Michigan is boring and depressing at times so I travel to Chicago about once a month and pretend that it's part of Michigan and there's no such thing as a recession.

 

C H I C A G O  2008 in Review

 

 

 

 

 

Get the hell out of my way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uptown Chicago.  Still hood IMO

 

Uptown Theater.  Currently being renovated.  It's being dismantled and reassembled piece by piece.

 

Chicago has a heavy emphasis on it's parks, and it's clear they are heavily used

 

 

Cabrini Green (what's left of it)  Note all the shiny condos surrounding it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago tends to leave their scaffolds unattended so it's easy to get these 10 foot up shots.  This is right by that devilish red CNA building

 

 

My flickr account shows this as 08, but I don't think it is.  Still, it's one of my favorites

 

Hard to believe this was a railyard at one time.

 

 

Attendance cap was accidentally overshsot by about a million  OOPS....

 

Someone was at the Kanye West Glow In the Dark concert

 

 

 

If you plan to do night shooting, I'd highly recommend 3:00 am in the morning.  Chicago streets in the loop are so dead, you can set up a tripod in the middle of any street, although

 

Most of these shots were done just holding the camera steady.  Nikons are pretty good at that.

 

 

This is the view from my friend's office.  I'd love every morning sitting down and looking out this window

 

Turn the other direction and you get this!  BTW, they are hiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So long Chicago, until next week!  :-D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damn fine stuff. The crowd shots are fantastic! I'll have to remember about the scaffolds, and I need to get into the loop late at night.

 

Re the date on the photo looking down the el tracks at Trump from the overhead bridge, a photo from mid-June, 2008 shows the platforms redone with white roofs & skylight sections. Trump appears to be only slightly farther along than in your photo, so your shot could well have been early '08. I think it was shot from the same station as yours, except from the bridge at the south end of the platforms.

 

BTW, Chicago is not in Michigan; it's in Wisconsin. It's a streetcar suburb of Milwaukee; the North Shore interurban quit running in the mid 1960s, though.

Chicago isn't in Michigan! lol

 

Great pics. Some of those views look really unique. I think Chicago has the best collection of skyscrapers of any city.

 

Let's do a Chicago trip in the spring! I want to wait for the weather to get better but I want to go soon. I haven't been there in a year.

GORGEOUS PICS!

 

It's been 1.5 years since I graduated and I realize more and more each time I go back that I took A LOT for granted!

 

 

I want your friend's office! 

I wish New York still had these running through Manhattan like the good old days. Oh well, they have the High line at least!

 

If only the buildings on Jamaica Ave were a bit taller, then maybe!

 

Rob, don't give nofunk here on the forum any ideas, he's from Milwaukee!

Wonderful shots! I especially liked the street-level shot of, I believe, 18th Street in Pilsen and the foot-level shot in the subway. And many others. And great news about the Uptown Theater -- I hadn't heard about the renovation. Never went inside, but I used to be a denizen of the Green Mill next door, and used to teach English to refugees across the street.

It's excellent news.  I went around the back and saw a bunch of work going on inside.  I could've walked in, but everybody was so busy I didn't want to interrupt.  Here's some info about it from wiki:

 

"In 2006, the exterior was extensively secured and terra cotta pieces were cataloged and stored for future restoration efforts. A May 21, 2007 article in Crain's Chicago Business described the Uptown Theatre as "suddenly a hot property," as three national entertainment companies were in competition to purchase, restore and reopen the Uptown Theatre.[2]

 

It was purchased through a judicial sale July 29, 2008 by JAM Productions for $3.2 million[3] and finalized in court on August 18, 2008.[4] It is estimated it will take about $40 million to get it ready for use again. JAM currently also owns the Riviera Theatre also on Broadway, approximately one block away."

^ Thanks for the info! I don't know if the old Aragon Ballroom, across the street on Lawrence, just east of the el tracks, still has concerts. But the Uptown, Riveria and Aragon all renovated and active would make an incredible entertainment district -- really an uptown kinda place.

 

It's a shame they demolished the Granada Theater, a couple miles due north, 20 years ago. It was about as big as the Uptown.

Great photos!!!!!!

I wish New York still had these running through Manhattan like the good old days. Oh well, they have the High line at least!

 

 

^ they do uptown.

 

best ever looking thread on chicago? i think so.

 

delete

 

either side of harlem has elevated rail running through it.

 

125th street

 

I wish New York still had these running through Manhattan like the good old days. Oh well, they have the High line at least!

 

 

^ they do uptown.

 

best ever looking thread on chicago? i think so.

 

 

What part? I didn't get to see much of Harlem (we only drove through unfortunately) but I've been to the upper east side on a ColDayMan tour. My general rule of thumb is you've never been somewhere unless you got out and walked.  :-P

 

the 1 train is elevated on Broadway at Dyckman.  mrnyc beat me too it and the metro north is elevated on Park Avenue.

I wish New York still had these running through Manhattan like the good old days. Oh well, they have the High line at least!

 

 

^ they do uptown.

 

best ever looking thread on chicago? i think so.

 

 

 

I don't really see a reason why they shouldn't exist in cities. They aren't that loud and they're probably not as loud as they used to be before they were torn out. I actually like the sound. I would love to live on a street like that.

