Chicago, City of Lights: Maybe

(City of Chicago, via Archinect News, used w/o permission.)

"A bright idea: City aims to light up architecture to boost tourism"
Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times.com (January 22, 2014)

"Chicago would be turned into a Midwest version of Paris — La Ville Lumiere, the City of Light — under a mayoral plan showcased Wednesday to boost tourism by spotlighting the city's architectural wonders.

"Even as his Infrastructure Trust launches a $13 million plan to make 60 government buildings more energy-efficient, Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to use a spectacular citywide light show to accomplish a new and 10 percent higher goal of attracting 55 million annual visitors by 2020.

"It will start with an 'international design competition' that invites teams of artists, architects, engineers and designers to envision ways to light up Chicago's 'buildings, parks, roads and open spaces.'..."

If this works, Chicago will look different in a few years. That'll probably upset purists of the architectural and economic sort.

As long as Chicago city planners don't try to make the city a Paris knockoff, the Lemming doesn't see a problem.

Dubai has become famous for architecture that's innovative, bizarre, or garish: depending on your point of view. Seeing folks build an indoor ski resort with resident penguins doesn't bother the Lemming a bit: and neither does an ultra-high-end hotel shaped like an arabian sailboat.

It doesn't hurt, in the Lemming's eyes, that Burj Al Arab's over-the-top decor gives tightly-wound architecture critics fits.

Getting back to Chicago, the Lemming expects that the usual suspects will get conniptions over the dreadful waste and extravagance of lighting up some of North America's most spectacular buildings. They might have a point, if the city lights up with old-style incandescent bulbs.

In the Lemming's opinion, that's about as likely as La Ville Lumiere by Lake Michigan using Yablochkov candles, and that's another topic.

Other folks, the Lemming included, will sit back; enjoy the show; and hope that Chicago attracts more tourists and investors with this makeover.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Santa Monica Place, Famous Architects, and Why Minnesota Malls Have Roofs"
  (May 2, 2012)
• "Multimedia at the Symphony, and Skateboarding Meets Opera"
  (April 11, 2012)
• "Here's Looking At You: Chicago Gets the Eye"
  (July 4, 2010)
• "Fairy Castle in Museum of Science and Industry"
  (March 28, 2010)
• "Burj Dubai: Record-Setting Superscraper Opens Today - With the Usual Complaints"
  (January 4, 2010)

Winter Weather, Chicago, and a Really Big Storm

"Hardy Chicago brought to standstill by blizzard"
Mary Wisniewski, Edition: U.S. (February 2, 2011)

"Chicago, a city that usually sneers at winter, was brought to a near standstill on Wednesday by a blizzard packing the third highest snowfall in the city's history.

"Chicago public schools, which hadn't closed since 1999, were shut on Wednesday and will be closed again Thursday. Courts were closed. Five suburban commuter rail lines were down.

"Lake Shore Drive, the city's main north-south thoroughfare, was closed and still littered with over 100 abandoned cars late Wednesday afternoon. Many side streets were impassable, and even plowed arterial streets and highways were eerily empty.

" 'This is pretty unbelievable,' said John Paczesny, 48, a maintenance worker at a Chicago church. He was out with a snowblower clearing a path Wednesday morning, snow clinging to his mustache and eyebrows.

" 'I was around in '67 but this is really crazy,' he said.

"The highest snowfall on record in Chicago was in January 1967, with 23 inches, followed by January 1999 with 21.6 inches. The 2011 blizzard's total was 20.2 inches at O'Hare Airport, according to the National Weather Service. The blizzard is expected to be followed by bitter cold, with wind chill temperatures forecast to plunge to 20 to 30 below zero Wednesday night...."

Brush fires on the north side of the Los Angeles area? Unpleasant, at best, for folks living in the tinderlands: but a seasonal routine in the news. New York City having trouble dealing with snow, traffic - and occasionally garbage? Again, not all that unusual a news item. You'd think they'd have included alleys in the city's street plan - and that's another topic.

Chicago having trouble digging out? That's news. One of the advantages to living in the American Midwest is that harsh weather is a seasonal routine: Folks learn to deal with it. Then there's Minnesota, that's north of the flyover states and this storm - and the Lemming will get back to that.

---

"Storm Leaves Much of Country Shivering, Shoveling and Awaiting More"
Michael Cooper, The New York Times (February 3, 2011)
('Third?' It's only 8:50 p.m. in New York City as the Lemming's writing this post)

"The blizzard that dropped a foot or more of snow across a staggeringly wide area of the country, from Oklahoma up through a paralyzed Chicago and across parts of an ice-glazed New England, finally began to weaken Wednesday. It left behind a long trail of spun-out cars, darkened homes, closed schools and stranded fliers...."

