Sunset/Moonrise

To mark the impending end of my vacation, below is a link to a set of photos of Sunset and Moonrise tonight from Navy Pier.



Sunset/Moonrise

Jeanne Gang - Genius

I did a post last year when the Aqua Building, in Chicago, was named Skyscraper of the Year. Well now the architect of the building, Jeanne Gang, has been named one of this year's MacArthur Genius Winners. You can listen to her on NPR earlier today Here

Here is a photograph I took of the Aqua a year or two ago.

The Book Bubble

Here is an article about the University of Chicago's new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, designed by architect Helmut Jahn. The book collection is housed underground, and retrieved by an automated system. Above ground is a large glass dome containing a reading room, and book conservation and digitization labs. Here is a video of how the book retrieval system works, followed by some photos of the building.


Mansueto Library at University of Chicago

FLW - The Early Years

A video on the early career of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Happy Birthday George Ferris

Today is the 152th anniversary of George Ferris' birth. Here is a short video on his invention of the Ferris Wheel.



And here is the photograph I took last summer of the place in middle of the Midway Plaisance in Chicago where Ferris' original Wheel was built.

Viking Ship

A video about efforts to restore a Viking Ship that was built in Norway, and sailed to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Not very much survives from that Fair, so it would be nice if this ship can be restored.

Vivian Maier

Quite a sensation has surrounded the discovery of the street photography taken by Chicago nanny Vivian Maier. Maier died in 2009, so she did not live to see the recognition of her work. Examples of here work can be seen on the blog Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work, and on this New York Times blog post. Here is a video about her.

Movie News

Two interesting bits of movie news this week.

The following voice casting has been attached to Aardman Animation's next film Arthur Christmas: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton. Due out for the 2011 Holidays.

Leonardo Dicarpio may star as the mass murder in the the film adaptation of Erik Larson's novel The Devil in the White City. Seems the film still has a long way to go before it goes to production though, and no word on who will play Daniel Burnham. It will take some work to distill this book into a movie. The story revolves around the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. I am interested to see this recreated on film.

A few post card images from the fair, where the souvenir picture post card made it's debut.

Picture ot the Day - 7/31/2010

Part of the Tony Tasset's art installation "Eye and Cardinal" in Pritzker Park. The said cardinal was on banners throughout Chicago. I am not sure I understand it, but the eye makes an interesting picture.

Pictures of the Day - 2010

Picture ot the Day - 7/30/2010

The entrance to the former Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building which closed in 2006. The building has since undergone a renovation, and is reopening as the Sullivan Center.

A Louis Sullivan building, the steel structure allowed for larger display windows than had been previously possible. The decorative panels on the lower levels are credited to George Grant Elmslie.

Pictures of the Day - 2010

Picture ot the Day - 7/29/2010

A picture of the Aqua Building emerging from the fog off Lake Michigan.

I did a previous post on this building. The photograph in that post is from last year, and you can see at that time that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, to the right of the Aqua Building, was still under construction. This year at least all of the exterior work on that building seems to be done.

Pictures of the Day - 2010

Picture ot the Day - 7/28/2010

This flooded, forlorn soccer field on the Midway Plaisance is the historic location of the original Ferris Wheel built by George Ferris for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. One of the few attractions at the Chicago fair to make a profit.

Pictures of the Day - 2010

Picture ot the Day - 7/27/2010

While I was in Chicago Transformers 3 was being filmed. When I was there Friday before last the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Chicago River was closed for filming. Then last weekend there was filming on the Wabash Avenue Bridge and Wacker Drive. My hotel was 1/2 block north of there, so I kept having to go around the closed down streets to get back to the hotel. Saturday night I did see the Wabash Bridge opening and someone rolling down it. Sunday evening there were explosions and fire shooting up from the set.

At one point I saw this truck going down the street, and I could not figure out why someone would have lifted this rubble onto a flatbed truck. Then the truck moved, and the whole thing wobbled around and I realized it was not really brick and steel, but some kind of prop. So here is my little bit of preview for the Transformers 3 movie.

Pictures of the Day - 2010

Chicago Architecture

I went on one of the Chicago Architecture Foundation's bus tours on Sunday. Here are a couple sets of photographs that I took on the tour. I have a couple more random Chicago pictures that I will post over the next week or two.

The first set are all building on or near the 200 block of South LaSalle Street, which was once the financial center of the midwest.

Chicago Financial District - 07/2010

The second set contains pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and the University of Chicago. The Robie House pictures are all of the exterior because photography is not allowed inside.

Robie House & University of Chicago - 07/2010

Finally, photographs from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the LEGO City that was there last weekend.

IIT & Lego City

Aqua - 2009 Skyscraper of the Year

This news is a couple weeks old, but in February the Aqua in Chicago was named 2009 Skyscraper of the Year by Emporis, a company that sells data about tall buildings.

Here is a photograph I took of the building last year. At the time I did not know what the building was, but it certainly stands out. Given the way the balconies curve around, at first I could not figure out what I was seeing.

As an answer to a future trivia question, this the tallest building in the world by a female architect.

Aqua makes waves as world's best