Hayward

The Philadelphia / Toronto comparison is the most common way Chicagoans explain the city to people on the East Coast that have never visited. Next time you visit, you'll have to check out some of the Near West side hoods and Bronzeville. There's streets that are straight out of Philadelphia with your classic East Coast wall-to-wall rowhouses.....something not found on the northside. Kind of out of the way, but there's also Detroit style duplexes around Brighton Park. Though southside Chicago gets a bad rap, much of blight and decline of that area is very localized. The greater southside is very dense and vibrant. In fact the retail and pedestrian environments along some commercial streets are busier than those on the Northside. I think the Northside has some incredible architecture, but one thing I tend to not like (and what alot of folks disagree with me with) is the lack of consistency in architecture. Though the buildings are all beautiful, streets tend to look like a hodgepodge of styles creating alot of visual clutter. I kind of like how the southside has streets with all the same architecture with minor variation. Here's a few SS streets for example: http://g.co/maps/cwtrt http://g.co/maps/3heah http://g.co/maps/hj6tr http://g.co/maps/3rs5h But yeah man, let me know when you visit next time or meet up sometime for a Tigers game in Detroit. I actually work in both cities, unfortunately don't alway have time to photograph Detroit.

Everytime I think about getting a new car....I want one eventually.....I stop when I receive this bill: $17.25 which includes gas, insurance, unlimited miles, and tolls is pretty damn cheap for an evening in the suburbs. That's all the time I needed it for that month.

^ For some reason I imagine hearing howling in the background lol. This evening, views from Ping Tom Park at the 18th St. Viaduct Taken with my iPhone

Thanks. I'm trying to find the "Dayton USA" magazine from 1964 which shows this. How did you find that out? The guest room ceilings and floors were Flexicore, if I'm not mistaken - probably resting on the slabs. It was on emporis. Though, I should have probably been more specific. It's not traditional lift slab with cast concrete monolith, but I believe the hollowcore slabs were arranged at a lower level and lifted into place so that a crane wasn't necessary. This practice is rare and probably would have been considered very cutting edge when this building was constructed.

Look what I discovered in a vacated elevator shaft in my office building!! Why was I never told of this!?!?!?!?! A nap room!!!!!

Nice history. I just read that this building was lift-slab construction.

^ Oh, they finally upgraded to The Corrs playing "Breathless" last time I was in there. My friends and I had a realization that the only time we entered this mall was to use the restrooms when we're walking from the bars to the brown line station. It's really the enhanced street life that's killing this place. Jaybird's photos show how rich that is. All the retailers want to be a part of an urban landscape.....not holed up in some 80's atrium space.

Unlike you, I don't need to. I come to this section expecting a diversity of subjects and give the photographer the compliments they deserve. I don't care where you're from, respect is universal. I don't entirely disagree with your argument. Your opinion and argument DO have merit, but your delivery sucks. There's a different way to approach this.

Yeah I don't know how that mall manages to survive, I kind of wish it would be put out of its misery and demolished for something better...though they should (again) save the historic facade.

What a great tour! Looks like you did a ton of walking. That lynx is crazy. If you move back and forth and he'll "chase" you with a threatening look on his face lol. The LP Zoo is a treasure. And it's wonderful that it's free and fairly "porus" by that I mean it has a ton of entrances. You can just pass through on an afternoon stroll. I also spotted Halligan and Wise fools! Cheapest places to drink in the city! I love Wise Fool's 50 cent beer days. Can't get better than that!

He's "Exploring Cleveland." As in the area in general. There's no problem with the title. We aren't ignorant. This is UrbanOhio. I'm sure the majority of people that visit this site know these photos aren't representative of the entire city. "My dislike is of Clevelanders taking pictures of Detroits blight and vice versa" If you don't like it, there's a BACK button on your browser.

Here's how the glass on Coast is shaping up. Kind of like Aqua, though the balcony railings are supposed to be glass so this should look pretty sharp. 360 Hubbard Still doing foundation work Here's what 360 Hubbard will look like http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/10/06/rendering-for-360-w-hubbard.php Optima Chicago has gotten above the double decked portion of Illinois And here's what optima will look like http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/10/david-hoveys-streeterville-debut.php

Wow you paint with a broad brush as well. I can certainly agree there will be some people in Cleveland's neighborhoods that may not appreciate it. But in the case of Detroit, I've heard at neighborhood meetings residents saying they are happy these buildings are being brought to light. Same here in Chicago. However, it's fine to be selfish in this case. Architecture and photography is his hobby and he can choose whatever subject he pleases. Zach has been posting photos for probably 7 years now. When you see these threads, this is what you'll expect. I think that's great. If you have a problem, post your own damn thread instead of being a distraction. Yes, let's see your neighborhood. Just shy of 60 posts, you haven't put in any work around here showing what you want us to see. I'm sure Zach puts alot of effort into his hobby and for you to come up in here with nothing thoughtful to say is insulting and a waste of our time.