Schools in central Minnesota were two hours late - and then not opening at all - because of this storm. Not all the schools, but a fair percentage.

Which brings the Lemming to this bit of blatant self-promotion:

• "Small Town America: Minnesota"
  "From the heart of darkest Minnesota: my view of small town America
  "The first view-on-the-street webcam in Sauk Centre, Minnesota"

That's a link to the Lemming's webcam, looking out on the corner of Ash and South 9th in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Right now, there's not much to see but a whole lot of dark. And it'll be off for a few hours, later in the evening. But the Lemming plans to have the view available again, well before morning.

Back to Minnesota and weather. It's like the joke goes: 'here in Minnesota, we don't have a climate, we have weather.' This is a state where it's typically hot, cold, wet, dry, and anything in between. One of the Lemming's favorite Minnesota headlines, from decades past, was "National Guard Arctic Maneuvers Canceled Due to Inclement Weather."

This time, happily, the 'storm' part of this weather system stayed mostly to the south of us Minnesotans. The part we did get, most of us dealt with the same way we do every time: Get inside (except for winter sports enthusiasts - another topic), wait for the storm to pass, then dig out.

Then there are the folks who operate the road-clearing machinery. They're out clearing snow as it comes down - unless it gets really bad.

Here's Looking At You: Chicago Gets the Eye

"The odyssey of Chicago's new Eye sculpture"
Arts, Chicago Tribune (July 3, 2010)

Or, "How the giant sculpture got from rural Wisconsin to the Loop"

"On the ides of June, while squinting at a cluster of threatening clouds from his perch on a grassy construction site just outside of Sparta, Wis. this small city, Chicago sculptor Tony Tasset is, to use his words, totally freaking out.

" 'You know those reality shows?' Tasset says, a slightly uneasy smile on his face. "This is that part when the team is up against their deadline, and it looks like they're never going to finish on time.'

"Tasset's 'team' is made up of a half-dozen fiberglass workers at Sparta's Fast Corp. (Fiberglass Animals Shapes and Trademarks), who have been assigned to construct the artist's largest piece to date: a giant eyeball aptly named Eye, which, upon completion, will stand three stories tall and stare east from the Loop's Pritzker Park, at State and Van Buren streets. Tasset was commissioned for the job last fall by the Chicago Loop Alliance, and Fast Corp., with which he had collaborated on prior sculptures (including a 12-foot-high eyeball), took the engineering reins earlier this year...."

Maybe a more important question than how this titanic eyeball got to Chicago's Loop is why?! The article answers that, too:

"...Eye was commissioned by the Chicago Loop Alliance as part of its premiere Art Loop installation: a new, temporary work 'by an important artist' to be installed each summer in the Loop and paired with free programming. For its part, the CLA is promoting the sculpture as if it were the next 'Bean.'

" 'We wanted to have someone do something that we thought was fun and a little irreverent,' said CLA Executive Director Ty Tabing, who sat on the committee of art-centric locals that picked Tasset as the debut Art Loop artist. 'His art is not too highbrow,' Tabing said via telephone in June, 'and still very provocative and thought-provoking at the same time.'..."

I'm not sure that "thought-provoking" is quite what I'd call a 30-foot eyeball staring across the heads of Chicago's commuters. Or maybe I'm being too narrow in the way I define "thought."

It's possible that the sight of that outsized, disembodied eyeball will encourage some to give up drink, see a psychiatrist, or run - screaming - to fling themselves in Buckingham fountain a few blocks east. Provided the traffic doesn't get them on the way.

Okay: "a few blocks east and a little south."

One thing puzzles me about the article. I don't mean some group of citizens intentionally arranging for a huge ersatz eyeball to be placed in their city: 'art' folks have been doing weird, bizarre things for most of my life.

It's that cryptic reference to "Bean." Someone who lives in Chicago and follows culture and the arts there probably knows what "Bean" is - and if that person is you, I'd appreciate it if you'd share your knowledge in a comment. Thanks in advance!

Fairy Castle in Museum of Science and Industry

"Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle"
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago


(from Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, used w/o permission)

"Colleen Moore

"Silent film star Colleen Moore was always fascinated by dolls and doll houses. She owned several elaborate doll houses as a child, but later in life her father, Charles Morrison, suggested that she should pursue her passion for miniatures and doll houses by creating the 'doll house' of her dreams. Her position as one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood gave her the resources to produce a miniature home of fantastic proportions. Beginning in 1928, Moore enlisted the help of many talented professionals to help her realize her vision.

