The plaza abutting the Chicago River was filled with building materials and construction equipment, with steel and glass being hoisted by a crane. I have photographs to prove it.
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Helmut Jahn's State of Illinois Building is in a state of disrepair. Chicago Tribune architectural columnist Blair Kamin points to rusted columns, chipped paint, and duct tape holding faded carpets together. There is also the smell of fast food grease wafting through the atrium from the food court on the lower level. All of this mirrors the State of Illinois' budget crisis, which will continue to plague the state despite the band-aid tax increase signed into law ten days ago by Governor Bruce Rauner.
Unfortunately, but appropriately, Jean Dubuffet's Monument with Standing Beast, which is located at the building's southeast corner, is in similar disrepair. The 10-ton sculpture has faded in parts from white to cigarette-finger yellow. It appears to be chipped, with parts of it covered in graffiti, which serves as another example of why we can't have nice things.
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Ah, yes, we all remember being a kid and partaking in the joys of summer. No school, so head down to the Daley Plaza, and then use the Picasso statue as a slide.
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I headed over to the Chicago Cultural Center today intent on photographing the Tiffany Glass dome that sits above the Preston Bradley Hall. This is the dome that has the star power because it is believed to be the world's largest Tiffany dome. At 11:00AM the light was perfect, with the sun not quite directly overhead. Unfortunately, the hall was closed for an event--high school students.
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On Monday of this week, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events installed a statue by Chicago artist Scott Reader across the river from the Trump Tower. As is evident, the statue is simply the words "Real Fake" in gold lettering. Quite appropriate for anything associated with President Donald J. Trump.
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On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi established the first self-sustaining controlled nuclear reaction under the Stage Field Stadium located on the University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus. The laboratory was a squash court, which is an appropriate given the speed and force that a squash ball ricochets off the walls of a court.
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Oak Park, Illinois may be the location of a number of important Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, including Wright's home, but Hyde Park is the location of one important Wright work, the Robie House. The house was built between 1908 and 1910 for Chicago businessman Frederick C. Robie.
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The weather on the drive from Chicago to Milwaukee today was pretty intense. No precipitation. Just large cumulus clouds hanging above. As we got closer to Milwaukee, the clouds became more dense, losing their form and dimensionality, but after lunch the sun kept popping through, creating interesting light.
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Several weeks ago, I received a notice that the Chicago Tribune was offering a two-hour tour of its Chicago Avenue printing and distribution plant, referred to as the Freedom Center. My impression was that this was a one-time event, so I immediately purchased two $25 dollar tickets. It turns out that the Tribune offers the tour nine times a year
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Over the last several years, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon as I travel throughout the city: Skyscrapers create their own micro climates. Traveling south on Lake Shore Drive toward the John Hancock Center, I sometimes see fog drifting in that pretty much obscures the skyline, only to discover clear skies once I cross North Avenue heading south on LaSalle.
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Everyone who visits Chicago inevitably sees the skyline, with the Willis Tower on the south end and the John Hancock Tower on the north end. The Trump Tower is in the middle, as is the Amoco Building (now the Aon Center) . What many don't see is the spiral drum immediately to the east of the Hancock Tower. It is part of the ramp that leads to the parking garage on the lower floors of the Hancock. It is made of concrete, and looks similar in shape to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, although on further reflection, there are big differences.
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Given what a delightful day it was, I found it odd to stumble across these rather sinister looking bottles, high on a windowsill. The first feature I saw was the white light, but then I noticed that the bottles were casting a rather large and sinister shadow. It was the setting sun that provided an intense source of light.
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If you are looking for somewhere over the rainbow in Chicago, walk along the Riverwalk toward the Lake Shore Drive Bridge. Centennial Fountain is located on the north side of the river. Dedicated in 1989, the fountain commemerates the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
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As you walked into the old section of the Art of Institute of Chicago, you pass a grand staircase. On the first landing is a bronze sculpture of a torso created by Roussillon-born sculpturer Aristide Maillol in 1906. It is entitled Enchanted Action. The white light in the staircase always tickles down to the toes, and yet the torso has no toes to tickle.
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Several years back, Nutella was the rage on college campuses. The little single serving packets were replacing salt, sugar, and butter packets in college cafeterias, with administrators being forced to keep a sharp eye on students loading pockets, purses, and backpacks with dozens of those packets filled with delicious chocolate hazelnut goo.
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Architect Renzo Piano's Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago has an expansive hallway that leads from Monroe on the wing's north side to the older sections of the museum on the south. It is a grand space, with white walls and skylights, providing beautiful natural lighting. People always look so elegant in this space, particularly when seated on the benches that line the walkway.
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Chicago is known for the sound of the electric blues, but long before Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and all the others plugged in, Chicago was an industrial center, home to foundries, transportation hubs, and animals headed through shuts to their slaughter. In the words of Carl Sandburg, the City of Broad Shoulders. Emblematic of those shoulders are 27 or so bridges that tie one side of the Chicago River with the other.
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There is a channel that leads into the Diversey Motorboat Harbor in Lincoln Park. On the south side of that channel is the tiered landing pictured here, with just a few trees. I've walked past it several hundred times over the years. Yet, its simplicity continues to fascinate.
It was a lovely afternoon to experiment with infrared photography. Yes, unlike Instagram, this photograph was created in camera using a camera that had had its Beyer filter removed.
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The Elks National Memorial located just to the west of the north end of Lincoln Park is a reminder of the sacrifice of the many Americans who fought and died in World War I. Planning for the memorial began two years after the war ended in 1918. The organization selected New York architect Egerton Swarthout's design.
