The Crain Communications Building - Also known as: Diamond Building
Formerly: 150 North Michigan Avenue
Formerly: Smurfit-Stone Building
Formerly: Stone Container Building
Formerly: Associates Center
The Smurfit-Stone Building (now Crain Communications Building) in Chicago, Illinois is one of a kind. Some may argue it is the most unique building to distinguish the Chicago skyline from others. Finished in 1984, the 582 foot (177 m) skyscraper at the northwest corner of Grant and Millennium Parks, nestled between the classical columns of the Chicago Cultural Center, the cone-topped Two Prudential, and the plain boxes of Prudential headquarters and the AON Center, has a slanted top that carves through the top 10 of its 41 floors. The official count of 41 floors does not include 5 levels of unused space in the narrowest portion at the top of the diamond. Some wags have pointed out that the Crain Communications Building, with its diamond-shape top, looks like a skyscraper slashed with a knife.
This building is one of Chicago's signature structures, what it lacks in height, it more than makes up for in style. Its gleaming white exterior is accented with dark pinstripes of windows. Its orientation embraces Lake Michigan just a few hundred yards away, while at the same time it's characteristic slanted roof mimics, mocks, or yearns to be part of the sailboat crowd in the nearby Chicago Harbor.
The architects didn't merely take a square and cut a wedge out of it like a children's block. They cut it on an angle, using a simple subtractive motion to create a diamond shape in the sky. Closer examination reveals that it isn't even a simple diamond, but rather two nearly identical triangles, but that is a detail lost on most observers. What they delight in is the notion that the building is still not done inventing itself. That it is growing with a leading angle like a massive lily sprouting on the lakeshore. Others fail to see the beauty and whimsy intrinsic to this building. Instead, they see it as an affront to the other classic Chicago architecture on Michigan Avenue.
But if not for those buildings that stand out, would not the Avenue's marble cliff seem that much more ordinary and under appreciated?
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Saturday, October 27, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Old iron fire escape Chicago IL
In Chicago (a city that has a special history with fire), people are so used to seeing the old iron fire escapes on the outside of buildings built anywhere from the late 1880s up thru the 1930s that they just blend into the rest of the noise.
Every facet of the urban landscape has a story to tell; so much so that we tend to take for granted much of our surroundings. Have you ever stopped to consider the history or unique composition of a fire escape? Within a year after the first patent for a fire escape was issued in 1887 (to Ms. Anna Connelly), the U.S. Patent Office had issued patents for 1,100 competitive designs and unique styles, encompassing many different forms and every conceivable material. The real beauty of Ms. Connelly's invention was that these inexpensive metal structures could be attached to both new and existing buildings.
Does the complex in which you live or work have a fire escape? Would you use this historical architectural curiosity if there was a fire in your building? If well maintained, a fire escape is still a life saving structure. Unfortunately, it's often difficult to tell if a fire escape is safe to use or not.
Residential buildings tend to have an additional, unique set of problems when it comes to their old emergency escapes. It seems that they get a lot of use ... just not for their intended purpose. City inspectors and fire escape maintenance companies commonly report the passages being exploited as urban gardens, personal balconies, clothes dryers, and smoking lounges.
Hanging there on buildings all over The Loop these Escheresque, geometrical structures, add yet another distinctive element to the facades of Chicago's historic buildings. Today, with the advent of new fangled construction materials and redundant fire prevention systems, Chicago's updated building codes have done away with the fire escape as a component of new construction, going so far as to prohibit them in all but very, very specific circumstances.
Order your "Old iron fire escape Chicago, IL" Print at Fine Art America
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Every facet of the urban landscape has a story to tell; so much so that we tend to take for granted much of our surroundings. Have you ever stopped to consider the history or unique composition of a fire escape? Within a year after the first patent for a fire escape was issued in 1887 (to Ms. Anna Connelly), the U.S. Patent Office had issued patents for 1,100 competitive designs and unique styles, encompassing many different forms and every conceivable material. The real beauty of Ms. Connelly's invention was that these inexpensive metal structures could be attached to both new and existing buildings.
Does the complex in which you live or work have a fire escape? Would you use this historical architectural curiosity if there was a fire in your building? If well maintained, a fire escape is still a life saving structure. Unfortunately, it's often difficult to tell if a fire escape is safe to use or not.
