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All in Architecture
Artifacts
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Everybody loves wandering about in an antique store. In Chicago, we have several, but the most notable one is Architectural Artifacts. The proprietors have gathered works from around the world.
A Discovery
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Pretty Flamingo
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The landscape has changed significantly in since I moved to Chicago 25 years ago. Some change for the good, other change not so good. Developers have all but destroyed the branch of the Chicago River that bisects the north from the south.
Al's Italian Beef
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On the corner of Welles and Ontario in Chicago's River North neighborhood sits Al's Italian Beef, just 4 doors north of the Flamingo Rum Club.
The Pit
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Soon it will be impossible to reproduce anything that looks like this photograph. The finished building will yield images that are largely differentiated by atmospheric conditions. The building will the same in every image.
Frozen Shards
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At 1PM, the temperature is down to 5-degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill makes it feel like 10 to 15 degrees below-zero. Layers are essential, but unfortunately, I have not found a pair of gloves that allows me to operate at camera without taking them off.
Parasite or Love?
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Two days after the Apple store moved several blocks south on Michigan Avenue to its new riverfront location, I stopped by the old Apple store to see what remained. I was greeted by an all-black wall where a sleek glass storefront once welcomed me, with what was for me an intriguing statement stenciled in white: "We would never leave you."
Venetian Gothic
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The Chicago Athletic Association Building now houses a boutique 241-room hotel, with a ground-floor Shake Shack, the Cherry Circle Room on the hotel's second floor, and Cindy's, a rooftop restaurant and bar, with an outdoor terrace. The interior is pretty snazzy.
Chilling in the Park
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Not much to say about this one. That's the Prudential Building. If you doubt me, read the sign at the top. It was completed in 1955--the first skyscraper built in Chicago following the Great Depression. I am standing in Millennium Park's Lurie Garden.
A Wet Fall Day
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I am standing dead center on the BP Bridge, which connects Chicago's Millennium Park with the newer Maggie Daley Park. The bridge is one of the most frustrating photographic subjects in Chicago. Designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, its stainless steel parapets and hardwood planked floor slithers across Columbus Drive, bringing children and their parents to the two gigantic climbing walls, an ice skating ribbon, and the playground areas that makeup much of Daley Park.
Winter's Arrival
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No snow today. The temperature was well above 32F until sunset. Yet, for me, today marked the start of winter. I was still after that elusive photograph of the new Apple store that overlooks the Chicago River.
Apple of Concord
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Finally, after at least a year and half, Apple's new flagship store opened tonight at 5PM, with Apple CEO Tim Cook on the premises. The hordes were out there, worshipping the glass monolith just as the apes worshipped the black monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. From the monolith comes knowledge.
Taco Tragedy
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The Cubs will not be repeating this year thanks to a powerful LA Dodger team, but that is not the only tragedy befalling Wrigleyville, Cubs fans, and late night drunks at bar time. News broke in early August that the much beloved Taco Bell at 111 West Addison would be closing, to be replaced with a shiny new 39,755 square foot three-story retail development.
Buckingham Fountain
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This photograph is either a two or four-minute exposure at F32 and ISO 100. I was using the iPad wireless app to trigger the shutter, and the camera appears to have recorded the shutter speed shown on the dial rather than the one I inputed into the application. My camera was fitted with a 10-stop neutral density filter, which explains the silky water and fuzzy clouds.
Beat It On Down the Line
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Just finished a glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the rooftop bar of the recently opened Ace Hotel in the West Loop on Morgan Street. The bar opened August 10. Then headed over to the 'L' to get the long view of the Lake Street elevated line.
No One on Balconies
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I hate balconies, particularly when they are added to classic brick buildings. The developers will tell you that apartments and condos must have balconies to make them attractive, Yet, aside from storing grills on them, nobody seems to use them. Look closely at this photograph. It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon in August. Not a single person is on any of the balconies.
From the Ace Hotel Chicago
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The photograph was taken from the rooftop bar of the Ace Chicago Boutique Hotel. If I had guests in town, I might suggest staying here. It is a little off the beaten path if the Michigan Avenue, Lake Michigan, and Millennium Park are your destinations, but they are all a relatively quick "L" or cab ride away. One thing is for sure, this neighborhood is now restaurant central.
Curving Up the Skyscraper
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The photograph may not fully capture the effect of the curve, but someone standing at the base, looking up, first sees the actual bend. If the person stares long enough, the top of the building appears to bend back over the person, which is just an illusion.
Entering and Exiting the Loop
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Regular readers have seen this photograph before, but this one is very different from the earlier one. It's later afternoon, with the sun streaming in between two skyscrapers, providing a wonderful glow to the scene.