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...
The View From Grant Park Keeps A-Changin’
If you’ve gone to a festival, played softball, or just walked around Grant Park in the last decade or so, you’ve been a first-hand witness to the changing of Chicago’s skyline. 340 On The Park, The Legacy, Heritage At Millennium Park, Roosevelt University’s Wabash Building, Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the 300 East Randolph vertical expansion all added drama to the park border. Chicago skyline...
Still Holding Lucas Museum Hostage, Park Pals Have Ransom Demand List
After nearly suing the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art out of existence, Crain’s Chicago Business reports that gadfly group Friends of the Parks has a list of what it wants from the city in exchange for dropping the lawsuit. Crain’s describes the enumeration as a “wish list,” as if it was Ralphie asking Santa for an official a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. But considering that the...
Building Great Chicago Open Spaces From Above and Below
Do you love parks? Of course you do! Do you love construction? Of course you do! Like chocolate and peanut butter, the good people over at Walsh Construction have put together parks and construction into a single video about their work creating great urban open spaces in Chicago. You’ve seen the big green Walsh logo in places high and low across this city. When it comes to parks, it was the general contractor on...
Lucas Museum Groundbreaking Imperiled; Mayor Accused of “Cover Up”
The city of Chicago’s effort to throw out a lawsuit opposing the construction of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Chicago’s lakefront has failed. Today, federal District Judge John Darrah ruled that the lawsuit trying to stop the new museum from replacing a surface parking lot next to Soldier Field can move forward. The lawsuit was brought by Friends of the Parks, which doesn’t think the museum belongs on...
Tying up the Loose Ends at Maggie Daley Park
The lakeside park that started with a bang of controversy is wrapping up with the whimper of compromise as the Chicago Park District ties up the loose ends at Maggie Daley Park (337 East Randolph Street). Named for the former Mayor’s late wife, the park’s pre-construction phase was dogged by controversy as various local interest groups sought to have the existing park changed, or sometimes not changed, to suit their...
Mayors Emanuel and Daley Dedicate Maggie Daley Park
Ribbon-cutting season continues in Chicago with the formal dedication and opening of Maggie Daley Park. The northeast corner of Grant Park, formerly known as Daley Bicentennial Plaza, recently underwent a $60 million renovation to bring it up to modern standards for an urban park, and to make it engaging for a greater number of people. The Chicago Architecture Blog’s Jeff Johnson was there as Mayor Rahm Emanuel held court amid a...
Parks Promoters Warn Chicago’s Greenspace Being Nibbled to Death
A restaurant here, a museum there, and the next thing you know — there’s no more parks. That’s the warning coming from the Friends of the Parks organization over the latest round of plans to repurpose Chicago’s parkland. FotP is well-known for its battle against the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which the city wants to plop onto a surface parking lot near Soldier Field. It’s also fighting...
A Doggone Good Outcome For Maggie Daley Park’s Unpopular Canine Ban
There were no TV crews at the Grant Park Advisory Council & Conservancy meeting on Thursday night. Not like a month ago when the agenda included the park’s dog ban—a move that generated considerable resident and media heat. No, the fourth estate has moved on, attracted to the next shiny object. In fact, the audience of locals was quite a bit smaller this time as well. The only thing I witnessed that might pass for canine activism...
Hate Lucas on the Lakefront? This Will Make You Lose Your Mind
This is the fourth episode of our Chicago Neverbuilt series where we celebrate the work of great architects that, for one reason or another, failed to make the transition from imagination to reality. ~~There are a lot of people foaming at the mouth lately about the placement of the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Some people hate the design. Some people hate the location. Some people hate both. For those of you not happy...
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