WBEZ | architecture

Architect’s Pilsen vision is green and fashion friendly

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:23:00 -0500

Architect Patricia Saldaña Natke grew up on the 4800 block of South Marshfield Avenue, in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. Her parents, immigrants from Mexico, worked in the Stockyards.

Some days after school, Saldaña Natke would take the bus away from her aging, blue collar neighborhood with its bungalows and smoke stacks, up to the Loop, and marvel at the sparkling skyscrapers and expansive public parks in the city’s downtown.

“I would look at the beautiful buildings and wonder why those kinds of spaces weren’t in existence where I lived,” Saldaña Natke recalled. “That’s the reason I became an architect; I felt that public places should be the greatest in the area of most need.”

Saldaña Natke channeled those beliefs into UrbanWorks, the architecture and planning firm she founded, which specializes in socially and environmentally conscious planning and design work -- the kind she dreamed about as a kid. She’s set her sights on one Chicago hood in particular: Pilsen.

“[Pilsen] needs to be a place where people can move upward in mobility,” Saldaña Natke said. “The entire core of why I work in Pilsen comes to the fact that there are neighborhoods that need a lot of attention.”

UrbanWorks’ previous Pilsen projects include a college dormitory intended to help keep students from the neighborhood on the path to academic success, a high school designed to resemble the copper canyons of Mexico and Saldaña Natke’s most ambitious project: a master plan for Pilsen.

In architecture and planning circles, a master plan is a grand vision for the future development of a neighborhood.

“It’s much more than a wish list,” Saldaña Natke said. “It may be implemented slightly different than the plan shows, but the core of it should remain intact.”

This plan isn’t funded, but Saldaña Natke is working with 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis and the Department of Housing and Economic Development to assemble funds to inch her vision along.

Saldaña Natke consulted with Pilsen residents in a series of community meetings, including a neighborhood-wide meeting at Providence of God Catholic Church in 2004. The resulting plan aims to build on Pilsen’s assets: its strong Mexican cultural heritage, its historic architecture.

“The community says church steeples are its high rises,” Saldaña Natke said.

It calls for a main commercial drag zoned for pedestrian use and access to the Chicago River.

The plan also addresses what Saldaña Natke says are the neighborhood’s challenges: While the west side of Pilsen is served by the CTA’s Pink, Green and Orange Lines, the east side has few transportation options, leaving the neighborhood disconnected.

And, there is a surprising lack of green space in Pilsen. According to Saldaña Natke, the city requires two acres of green space for every 1,000 Chicago residents.

“But the Park District just said to us that the recommended amount is four acres of green space,” she said. “[Pilsen] is over 18 acres short.”

So, UrbanWorks’ master plan starts there. Saldaña Natke envisions more green space along the neighborhood’s largely industrial waterfront, and the transformation of an abandoned, surface-level railway that runs along Sangamon Street into a stretch of park—something like New York’s High Line or the Northwest Side’s Bloomingdale Trail, only without the elevation. Then, she hopes to transform the abandoned buildings that line the railroad into a fashion and textile incubator.

A fashion incubator?

Yes, Saldaña Natke says.

“You shouldn’t need to go to 900 North Michigan or Michigan Avenue to see all the high-end fashion shows. Why can’t it be in the neighborhoods?”

You can hear Saldaña Natke describe her dream in more detail in the audio above.

Dynamic Range showcases hidden gems unearthed from Chicago Amplified’s vast archive of public events and appears on weekends. Patricia Saldana Natke spoke at an event presented by the Chicago Architecture Foundation in April of 2013. Click here to hear the event in its entirety.

Robin Amer is a producer on WBEZ’s digital team. Follow her on Twitter @rsamer.

From 1989: PBS documentary on Harold Washington Library competition

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 -0500

For several months in 1988, the competition to design the Harold Washington Library was the talk of the city.

The new downtown library not just a place for books, but an architectural gut check: Would America's first city of architecture pick a daring design? Or would Chicago—in the wake of the cost overruns at the then-new State of Illinois Building and the McCormick Place west addition (or out of sheer timidity)— select the safe and familiar?

In 1989, PBS' Nova series took a look at the competition in an episode called "Design Wars," seen in an edited version in the video above. The program explored the five teams each headed by architects Dirk Lohan, Thomas Beeby, SOM, Helmut Jahn and Arthur Erickson of Canada that sought the commission. Each architect was paired with a real estate developer to assure the design could be built for $140 million price tag.

Each submittal was profoundly different. Beeby's design won, of course, and the building was completed in 1991.

Watching "Design Wars" a quarter century later, there is much to note. The camera pan at the beginning of the video reveals a skyline east of Michigan Avenue that looks remarkably barren now. At 0:16, architecture historian Bob Bruegmann in a stroll along the riverwalk that once ran next to the old Chicago Sun-Times Building at 401 N. Wabash Ave. nicely explains why architecture is so important here. SOM's computer modeling at 2:00 is also worth a look. So is the scene with architects damning each other's designs with the faintest of praise at 3:38.

