Loop Plot Zoned For a 600-Foot Tower Getting a 140-foot Hotel
There was a time when we’d sit in the Starbucks in the Hotel Allegro, write stories about architecture, and gaze through the rain wondering what might become of the surface parking lot next to the wonderful Randolph Tower (188 West Randolph Street). 180 West Randolph Street The wondering is now over, as 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly has told his constituents that the West Loop’s Convexity Properties wants to put up a...
Chicago Neverbuilt — Episode 8: City Hall Tower Solved
Our Chicago Neverbuilt series continues to celebrate the work of great architects that, for one reason or another, failed to make the transition from imagination to reality. Several weeks ago, we showed you a picture of Chicago’s city hall with a great big office tower on top of it. Of course, City Hall has no such tower and the picture we came across while digging through some archives lacked any explanation for the tower. Now...
The Ultimate Chicago Architecture Collage
From tote bags to corporate logos to web sites, people love mashing all of Chicago’s architectural landmarks into one image of a fantasy skyline that couldn’t possibly exist. But wouldn’t it be great if a professional artist took a whack at it? And had a room-sized canvas to work with? And the backing of a big-name architecture firm? That’s what you see above. It’s a mural called, appropriately...
A History of Chicago’s City Hall and Cook County Building
Chicago’s City Hall and County Building is intriguing. It is not a single building but is, instead, two identical buildings joined as one. The County Building—(118 North Clark Street) facing east and Daley Plaza —is the slightly older of the two (1907) and houses Cook County department offices. City Hall (121 North LaSalle Street) faces west and was completed in 1911. It contains the Mayor’s office, the City Clerk, City Council,...
Bubbling Green in Chicago
In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, here’s a shot of the fountain at Daley Plaza all colored green.