"Creating the Fairy Castle
"Horace Jackson, an architect and set designer who worked for First National Studios, created the floor plan and layout of the castle with the basic idea that 'the architecture must have no sense of reality. We must invent a structure that is everybody's conception of an enchanted castle.'

"Moore also enlisted the help of art director and interior designer Harold Grieve. Grieve had designed the interiors for Moore's actual mansion, so he was a natural to create the interiors of her fantasy castle. ..."


(from Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, used w/o permission)

That color photo shows the great hall of the Fairy Castle. The stairs have no railings. That isn't a design oversight or construction shortcut. The people in the castle are fairies, and have wings. That helps with balance - and probably makes them less afraid of heights than we would be.

The great hall scene is part of a virtual tour that's a couple clicks away from the Colleen Moore page I linked to. There are 12 photos on the tour - plus one at the intro page.

I saw the Fairy Castle itself once, years ago. It's an impressive piece of miniature art and sculpture.

It may seem like an odd sort of thing to find in the Museum of Science and Industry: but I suppose one justification would be that it represents the sort of fine detail work that goes into making small models. Lots of small models.

Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau Website: Improved a Little Too Much

Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau

"The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau is the premier sales and marketing organization that promotes Chicago’s world-class assets to global leisure travel and convention business to ensure the economic vitality of the City and its member business community...."

I've used this website in the past, to learn about Chicago. It's been upgraded since then: but after a quick look around, I've decided that they haven't improved to the point where it's too pretty to be useful.

You may find the search function useful, if you don't find what you're looking for on the home page. I found an interactive map that way. It's a Google service, by the looks of it. And, intuitive it's not, for me at least. I haven't a clue what the difference is between Dining, DINING and Dining - three separate and distinct checkoffs. It gets more interesting - or confusing - a bit lower. You can check off any of the following:

• Shopping
• SHOPPING
• Shopping
• Shopping

Each time I clicked one of the checkoffs, something flickered in the center of the map, and that's all that happened.

I probably have the wrong sort of computer or the wrong browser.

Or, there's a glitch somewhere.

On the upside, there's the usual array of more-or-less breathless description of Chicago's attractions, like: "The curtain is up on Chicago’s vital theater scene! Talented local companies and top-notch traveling troupes are on stage in great classic theaters, smaller venues, and even storefronts – and they’re generating rave reviews...." (theater)

With a little work - and going to Google Maps until Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau gets their interactive map fixed - I think this would still be a useful resource for someone planning a trip to Chicago.

I'd look for other resources, too, though.

Chicago's Art Institute: Modern Art Isn't Necessarily Silly

"The Art Institute of Chicago"

"The purposes for which the Art Institute of Chicago is formed are: to found, build, maintain, and operate museums, schools, libraries of art, and theaters; to provide support facilities in connection therewith; to conduct appropriate activities conducive to the artistic development of the region; and to conduct and participate in appropriate activities of national and international significance;

"To form, conserve, research, publish, and exhibit a permanent collection of objects of art of all kinds; to present temporary exhibitions that include loaned objects of art of all kinds; and to cultivate and extend the arts by appropriate means;..." ("Mission")

I know: but that's the way their mission statement's punctuation went.

I saw part of a "Top Cat" cartoon, where Top Cat observes that the message of one modern painting was 'don't paint while drunk.'

I'll admit that quite a bit of contemporary 'art' seems to be a greater tribute to the marketing abilities of artists than to their creative talents. But, buried behind expensive tracts of splattered canvas, I think there's something to study, too. And not just by people interested in abnormal psychology.

Chicago's Art Museum's website is mostly a tool to draw people into the museum, induce them to give money to the museum, or interest them in what the museum's shop has to offer (including pictures of Claude Monet's Water Lilies).

On the other hand, browsing through it is a fairly easy way to see what's happening in the art world. From the curators' point of view, anyway.

Model Cities Look Great, But I Couldn't Live There

"Biggest Little Cities: Models for Urban Planning"
Wired (February 29, 2009)

"Michael Chesko is no architect. He's not a structural engineer or an urban planner either. But he just spent more than 2,000 hours constructing this highly detailed, nearly perfect scale model of midtown Manhattan. Chesko cut, sanded, and glued the mini metropolis—now on exhibit at the New York Skyscraper Museum—using only an X-Acto knife, a nail file, and a Dremel (and lots of balsa wood). But the 50-year-old software engineer was having fun; he's been building little cities since he was a kid.

