Week Links – February 3 – February 9, 2013
Chicago is known for tearing down better buildings than other cities build. – Scott Rappe, AIA Chicago DNAInfo tells us that Loyola University wants to build a new hotel at Sheridan and Albion. The links below require paid subscriptions: Crain’s Chicago Business has a preview of the new restaurant going in at the Tribune Tower (435 North Michigan Avenue). Or you could just visit the restaurant’s own web site, which...
North Bridge Makes Historic Chicago Architecture More Public
As cities evolve and change they frequently undergo growing pains. One person’s idea of history can be another person’s idea of an impediment. Negotiations are settled. Tradeoffs are made. And sometimes compromise turns out to be an ugly baby. One of the more common architectural compromises made in Chicago is known as the facade-ectomy — The process by which an old building’s skin is preserved while a new...
The Ritz is Puttin’ on Tommy Bahama
Our Gold Coast spy sent in this picture of the new Tommy Bahama store going in on the ground floor of the Ritz-Carlton Residences (664 North Michigan Avenue). The skyscraper is pretty much done, and hopefully the retail space will all fill up...
Week Links – March 23, 2012
If you’ve been wondering about the work being done at the plaza at Saint James Cathedral in River North, it turns out there’s an entire blog run by the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago that has weekly updates. You may remember that this project was originally going to be a 65-story round glass skyscraper designed by DeStefano+Partners (see picture at right). Now it’s going to be a public space with a couple of small...
Status Update: The Ritz-Carlton Residences
It’s hard to see from ground level, but progress is being made on Michigan Avenue’s newest condo tower. For months, caissons have been driven into the sandy Chicago shoreline soil and there now appears to be something of a basement and retaining wall on the north side of the property. The Ritz-Carlton Residences (664 North Michigan Avenue) used to be the location of the Terra Museum of Art, a popcorn stand, a Starbucks,...
Status Update: The Ritz-Carlton Residences
Things are chugging along at the heart of North Michigan Avenue where the Ritz-Carlton Residences are going up. The building in this photo is actually not part of the project. It is being protected while the ritzy digs go up all around it. Garrett’s Popcorn, Starbucks, and the Terra Museum of American Art were all torn down to make way for the new high rise which will have just 33 homes in it. Hanig’s Footwear had to...