Residential buildings tend to have an additional, unique set of problems when it comes to their old emergency escapes. It seems that they get a lot of use ... just not for their intended purpose. City inspectors and fire escape maintenance companies commonly report the passages being exploited as urban gardens, personal balconies, clothes dryers, and smoking lounges.
Hanging there on buildings all over The Loop these Escheresque, geometrical structures, add yet another distinctive element to the facades of Chicago's historic buildings. Today, with the advent of new fangled construction materials and redundant fire prevention systems, Chicago's updated building codes have done away with the fire escape as a component of new construction, going so far as to prohibit them in all but very, very specific circumstances.
Order your "Old iron fire escape Chicago, IL" Print at Fine Art America
or Download the royalty-free digital photo 'Old iron fire escape Chicago, IL' directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Royalty Free Photographs for Print and Web - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD) - Picture Postcards - Calendars - Greeting Cards
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Chicago EL Train
The Loop (historically Union Loop, or commonly Loop) is the two mile circuit of elevated railroad that forms the hub of the 'L' rapid transit system in Chicago, Illinois. The surrounding area is also known as The Loop community area.
Though the distinction of operating the first elevated railway does not belong to Chicago (New York city's, opening in 1867, has that honor), Chicago did try many times to create such a service. With the first attempt in 1869, over 70 companies were created for the purpose of starting an elevated rail system between 1872 and 1900. The accolade of opening Chicago's first rapid transit line went to the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company. It opened on 12 October 1897, providing direct service into the center of Chicago. By 1909, the city of Chicago enjoyed one of the best rapid transit systems in the world, providing reliable unified service to outlying communities and neighborhoods then in existence.
At the turn of the century the old elevated structures, some more than a century old, were being rebuilt, ensuring their survival well into the twenty-first century.
Order your "Chicago EL Train" Print at Fine Art America
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Though the distinction of operating the first elevated railway does not belong to Chicago (New York city's, opening in 1867, has that honor), Chicago did try many times to create such a service. With the first attempt in 1869, over 70 companies were created for the purpose of starting an elevated rail system between 1872 and 1900. The accolade of opening Chicago's first rapid transit line went to the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company. It opened on 12 October 1897, providing direct service into the center of Chicago. By 1909, the city of Chicago enjoyed one of the best rapid transit systems in the world, providing reliable unified service to outlying communities and neighborhoods then in existence.
At the turn of the century the old elevated structures, some more than a century old, were being rebuilt, ensuring their survival well into the twenty-first century.
Order your "Chicago EL Train" Print at Fine Art America
or Download the royalty-free digital photo 'Chicago EL Train' directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Royalty Free Photographs for Print and Web - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD) - Picture Postcards - Calendars - Greeting Cards
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Monday, October 22, 2012
Carbide and Carbon and Wrigley Building - Two Chicago Classics
Left middle: The Carbide & Carbon Building, 40 floors, 503 feet / 153 meter, at the southwest corner of Michigan and Water, completed in 1929, was built in Art Deco style as an office tower. Today it is the Hard Rock Hotel.
This it is not your typical Art Deco Chicago skyscraper.
Most of Chicago's Art Deco architecture is clad in light gray Bedford limestone. The Carbon & Carbide Building, however, has a unique array of colors covering its facade. Composed of a polished black granite base and a tower covered in deep green terra cotta, it stands out as a one-of-a-kind landmark on the Michigan Avenue skyline. Extensive use of gold leaf is another highlight of the building's features. It's not just on the edges of the building - it virtually coats the spire and drapes itself across the shoulders and setbacks of the upper levels. But the glitter is not reserved for those in the stratosphere - the gold accents continue all the way down to street level. All that glitz isn't an accident. There is an urban legend which states that the shape and color of the building were inspired by a champagne bottle. It's not that hard to imagine it as a green curvy bottle with bubbly foaming from the top and dripping down the sides.
With its celebratory origins, the Carbide & Carbon Building is a truly authentic building that simply refuses to be ignored.
Left back: The biggest, brightest jewel in Chicago's architectural crown belongs not to some glass and steel skyscraper, but to an historic office building with wedding cake flair and a clock tower. The Wrigley Building, completed in 1921, is actually two buildings joined by a 14th floor skywalk and a street-level arcade. Its gleaming white facade is an icon of the city, even when the quarter million terra cotta tiles are lit in different colors by banks of floodlights.