"Model cities aren't just for show; they can have real utility. In 1957...."

There's a video (3:51), which may or may not load in your lifetime, and fifteen photos of model cities. As the article says, they're not just for show. Some are used for engineering studies. City planning is another use.

Cool photos, a video that still hasn't loaded, and background on scale models of cities: this is a pretty good resource.

That video still hasn't loaded: but the little 3/4 circle icon spins around very smoothly.

Eco-Bridge or Not, This Looks Like a Good Idea

"Chicago Eco-Bridge to 2016"
Jetson Green (February 20, 2009)

"This conceptual proposal for Chicago's Monroe Harbor was designed in honor of the great American architect Daniel Burnham, but perhaps more importantly, to secure Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic games. The proposal is a modern interpretation of Burnam's 1909 master plan for Chicago. In a land locked city, the Chicago Eco-Bridge offers an extension of the landscape that would dramatically change the face of the city, and perhaps the United States...."

The post does a good job of describing this impressive - and ambitious - project, with maps, renderings, and a diagram or two. In one of the renderings, the "central observation tower" looks a lot like Brancusi's "Bird in Space:" on a gargantuan scale. "Chicago Eco-Bridge to 2016" compares it to "a next-generation Statue of Liberty of sorts, welcoming the world once again to America."

That reference to "the great American architect Daniel Burnham" may be a little obscure. From Chicago Park District:

"...Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham imagined Northerly Island as one of the northernmost points in a series of manmade islands stretching between Grant and Jackson Parks. His vision for this park included lagoons, harbors, beaches, recreation areas, a scenic drive and grand stretches of green space that would provide breathtaking views of the lake and City skyline...."

Northerly Island was the only part of the island chain build, and for a half-century or so it was mostly a small airfield: Meigs Field. Since 1996, Meigs Field has been gone, and Northerly Island is growing into something closer to Burnham's idea.

More about Northerly Island, at:

• "Northerly Island "
  Chicago Park District (Spring, 2009)

View Larger Map

Four-Eared Cat: Cute Quirk of Feline Genes

"Yoda the Cat Astounds With Four Ears"
FOXNews (August 19, 2008)

"They say cats have nine lives, but this one has four ears.

"A genetic abnormality gave Yoda, of Downers Grove, Ill., four ear flaps instead of two.

"Ted and Valerie Rock first spied the little guy in 2006 at neighborhood bar on the South Side of Chicago before a Bears game. He was the last of a litter of eight put up for adoption by the bar's owner...."

The article doesn't say anything about whether Yoda likes to be scratched behind the ears.

Cats with extra toes are fairly common: this is the first time I've heard of one with extra external ears.

Chicago's Marina City

"Marina City"
GreatBuildings.com

Standing like twin corncobs on the north side of the Chicago River, Marina City has been one of Chicago's more distinctive landmarks since the sixties.

The GreatBuildings.com page is a pretty good starting place to read about Marina City, and has a good set of photos.

The link that's supposed to be to Marina Towers' building management (www.marinatowerscondo.com) seems have changed hands, though: it leads to what appears to be a link farm of sorts.

"Marina Management" (www.marina-city.com) seems to be a better place to look for information about Marina City.

---

Update, April 9, 2008

I missed "an extensive online resource" on Marina City: "Marina City Online."
("CONDOMINIUM LISTINGS & RENTALS • RECENT TRANSFERS • NEWS • COMMERCIAL DIRECTORY • MARINA CITY HISTORY & IMAGES • FLOOR PLATES")

Thanks to Steven Dahlman | MCO

Fordham Spire, or Chicago Spire: It's Going to be Big

Unless something very bad happens between now and some time in 2010, Chicago is going to have a new skyscraper in about three years. I'm pretty sure that it'll be described as an eyesore, a beautiful work of sculpture, and everything in between.

The project started being called the Fordham Spire. In more recent years, it's been re-named the Chicago Spire, and gotten a green light for construction.

My excuse for posting this is that at least one blog mentions the project: "The Fordham Spire was approved!" (March 31, 2006).

There's also a forum about the Chicago Spire at Skyscraper.com, the site with a pretty good fact pages on the project, starting with "Chicago Spire."

This 150-floor building reminds me, more than anything else, of some sort of flower bud. A quarter of a mile tall.