Your 10 Best Bets for Open House Chicago 2016
The Chicago Architecture Foundation’s annual Open House Chicago event happens this weekend (October 15-16, 2016). If you’re new to town, it’s a two-day event where dozens of the city’s interesting buildings and other spaces are open to the public. Many of them are private places where the public isn’t normally welcome. The good news is that the list of participants is very long this year. The bad news is...
Aon Center And Prudential Plaza Offer Great Views Of The Loop And Downtown
We end 2015 featuring a pair of venerable downtown buildings that offered visitors million dollar views during this year’s Open House Chicago, hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Those two buildings, the Aon Center (at 200 East Randolph Street) and its next-door neighbor Prudential Plaza (at 130 East Randolph Street), have far different exterior styles. One thing they have in common is an excellent view of Millennium...
Mies Stairway Is Focal Point Of The Arts Club Of Chicago
Climb the stairs from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor of the Arts Club of Chicago, and you’ll be walking on architectural history. It’s not any old flight of stairs–this one was rescued from the previous Arts Club building two blocks west of this location at 201 East Ontario Street. The old Arts Club building, stairs and all, was designed by Mies van der Rohe. In 1997, the new Arts Club was built, designed by John...
Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral Stands Tall In Ukrainian Village
From nearly any vantage point in the Near West Side, you can spot one of the baker’s dozen of ornate spires atop Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. The church is located just off of Chicago Avenue at 835 North Oakley Boulevard. This stately 1915 structure, designed by Worthmann & Steinbach, was one of the 200 buildings featured during the 2015 edition of the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House...
Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist Offers A Friendly Welcome To Visitors
Architects who design buildings for a city center must often contend with a lack of one thing that’s far more available in the suburbs. That precious commodity is space. And it becomes even more of a challenge when the building in question is a house of worship. Think about some of the enormous sprawling churches, synagogues and mosques you’ve seen. It would be hard to squeeze one of them in to a neighborhood like the Chicago Loop....
Final Stats Show Open House Chicago Scored Big With Visitors And Economic Impact
Earlier this month, Chicago Architecture reported on the huge success of this year’s edition of Open House Chicago. The Chicago Architecture Foundation just released additional details on attendance, illustrating just how big OHC has become in only its fifth year. If you ventured out to visit the unique architectural gems during OHC weekend on October 17-18, you’ll recall CAF volunteers performed a head count and asked for visitor’s...
Neo-Egyptian Reliefs Abound At Inter-Continental Chicago Hotel
Earlier this week, Chicago Architecture visited the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, one of the 200 locations featured during the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s 2015 Open House Chicago. Today, we venture up North Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile to look at a building with very colorful components. The Inter-Continental Chicago Hotel at 505 North Michigan was built in 1929, then known as the Medina Athletic Club. The...
Once A Storefront, The Ukrainian Institute Of Modern Art Now Gives Artists An Airy Gallery Space
One of the best things about the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s annual Open House Chicago event is its variety. This week Chicago Architecture features two sites from the 2015 OHC that illustrate the wide range of structures open to the public for tours. Later this week, we’ll look at the Inter-Continental Hotel on the Magnificent Mile. Today, let’s venture a bit west to Ukrainian Village, and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art...
Charnley-Persky House Is The Result Of A Collaboration Between Two Legendary Architects
Among the classic stately mansions you’ll find along the Gold Coast, one house stands out. The Charnley-Persky House at 1365 North Astor Street is noteworthy for both its symmetrical design and for the architects who designed it. The design dream team was Louis Sullivan and his junior draftsman: Frank Lloyd Wright. This structure was one of the fascinating architectural gems open to visitors during the Chicago Architecture...
Chicago Loop Synagogue Offers Harried Workers A Haven For Quiet Reflection
Tucked in a compact space at 16 South Clark Street, you’ll find a modern, yet ornate, structure with an angular roof and a wild-looking sculpture bearing the biblical phrase from Numbers: THE LORD BLESS THEE AND KEEP THEE. Welcome to the Chicago Loop Synagogue, the only Jewish house of worship in the Loop. Today—conveniently the 2nd day of Hannukah—we take a look at this unique building featured during the Chicago Architecture...