The shape of the lot the Wrigley building is on is quite an advantage. The space is an obtuse triangle with two sides facing south and southeast. This gives the building maximum exposure to pedestrian, vehicular, and boat traffic. The remaining side faces into the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which was designed to reflect the Wrigley Building's beauty and acknowledge its presence through setbacks that keep Trump from crowding this beloved edifice.
Order your "Carbide and Carbon and Wrigley Building - Two Chicago Classics" Print at Fine Art America
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This it is not your typical Art Deco Chicago skyscraper.
Most of Chicago's Art Deco architecture is clad in light gray Bedford limestone. The Carbon & Carbide Building, however, has a unique array of colors covering its facade. Composed of a polished black granite base and a tower covered in deep green terra cotta, it stands out as a one-of-a-kind landmark on the Michigan Avenue skyline. Extensive use of gold leaf is another highlight of the building's features. It's not just on the edges of the building - it virtually coats the spire and drapes itself across the shoulders and setbacks of the upper levels. But the glitter is not reserved for those in the stratosphere - the gold accents continue all the way down to street level. All that glitz isn't an accident. There is an urban legend which states that the shape and color of the building were inspired by a champagne bottle. It's not that hard to imagine it as a green curvy bottle with bubbly foaming from the top and dripping down the sides.
With its celebratory origins, the Carbide & Carbon Building is a truly authentic building that simply refuses to be ignored.
Left back: The biggest, brightest jewel in Chicago's architectural crown belongs not to some glass and steel skyscraper, but to an historic office building with wedding cake flair and a clock tower. The Wrigley Building, completed in 1921, is actually two buildings joined by a 14th floor skywalk and a street-level arcade. Its gleaming white facade is an icon of the city, even when the quarter million terra cotta tiles are lit in different colors by banks of floodlights.
The shape of the lot the Wrigley building is on is quite an advantage. The space is an obtuse triangle with two sides facing south and southeast. This gives the building maximum exposure to pedestrian, vehicular, and boat traffic. The remaining side faces into the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which was designed to reflect the Wrigley Building's beauty and acknowledge its presence through setbacks that keep Trump from crowding this beloved edifice.
Order your "Carbide and Carbon and Wrigley Building - Two Chicago Classics" Print at Fine Art America
or Download the royalty-free digital photo 'Carbide and Carbon and Wrigley Building - Two Chicago Classics' directly from: CT-Graphics.com
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Sunday, October 21, 2012
Chicago Theatre - This theater exudes class
The Chicago Theatre on State Street is a classic Chicago landmark. This beautiful, historic French Baroque building is in very good shape. Its prominent lit-up sign and postcard-worthy facade with the iconic Marquee as well as its wonderfully elegant interior: The word "Historic" doesn't even begin to cover this place!
It's hard to believe that this gorgeous old theater started its life as a movie palace, and that famous artist such as Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra performed here - between movies! Stepping into the Chicago theater, you really feel the history of the place. The grand staircase, the vaulting ceiling, stained glass windows, ornate columns, the chandelier scream Paris, and the theater itself, ornate, with gold walls, red velvet curtains and scenes from mythology painted at the tops of the walls - they all send you back in time. The word that comes to mind when you walk in the spacious, well-finished entryway and then take a seat in the theatre in your plush chair is.. class.
I can understand how places like this helped people make it through the Depression!
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It's hard to believe that this gorgeous old theater started its life as a movie palace, and that famous artist such as Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra performed here - between movies! Stepping into the Chicago theater, you really feel the history of the place. The grand staircase, the vaulting ceiling, stained glass windows, ornate columns, the chandelier scream Paris, and the theater itself, ornate, with gold walls, red velvet curtains and scenes from mythology painted at the tops of the walls - they all send you back in time. The word that comes to mind when you walk in the spacious, well-finished entryway and then take a seat in the theatre in your plush chair is.. class.
I can understand how places like this helped people make it through the Depression!
Order your "Chicago Theatre - This theater exudes class" Print at Fine Art America
or Download the royalty-free digital photo 'Chicago Theatre - This theater exudes class' directly from: CT-Graphics.com
Royalty Free Photographs for Print and Web - Image Customization - Old or Damaged or Polaroid Photo Restoration - Conversion of Slides and Paper Pictures to Digital (CD/DVD) - Picture Postcards - Calendars - Greeting Cards
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