Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Chicago
The Chicago L. It snakes it way through the town and through its first ring suburbs. While it is loud, slow and and expensive, perhaps there is no better way to see the city. The L has created an entire street system below downtown and close to downtown neighborhoods are marked by restaurants, shops and apartments right below.
The next picture is of Union Station. The mail bus and rail terminal for Chicago is still a grand early 1900's building. The style reminds me of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, which was built in the late Depression - early WWII years.
The Marina Towers probably were controversial when they first built. They are bold, modern and tall. Since then, they have become a downtown icon and really are classic. You will see posters and t-shirts featuring the Towers all around town. While the 1960's is generally known for horrible, utilitarian architecture, the Marina Towers have endured.
The next Tower is on Chicago's Gold Coast. All that concentrated wealth can only mean one thing: Oprah. She commands the entertainment and residential housing sectors in the city. It is a large building, but Oprah seems content to her entire floor.
Finally, this picture over-looks the Chicago River. The river is maybe the only river in the history of the planet that has had its flow reversed. The river no longer drains into Lake Michigan, it drains to the Mississippi, sending all the garbage and flith Chicago can produce downstate. No wonder people in Peoria aren't fond of Chicagoans.
The next picture is of Union Station. The mail bus and rail terminal for Chicago is still a grand early 1900's building. The style reminds me of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, which was built in the late Depression - early WWII years.
The Marina Towers probably were controversial when they first built. They are bold, modern and tall. Since then, they have become a downtown icon and really are classic. You will see posters and t-shirts featuring the Towers all around town. While the 1960's is generally known for horrible, utilitarian architecture, the Marina Towers have endured.
The next Tower is on Chicago's Gold Coast. All that concentrated wealth can only mean one thing: Oprah. She commands the entertainment and residential housing sectors in the city. It is a large building, but Oprah seems content to her entire floor.
Finally, this picture over-looks the Chicago River. The river is maybe the only river in the history of the planet that has had its flow reversed. The river no longer drains into Lake Michigan, it drains to the Mississippi, sending all the garbage and flith Chicago can produce downstate. No wonder people in Peoria aren't fond of Chicagoans.
Milwaukee and Chicago Pictures
Hi all,
I thought I would do a change of pace and post some pictures instead. I feel bad not posting anything for over three months. I will post the MAVA Community Analysis report in its entirety upon completion.
And now the pictures: The top two are of Millenium Park in Chicago. The Frank Gehry designed park is really a masterpiece of New Urbanism. New Urbanism is all about reclaiming unused or unappreciated space in an urban environment. This is urban renewal, but generally conservation minded.
The next two are more classic Chicago. The Art Institute's Lions are virtual civic icons. Meanwhile this church looks suspiciously like the Roman themed Medieval Church in Valencia, Spain. Chicago is an architectual treasure, and has done an excellent job blending the old and the new.
This last picture is of the Tripoli National Shrine in Milwaukee. Not sure exactly why the arhictect choose the Middle Eastern Influenced design, but it works. One of the signatures buildings in Milwaukee's South Side.
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