Chicago-Photography

Chicago flashback

Culled my old photo collections looking for more Chicago architecture and landmarks to display. Some things will always be the same to me. No matter how many times it is called the Willis Tower I will always refer to it as the Sears Tower. One thing I do miss about Chicago is the historic character of it. Whenever I go around Toronto I can’t shake the feeling that the city only really came into existence in the 1960s and 70s. The rough around the edges nature of the Chicago L is just one of the things that shows just how old the city is. The brick flats are another iconic example of Chicago that I have not found in the places I have lived since.

Chicago Revisited: River North

Dug up more pictures showcasing the Chicago River, including a dramatic shine from the afternoon sun that shows off this feature wonderfully. I do miss having the feel of a waterway in an urban setting, although there is a long way to go before people can truly interact with this amenity in a “San Antonio River Walk” kind of way.

More from the old town

Decided to go back and expand on my photography before my first trip to Toronto. The campus of Illinois Tech in Chicago has a lot of notable modernist architecture, and the school in general does have a feeling of looking to the future. The historic Main Building feels out of place now amongst the newer glass and steel framed buildings, whom in turn feel ironically out of place next to the new dorms with their shining metal. The commuter rail station for Metra, one of their newest, also stands out from other stations in the system with its dramatic concrete ramps, metal shelters, and paving bricks. The quaintness that characterizes many of their suburban stations is not found here.

Chicago High Rises

An older collection of historic Chicago high rises and new condo construction. The skyline of the city has been changing rapidly during the last generation. The Hilliard Towers are high rise public housing that have survived the wrecking ball, fortunately. Whereas much of the high rise public housing has been demolished for newer mixed developments, these iconic housing towers have withstood the test of time and were actually rehabilitated.

Chicago fourday

Wicker Park and Union Station

Assorted pictures from around Wicker Park, one of the more interesting and less CHAD and TRIXIE neighborhoods in Chicago.  I do miss going to Reckless Records.  On the other end is Chicago Union Station, with a woefully underused Great Hall.  If the design had been reversed it would have made a lot more sense.  People could wait in a nice room instead of the cramped concourse.

Chicago Threeday

Chicago River and Museum of Contemporary Art

The Chicago River on a March afternoon, going along this unique waterway—a lot more intimate than the East River or the Hudson in New York.  The Museum of Contemporary Art is a great museum thanks to its free Tuesdays, making a reasonable priced museum (compared to the Art Institute) even more accessible.