Key Link in Navy Pier Flyover Unchanged, But Still Improved
Six months ago we showed you a picture of the Navy Pier Flyover as it nearly, almost, just about connected to the Lake Shore Drive Bridge. Four months later, Streeterville Spy Joel popped by to check on the construction progress, and… oh, wait… well, hmm… October 2019 Navy Pier Flyover construction (Courtesy of Streeterville Spy Joel) It’s exactly the same. The ramp that puts the “flyover” in the...
Obama Center Design Revised Again
The design of the Barack Obama Presidential Center has been tweaked again. Today the Obama Foundation released new information and renderings of the museum campus it wants to build in Jackson Park. October 219 rendering of the Obama Presidential Center (Courtesy of the Obama Foundation) The most notable change is in the main museum tower. It’s still 235 feet tall, but its shape is a little slimmer and it features large...
The Parts Have Arrived to Finish a North Side Recreation Trail
Gaps may work for David Letterman’s teeth or buying blue jeans, but they are terrible for bicycle paths. That’s why people from Ravenswood to Evanston are excited about the giant hulks of steel sitting on the east bank of the Chicago River’s north branch. Lincoln Village Pedestrian Bridge under construction in October 2019 (Courtesy of West Rogers Park Spy Joel) West Rogers Park Spy Joel spotted the two halves of the...
Linear Riparian Park Takes Shape Along the Chicago River
Chicago’s newest linear park is piecing together nicely along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Avondale Spy Joel sent in photographs showing construction progress on the 312 RiverRun. Rendering Reality (in progress) When complete, the serpentine bridge will fly for two miles over the river and under West Addison Street to connect Clark Park with California Park. You can see how a great arc of bridge rises and curves over...
Two Charities Propose New West Side High School Campus
The newest high school in Chicago may land in the city’s Lawndale neighborhood. That’s where Chicago Hope Academy hopes to move its operations, and establish an athletic campus for its students, and the community. Also involved in the project is the Chicago Lions Charitable Association, which says it, “fosters and promotes rugby sports competition more broadly among the general populations.” The location of...
Art Institute of Chicago Buildings Getting a Makeover
One of the city’s most important buildings is in for a change. Spanish architecture powerhouse Barozzi/Veiga plans to transform the Art Institute of Chicago’s multi-building campus which sprawls across the Metra tracks in Grant Park. The Art Institute’s good side (file) The company is named for its founders, Fabrizio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga. We wanted to assess their museum chops, but unfortunately, there’s...
Architecture Party at the Water Tower! No, Really.
If you’ve looked at the “Hang in there, kitty!” calendar tacked to your cubicle partition you may have noticed that posted in proximity to the perilously pendulous puss is a fat red circle around Saturday, September 14th. As a good student of Chicago architecture, we don’t have to tell you what that day means. But in case you spent the majority of freshman history class doodling cranes and girders protruding...
A tree grows in Streeterville. And a bush. And a slide. And a sandbox.
The greening of Chicago’s core continues, but not at the hands of the city’s Park District. Instead many of Chicago’s newest parks come through the work of private firms building skyscrapers, and the parks are tacked on as revenue drivers, or out of political necessity. Bennett Park (August 2019. Photo by Cory Dewald, Courtesy of Related Midwest) The latest park to land in downtown is Bennett Park, in the core of...
Fed’s Report on Jackson Park Obama Center a Little Rough; Here Are the Highlights
A draft of the federal government’s report on the proposed construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center is out. It was prepared for the National Park Service, the Federal Highway Administration, and IDOT by the City of Chicago. The report spells out what happens if the Obama Center is built in Jackson Park, and what it really means. Obama Presidential Center model (Courtesy of the Obama Foundation) It’s a lot of...
Navy Pier Flyover Almost Reaches Lake Shore Drive Bridge
It’s been a lot of years that cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers, people pushing prams, and just anyone who enjoys walking along Chicago’s lakefront have been waiting for the Navy Pier Flyover to be completed. While northern sections have been done and open to the public for some time, the key bottleneck in the whole lakefront parade — the Lake Shore Drive Bridge — is still a work in progress. Loop Spy Joel sent in these...
Recent From Proposals
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Long-Vacant Edgewater Lot Gets Yet Another Building Plan November 12, 2019 -
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