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Monthly Archives: October 2010
How to Get to Sesame Street in Chicago
Every city has them – the day care centers with the window-paintings of popular childrens’ cartoon characters, slightly misproportioned, festooning large storefront windows or walls, cheerfully waving at passersby. These creatures assure us that the place within is welcoming, friendly, … Continue reading
Posted in modern folk art
1 Comment
The coolest city hall ever!
I was just driving along one day, tooling along minding my own business, when up pops this crazy lookin’ thing. It’s a lovely Prairie style building, with the unmistakable fingerprints of Frank Lloyd Wright’s idiosyncratic style, the kind that outlasted … Continue reading
Posted in Prairie Style
1 Comment
The (adorable) Skokie Swift
I’ve become fascinated with the oddball of the Chicago Transit Authority’s light rail system, the Yellow Line – aka the Skokie Swift. It’s such a mismatched, out of place beast that I have to stop and stare every time I … Continue reading
Posted in CTA, Skokie
16 Comments
I find my feet down on Main Street
Main Street westward from Evanston has all sorts of interesting things on and around it. My favorite bit may be this trio of buildings in the 3400 block, in Skokie. They sit in a sea of Midcentury buildings – raised … Continue reading
Posted in Contemporary Modernism, Midcentury Modernism, Skokie
1 Comment
Midcentury craziness
I wish I had something to say about these apartments. They date from around 1963, they’re at 6634 W. 9th Street in Oak Lawn, they’re called the the Pavilion Park Condominiums, and that’s all I know. Well, that, and they … Continue reading
Posted in Midcentury Modernism
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Alvin Hoffberg’s Courtyard Townhouses
“Every visitor says these are Chicago’s most beautiful and unusual town homes.” – August 7, 1957 Chicago Tribune classified ad Midcentury builder Alvin M. Hoffberg brought a unique twist on the townhouse to Chicagoland in the 1950s. The Midcentury townhouse … Continue reading
Posted in building types, Midcentury Modernism
3 Comments
A stock Moderne design
Here’s a group of Midcentury townhouses, done in a typical Chicago Moderne style. I’ve found 4 examples around Evanston so far. 801-13 Mulford Street: 142-150 Callan, at Brummel: 143-151 Custer at Brummel, back-to-back with the building on Callan: 1413-23 Main … Continue reading
Posted in Midcentury Moderne
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Early Modern / Midcentury Moderne apartments
Early modernism for the masses took the form of sleek brick boxes, with windows at the corners and raised bands of brick for ornament. 6014-6024 N. California, 1948. The Tribune indicates that this was the George Eisenberg Unit, a “child … Continue reading
Posted in Midcentury Moderne
6 Comments
Chicago’s Midcentury Moderne
Chicago builders, as I’ve harped on before, would glom on to just about anything in designing their mass produced buildings. The International Style and Art Moderne were no different; they served as inspiration for a series of buildings across Chicagoland … Continue reading
Posted in Art Moderne, Midcentury Modernism
3 Comments