 

Speaking of NYC. It's so interesting how New York City destroys its physical past every 30 years or so. It's not even political or anything; it's just all about money and that alone is sort of a tradition in New York because of immigration. New immigrants come in, grade it flat, rebuild - new development decays, new immigrants move in,  buy up territory, grade it flat, rebuild over what was there before. It wasn't until recently that they really valued historic preservation and in the case of most cities, the most notable historic buildings or areas are the only ones that remain.

 

I was just listening to something really interesting on BBC about cities and memory and they were talking about that - which is why I'm bringing up this tangent lol. Basically they contrasted NYC with a city like Berlin that has arguably too much history still remaining. Even if you change the Stalinist street names or take down Nazi emblems, the ghosts of the past will always haunt that city. It's just everywhere. The grand streets, the massive over sized buildings. Everyone is reminded of their fascist, communist, violent past. When it was laid out, it was meant to be a tribute to power - a grand imperialist city but also one that evokes a sense of guilt. To alleviate that sense of guilt they make memorials like the Holocaust memorial. Although the reason behind it is to come to terms with the past, every memorial prompts an argument.  There was actually a lot of criticism against the memorial - mostly coming from Jews. Conversely, Frankfurt destroyed a very large portion of their city for new development and I thought one of the commentators made an interesting point as to why they did: "Amnesia is freedom". It really speaks volumes about what sometimes motivates us to destroy historic areas. Frankfurt is seen as a denial that anything ever took place. They said the new development in Berlin is so dull and has so little depth, it's as if the answer to having too much history is neutrality.

 

They commented that New York City has no past that weighs on the present, other than to make money through erasure with projects that they know will last about 30-40 years. That really gives New York City a huge advantage over other imperialistic global cities imo. To a lot of people, I think there's something really refreshing about being able to erase history and concentrate on the future.

 

Listening to the whole thing was just mind blowing. Sydney taking pride in its aborigine art museums for the same reason that Berlin has the Holocaust memorial, yet at the same time, it's trumped by a major celebration of their bicentennial - which is really a boast to imperialism.

 

I wish New York still had these running through Manhattan like the good old days. Oh well, they have the High line at least!

 

 

^ they do uptown.

 

best ever looking thread on chicago? i think so.

 

 

 

I don't really see a reason why they shouldn't exist in cities. They aren't that loud and they're probably not as loud as they used to be before they were torn out. I actually like the sound. I would love to live on a street like that.

 

You say that now, In NYC if I have the windows open, if i'm in the backyard or on the patio, I can hear the metro north...and it's not cute!  Those trains are LOUD!

 

In Cleveland, I can here the train as it crosses at the Shaker/Van Aken and blows the horn and rings the bells.  It's maddening, especially in winter since there are no leaves on the trees,  the buildings create a canyon affect. 

Yeah but that sound doesn't bother me for some reason, and I'm someone who hates noise to the point that I wear earplugs just to concentrate. I love trains :)

Yeah but that sound doesn't bother me for some reason, and I'm someone who hates noise to the point that I wear earplugs just to concentrate. I love trains :)

 

See you think it cute because you don't live it.  When I first moved into the house, I would wake up at 3 am and wonder what the hell was that.  Not realizing when construction was going on it camouflaged the trains.  Then the next spring 2001, I would have the windows open or trying to have my morning coffee in peace, I would hear the horns and ask myself, who is blowing that damn horn. Then I realized that I could hear the MN trains -- four blocks away. 

:whip: :whip:

 

Hospital helicopters are worse, especially when the landing area is 300 feet away, they fly very low over my building and my 90 year old windows don't do anything to stop the noise.  I wish people would stop getting hurt so I can get some sleep.  There I said something nice out of this.  I do enjoy the sound of freight trains and Amtrak nearby.

Well, it has popcorn.

Great shots, love chicago!

Yeah but that sound doesn't bother me for some reason, and I'm someone who hates noise to the point that I wear earplugs just to concentrate. I love trains :)

 

I lived on 23rd St. in DC, one block away from the GW hospital, and all the sirens, coupled with the noise from the steel plates in the street from the construction was so so annoying, I thought nothing could be worse.  Then I visited my sister who lived directly behind the El in Chicago (near the Fullerton stop I think?), and I completely changed my mind.  The el going through your back yard sounds like a plain landing on your house, hence the reason my sister moved ASAP to Sheffield, and then again to Halstead.

You're all against me.

You're all against me.

You should be used to that by now!  :-D :wink: :-P

These are amazing.  There are so many to choose from for my favorite overall.  Great work.

These are amazing.  There are so many to choose from for my favorite overall.  Great work.

 

I don't think anything can top this.

 

Great work!

BTW, if anyone is curious where these photos were taken let me know.  The skyline shot with SoNo tower in the way is the North Ave Collection @ North Ave.  It took me forever to find this impressive view.

 

The shot of Wrigley with the modern building behind it is from Carbon and Carbide tower.  The BEST, and I mean the BEST view above Chicago you can get.  It's better to be 40 stories up than 90 stories looking down at air conditioning units.  Walk right in the lobby (hard rock hotel) and take the elevator to the top floor (37) on weekdays only.  It's a dead mechanical floor and has 360 degree views....Millenium Park, Loop framing Sears Tower, Looking up Michigan Ave, and the river.