Hayward

The key to moving to a city where you want to be is knowing somebody in your career field that works there.

The life story or the "I need money to see X family member in the hospital" crap gets annoying. Even if I were to hand out cash, I'd be more willing for them ask up front then tell me some make believe crap. This is why I love the voucher system and I plan to buy $20 worth when I get back to Chicago. I'm wiling to dish out food handouts to the homeless on occasion. I know how much better a free cup of coffee can be to anyone, no matter who they are. But yeah as David pointed out, some really demand that money, and for some not even $1 is acceptable. I know some of these people are really messed up or mentally unstable so I try not instigate anything further. Although if they tried to pull a fast one on me, that would be a very bad idea. It's pretty rare that happens in Chicago and usually it's just a bunch verbal assaults. I've been fortunate to be able to avoid panhandling since they put up the ban in my neighborhood, and I pretty much ride my bike everywhere.

Yeah it is pretty dead

^ that would be Eaton Centre in Toronto during boxing day.

I've always been tempted to visit Memphis. It's a control city on all sb freeway signage here in Chicago. Hard to believe this is the next spot of civilization as the crow flies Great photos. Some real beautiful buildings in need of a good future

What is this obsession with building childcare center and educational facilities of concrete masonry units? It's incredibly utilitarian and prison-like. These are children not professional wrestlers throwing chairs. The effing warehouse had more transparency than that new bunker.

And this is why OTR is one of my most favorite neighborhoods in the US

In history no one has ever gone over the railing. It's actually difficult to look over the edge of the modern atrium like I did. I had to crawl behind a display and the railing was high. Not sure why anyone would fall over or want to for that matter in a department store of all places

Happy Holidays all! Here's the family tree this year

This past weekend, the fam came to visit and take in the holiday festivities downtown. Now that things have settled down and we're all back home in Michigan to celebrate Christmas, I got some much needed photo editing done Hope you enjoy and Happy Holidays! 1. Before my vacation started, it began with an important competition I was working on. Pulled an all nighter, but got the rest of my Friday off. I took a few pictures that night (and early morning) 2. West Exit 3. Michigan Ave 7:00 AM, just as I was about to head home :-D 4. Michigan Ave 5. Harris Festival of Lights. 1 Million people showed up 6. Harris Festival of Lights. Above Michigan and Wacker 7. Skating in Millennium Park 8. Wrigley Forest at Night 9. Michigan Ave Shoppers 10. Michigan Ave Shoppers 11. McGraw Hill Building Reconstruction (see my thread on it in Arch and Pres forum) 12. North Bridge Shops 13. Crate and Barrel 14. Christkindlmarket 15. Christkindlmarket 16. Free Sprite! 17. The Modern Wing, Chicago Institute of Art 18. Holy Name Cathedral 19. 900 North Tower 20. Walnut Room of Macy's/Field's 21. Escalator Atrium of Macy's/Field's 22. Atrium of Macy's/Field's 23. Waiting for to be seated at the Grand Lux Cafe 24. State Street 25. State Street Happy Holidays!

There's a service available in my area to give out vouchers to the homeless instead of money. Numerous stores accept them, but they don't work on alcohol. Panhandling for money is illegal in my neighborhood so they are only getting the vouchers

Not really unless you are the type to pass out when exposed to heights when daily the average person typically experiences far worst risks.

What a great thread rob. I've always thought about getting off 94 and checking out Chesterton but never got far. It's definitely very much become a bedroom community, though I actually expected the downtown to be less gritty. I like it though.

Renovated and restored buildings are depressing? I'll admit it's a far cry from some of the vibrant urban areas a few of us live and work in, but I see this as good things finally coming to detroit

^That just made me dizzy. Oy. That's just crazy or photoshop! It's not photoshop, they climbed up the fire escape of our building. We thought the photos were cool, but they were caught on surveillance camera pointed out one of the fire escape windows. It takes far less time than photoshop and is easier to get onto a lot of Chicago roofs than most people think, if no effort at all. I don't know if Aqua was staged, but the other Chicago buildings are legit in person visits.

