Category Archives: The Loop

Fine Arts Building Annex coming down

The lovely thin little building attached to the back of the Fine Arts Building is being demolished. Already mostly gone is the dull skyscraper that stood alongside it. December 2006 April 2010 Dumb. Wasteful. Unlikely to be an improvement in … Continue reading

Posted in demolition, The Loop | 11 Comments

Carbide and Carbon Building

Mostly I just wanted an excuse to post this composite photograph. Betcha can’t spot where I spliced ‘em together! The Carbide and Carbon Building went up in 1929 to the designs of Daniel and Hubert Burnham (sons of the famous … Continue reading

Posted in Art Deco, The Loop | 3 Comments

Mather Tower

The AIA Guide to Chicago likens it to “a terra-cotta Gothic rocket poised for takeoff”. Unbelievably slender, the Mather Tower rise some 42 stories above the Chicago River at the north edge of the Loop. It is one of a … Continue reading

Posted in The Loop | 3 Comments

The long view

Oh, Chicago! It’d take a lifetime to know you through’n’through. Details and delights continue to unfold around me on a daily basis. Unnoticed ornament, secret pathsways, hidden spaces… the city’s wonders, charms and quirks are endless. Today I noticed this … Continue reading

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The Fine Arts Building

You’ve seen it; it’s one of the mile-long row of architectural gems lining Michigan Avenue south of the river, just north of the landmark Auditorium Building. The Fine Arts Building was erected in 1885 to the designs of Solon S. … Continue reading

Posted in The Loop | 5 Comments

Randolph Tower

This mighty mountain of Skyscraper Gothic rises from the western Loop at Randolph and Wells; the Loop elevated runs right next to it. Built in 1929 as the Steuben Club Building, and also known as 188 W. Randolph Street, it’s … Continue reading

Posted in The Loop | 2 Comments

Leaving the Loop

A view from the northwest corner of the Loop, where a delectable tangle of tracks intersects and verges off in four directions.

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