Wayback Wednesday: New Year’s Day 10 Years Ago
Today, freshly spaded from the archive is a photograph of the Chicago skyline taken on a quiet, somber morning from Lincoln Park January 1st, 2010. Even the squirrels were nursing hangovers. Chicago skyline from Lincoln Park, January 1, 2010...
Groundbreaking For New North Side Lakefront Trail
The City’s ongoing project to decongest the popular Lake Michigan walking/jogging/biking/skating/etc… path took another step forward over the weekend. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the rebuilding of the path from Fullerton Parkway south to North Avenue. The result will be adjacent, but buffered, bicycle and pedestrian lanes in the Fullerton area. Those modes then diverge into independent paths until they rejoin...
Chicago’s City Parks: Ghosts of Cemeteries Past
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared a few days ago on the corporate blog of Moss Architecture and Planning studio in North Center as “Spooky Architectre: Cities of the Dead.” In the spirit of Halloween, we’re ghosting it here for you to enjoy. No compensation changed hands. We just thought it was a good read. Today young and old alike will take part in a holiday as American as apple pie—oh wait,...
Lincoln Park’s Coolest New Homes Are For Real Animals
The newest residences being built in Lincoln Park are going to have butt-clenchingly strong air conditioning. The Chicago Plan Commission has approved the construction of new habitats for the Lincoln Park Zoo’s polar bears, and a new flock of endangered African penguins. The zoo will spend $22 million on “new, expansive digs” designed by The Portico Group in Seattle and Chicago’s Interactive Design...
Ravinia’s Door to Naughtiness
We’ve been to the Ravinia section of Highland Park a number of times over the last ten years, mostly by train. So the Ravinia Metra station (510 Roger Williams Avenue) is a familiar sight. Many people already know that the Frost and Granger-designed building from 1889 is the oldest Metra station on Metra’s northern lines. Some might even know that it wasn’t always where it is now — it was move back from the...
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, 2012 – Part 9
What’s better than a huge Christmas lights display? A free Christmas lights display. Zoo Lights is going on at the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the after dark event is totally gratis. You won’t see a lot of animals, but some still prowl in the darkness. We’ve seen a bear, a wolf, and some kind of big cat stalking around the enclosures by the light of Old Saint Nick. This year there are some new light displays, so if you...
Status Update: The $22 Million Mansueto Mansion Off Lincoln Park
Chicagoland has no shortage of mansions in its suburbs, and the city of Chicago has its fair share of old, historic mansions. But how often is a massive new mansion built in the downtown of a major city? Only very rarely. Yet that’s what’s happening in across the street from Lincoln Park in the city’s Park West neighborhood. In a move that would be the envy of SimCity players everywhere, local billionaire Joe Mansueto is...