Excellent pics rob! I saw the lamp, and man was that thing bright! Watch out for those punched holes in the drywall floor! Really, I was there to see the new addition, and Burnham's Master Plan of Chicago. What an incredible exhibit.

Have you tried LL Bean? Their dress shirts hold up better and last longer than any others I've bought, and they're the only ones I owned that never came back from the laundry with broken/missing buttons. I'd have to order from the catalog. There used to be an outlet store and a few other stores with their related brands that would give great discounts. There was some franchising dispute and these very successful stores closed up and pissed off all their customers.

Good for them, but a Pepsi Movement sounds as cheesy as walmart convincing me they are sustainable. While I have no numbers, I'm convinced the single television ads have more powerful. The next day you find the office buzzing about the ads and what was their favorite, it's exactly the type of discussion companies want.

Lol, I eat at Mezza every friday.

Well, I agree with you pieces of the building were stored, the same goes for the Farwell. I guess it really depends here on what you classify as being demolished. The interiors and their structures are gone, and the facade disappeared from site during time of construction, so I think it's safe to say this building was out of existence for two years

LOL... Although most toilets seem lefty friendly, at least when you are facing them.... That is perhaps the first time I've ever noticed this.

FYI, for those who aren't familiar with AutoWorld, it was an indoor theme park that shut down about 25 years ago. It was an epic failure, and an incredible waste of money, even by today's numbers. It's a shame because it seemed like a good idea, but indoor amusement parks have a long track record of failing in the United States. The building was demolished in the late 90's. A new building by U of M was constructed on that site about 8 years ago.

I don't believe you are correct, based on the Chicago architecture sources I've checked as well as the visible modern structural system in portions of the interior, but I'll dig around for the construction drawings and see what was done.

I see lefties every day poorly operating revolving doors. Because I'm right handed, I can effectively enter and exit a building without problems.

I got to thinking today, how many (large) buildings in the U.S. have been reconstructed after being completely demolished? There are two examples here in Chicago. The McGraw Hill Builidng Landmarked in 1997 Demolished in 1998 Rebuilt in 2000. Official Status: Demolished Building Physical Status: Completed Building Current Use: Westfield Shopping Center, Conrad Hotel Streetview Image of the building in its current form: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=Westfield&fb=1&gl=us&ei=OYUoS57MOorRngeg1LWlDQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&radius=0.36&sll=41.891712,-87.621278&sspn=0.006357,0.014087&rq=1&ev=p&hq=Westfield&hnear=&ll=41.89136,-87.62426&spn=0,359.985913&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.89145,-87.624256&panoid=0n22j79sjvVf8HdGHbwc0g&cbp=12,292.65,,0,-41.82 Farwell Building Landmarked in 2004 Demolished in 2009 Rebuilt in 2011 Official Status: Unknown Existence Physical Status: Demolished Building Future Use: Parking Garage / Retail / Ritz Carlton Residences Streetview Image of the building prior to demolition http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=Westfield&fb=1&gl=us&ei=OYUoS57MOorRngeg1LWlDQ&ved=0CBMQtgMwAA&radius=0.36&sll=41.891712,-87.621278&sspn=0.006357,0.014087&rq=1&ev=p&hq=Westfield&hnear=&ll=41.89136,-87.62426&spn=0,359.985913&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.894138,-87.62431&panoid=FccuXPv9T2AGH9Tc8J3mVQ&cbp=12,322.81,,0,-24.34 Honestly, I think this is the worst kind of preservation possible (If you want to call it preservation) Just because you demolish and rebuilt it because the structural configurations didn't work out, doesn't count as saving a building. Certainly the general public can't tell the difference, but I think this is going to become a typical excuse for developers trying to get a project built when a historical structure stands in the way. I hope it doesn't become as common as the facadectomy. Still it's all better than nothing I guess, but a poor compromise