^ Amazing. The color, the subject...everything The restored Halsted bridge onto Goose Island in Chicago. And an incoming storm. Taken with my iPhone.

Dog owners that don't pick up after their animals. It really isn't a problem in Chicago, but I still see it from time to time. And one time is too many. I recently had people stay over and one of them stepped in dog crap and tracked it around my apartment. It cost a lot of money to treat, disinfect, and then rent equipment to have the carpet cleaned. I was nice enough to shampoo the hallways, which was greatly appreciated by neighbors since they don't want it in their apartment either. But I had to tell my landlord to take care of the elevator. All that fuss, equipment, and time involved for what would have taken less than a minute for the owner to deal with and pitch in the trash. It's also the reason why downtown buildings owners are so OCD about cleanliness and disinfecting / power-washing the sidewalks every morning. If you can't clean up after your dog, it's time to give it up for adoption. You've made a bad decision.

In all fairness the two (caught by accident on my phone) had just crossed over to make a left turn....though there's a completely empty turn lane right there to do that. After all, I was about to head that way myself on a bike. I wouldn't have been sure what to do, had I not been interested in taking a photo. But compliance among cyclists is difficult here in Chicago. I make it a good habit to stop at all stop signs and lights. I'll admit to proceeding slow during the LPI sequence, which most cities don't have. The question has not yet been brought up whether a bicyclist proceeding during the sequence is legal or not, but there's probably some validity to that for safety reasons of the cyclist. But the cyclists that run red lights drive me nuts.

Oh. I thought it was the Pontiac Transport that was a chick magnet. I mean...picture yourself driving to the club in this! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pontiac_trans_sport_concept.jpg

Snapped this random shot of a new bike lane on Wabash. It's okay, but with the city installing all these new cycle tracks, I'm surprised this wasn't selected. Mayor Emmanuel has pledged to build 100 miles of completely separated and protected cycle tracks. They are appearing across the city by the month, but Wabash shown here could have easily knocked out 2 miles.

Unfortunately the design of the Whole Foods in Detroit is pretty abysmal. They really deserved a better building considering their location. It's a suburban style prototype, with parking...and blank walls facing one street.

Came back from a white sox game tonight and found someone standing outside my apartment door. I asked if he was looking for someone. And he said "no" I said, "well can I get to my apartment?" He moves out of the way. I unlock my door and then say "Can you get out of my hallway." He looks at me annoyed and had the nerve to say "It's a public hallway." I reply "Not this part of it...I pay for it" If you don't like that, we can talk it over with building security. Guy walks to the stairwell and heads down. I called security anyway. I wonder if I stopped an attempted break in. My building has never had one since there's cameras and security, but once in awhile the homeless manage to find the back alley door unlocked and wander the building.

Architecture is a weird field. I find more people (including myself) accompanying their architecture degree with something else....like an MBA or planning degree or engineering. If you really want to live the dream of being an architect but also scoring a six figure salary you need to pick a firm that is building projects almost everywhere in the world, and then put yourself in a position that's very specialized but also important. In bigger multi-disciplinary firms promotion and pay raises are mandatory so it's hard to get stuck. Big firms have to constantly push younger architects up into management roles because they need to keep the design staff fresh and exuberant as they come out of college with bold new ideas. With multi-disciplinary firms, when there's a work slowdown and the architects get bored they can get staffed on other tasks more related to engineering and construction. One day I might be working on renderings and the next day I'm laying out security cameras for Telecom. At many firms, this flexibility is not at all possible just because the diversity in tasks is non-existent.

This popped up on the trib. This historical building in the western neighborhoods is in demolition court. Right off the bat you can see why. It lacks windows, and it has plywood. It's illegal to secure a building with plywood in the city of Chicago. After a few months of vacancy home or building owners are either required to maintain glazing or hire a firm or rental company to place steel plates over the windows. I'm shocked there's no scaffolding either. What if a brick falls? Failure to maintain property to the city's outlined standards results in steep fines or in the worst case....demolition. Hope this can be saved. chicago tribune photo.

So long parking lots!! Make way for towers!! 625 W Adams & 645 W Madison CurbedChicago

Oak Street Mall directory updated with the Esquire Theater info part of the package. Looks fantastic!! I took photos of the progress on Friday and I'll try to get them posted. http://cwchicagoretail.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/EsquireTheatre-APRIL-19l.pdf

I think it's pretty awful the lions heads were stolen. A few are on a building at 1218 Bryn Mawr. All the remaining lions were returned and are stored in a warehouse. The removal of those Lions was pretty much the turning point for Lee Plaza when it went from a vacant closed up building to a rotted out carcass