Chicagoans to Build CTA Rail Cars in Chicago for Chinese Government
Amid much pomp and circumstance, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Transit Authority, a bevy of politicians, and representatives of CRRC Sifang broke ground yesterday on a new factory in the Hegewisch neighborhood that will be used to produce CTA subway cars. Much of the hot air being blown by Hizzonor and other local pols was about how this is the first time since 1964 that rail cars for Chicago’s transit system are being made in...
Thanks For Nothing: Parking Lot Preservation Prevails, Lucas’ Lady Lashes Luddites
The proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is another step toward leaving Chicago behind. In a strongly-worded statement today, Mellody Hobson, the wife of Hollywood director George Lucas, lashed out at those who looked her husband’s $700 million gift horse in the mouth. We are now seriously pursuing locations outside of Chicago. If the museum is forced to leave, it will be because of the Friends of the Parks The museum is in a...
Will the Burgeoning South Loop Ever Get Its Two Missing Chicago River Bridges Back?
The South Branch of the Chicago River is marked by bridges at every street it meets from Lake all the way down to Harrison. Ten bridges in all, and then suddenly — nothing. Aerial images from Google and Apple Maps clearly show there used to be a bridge at the next junction, Polk Street, and two blocks down at Taylor Street. But they no longer cross the South Branch of the Chicago River. Over the past couple decades, as the...
Tennis, Anyone? XS Tennis Village Breaks Ground In Washington Park Area
A host of city dignitaries including 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell and Mayor Rahm Emanuel were on hand earlier this week for the groundbreaking of a new XS Tennis Village at 5256 South State Street in the Robert Taylor Homes neighborhood. The planned 112,000-square foot tennis facility is being developed in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority. It’s intended to be a focal point in the Washington Park neighborhood where tennis...
Amtrak Commits $12 Million To Union Station Rehab Project
If you’ve spent much time at Chicago Union Station lately, you probably noticed a chilly reception. I don’t mean the Amtrak staff. It’s been downright cold inside the station itself. There’s good news, though: the station’s drafty waiting rooms could be much toastier this time next year. The 90-year-old Chicago Union Station will be getting a facelift later this year. Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced Amtrak would pay $12 million...
Chicago’s Lucas Museum: Still “Iconic,” and now “Organic.”
It’s been almost three months since we heard anything official from George Lucas and the organizers of the Museum of Narrative Art he plans to build in Chicago’s Museum Campus. But the Chicago Architecture Blog was in the house when Mr. Lucas, himself, started spilling tantalizing little beans about the lakefront project. Speaking to Charlie Rose as part of Chicago Ideas Week, the Tribune reports that Mr. Lucas has very...