Broadcaster and civic leader Norman Ross chaired the design jury. His critique of each design at 7:27 is both erudite and devastating—as is architect Stanley Tigerman's assessment of Beeby's design at the end.

What do you think of the design—then and now? Back then, I rooted for Erickson's design. Looking at it now, I'm far less impressed. In "Design Wars," Ross said a juror thought the building resembled "a Houston or Marin County shopping center." It does. Take a look at the video and leave your comments below.

Congregation mulls yielding ownership of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed church

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:00 -0500

Updated at 11:06am

Ownership of Oak Park's Unity Temple could be transferred from its long-time congregation to an organization that would be responsible for maintaining the church, according to a $10 million deal aimed at restoring the internationally-recognized Frank Lloyd Wright structure.

According to an email sent to the congregation Tuesday evening by the Unitarian Universalist congregation's board of Trustees, Chicago's Alphawood Foundation would donate $10 million toward the restoration of the 105-year-old building, 875 Lake St. In addition, Alphawood would work to help restructure the 40-year-old Unity Temple Restoration Foundation or "create a new preservation organization to manage fundraising, restoration, and preservation of Unity Temple as well as public programming and tours," according to the email, a copy of which was obtained by this blog late Tuesday.

But the plan is conditional. In order for the ownership transfer to be enacted, the church's current restoration campaign must raise 80% of the total funding needs, plus an endowment to maintain the building. The Alphawood funds would count toward the total. In the email, church leaders said the full restoration costs were still being analyzed but added the amount "is likely to be substantially more than the combined total of the proposed Alphawood gift and any contribution the Congregation makes."

The congregation would continue using the building under the plan but the deal "may help free us from the demands and expense of managing and caring for our historic building thus allowing us to focus on the Congregation's mission and long-term space needs," the email said. In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Alphawood Executive Director Jim McDonough said his organization is "delighted that our gift will be an important first step toward the restoration and preservation of this international landmark."

"For over 100 years we have made this wonderful building our spiritual home, gathering for worship, major life events, and community activities." Ian Morrison, president of the congregation's board of trustees, said in the joint statement with Alphawood. "Wright designed the building for us and it embodies many of our values.We are proud to continue using it for its intended purposes.”

The founder and chairman of Alphawood Foundation is Chicago businessman Fred Eychaner, CEO of Newsweb Corporation and owner of AM radio station WCPT. Eychaner is also an architecture aficionado who lives in a sleek North Side home designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando.

Built in 1908, the blocky reinforced concrete church is National Historic Landmark and is one of Wright's best-known buildings.The architect himself called it "my contribution to modern architecture." But Unity Temple's 16 separate flat roofs and a gutterless drainage system designed by Wright has made the building historically susceptible to water damage. The National Trust for Historic Preservation put the church on its 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2008. The building is one of 25 structures Wright designed in Oak Park.

The congregation was invited to discuss the plan at a church meeting Sunday.

Sears to shut two of its oldest stores: What should be the buildings' fate?

Thu, 09 May 2013 05:00:00 -0500

A year ago almost to the day, I wrote in this space: "Hey Sears: I passed your East 79th Street store a few days ago. From the front, I couldn't tell if the store was open or closed..."

That was May 8, 2012. There's no wondering anymore. "Store Closing Sale" signs have now appeared in the window of the Sears department store, 1334 E. 79th St. Built in 1925, the long, two-story beige brick building with an iconic tower that can been seen for blocks is set to close in July. Designed from plans by architect George C. Nimmons, the store has been a fixture for almost 90 years.

In addition to the 79th Street store in the above photo, the Sears at 62nd and Western, built in 1928 in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood will also close. The two establishments are among the oldest stand-alone department stores Sears built, representing the retailer's expansion from a purely mail-order house--a World War I-era Amazon.com--to a 20th century retail giant. Sears' first stand-alone department store, built in 1925 at 1900 W. Lawrence, will remain open. A 1966 Sears store in Calumet City's River Oaks Mall will close next month.

Here is the Chicago Lawn community store:

Sears isn't saying much about the closings or the buildings' future, which should raise concern, given the company has been as bad steward of Nimmons' elegant building – even during financially good times.

The company blacked out the windows on the three-story front elevation of the Chicago Lawn store years ago, giving the building a blank-eyed look along Western Avenue. On 79th Street the sins were worse: Sears bricked over virtually all of the two-story building's windows and shaved off projecting cornices, turning Nimmons' glassy and collegiate building into a bunker.

The clumsy alterations muddle-up the architect's intent and thus works against any idea to preserve the buildings for architectural reasons. For urban planning reasons, though, the stores should be kept and reused because neither neighborhood would benefit from them being demolished.

But how might the buildings be reused? Let's have a discussion – and any remembrances of these Sears stores--in the comments section below.

The tallest rock

Fri, 03 May 2013 05:00:00 -0500

Forty years ago today—May 3, 1973. Has it really been that long?

On Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, the Sears Tower was topped off. Our city now had the tallest building in the world.

Sears had maintained its main office in North Lawndale for decades. During the late 1960s the company decided to build new headquarters. After looking in the suburbs, they chose a centrally-located site, just west of the Loop

The original plan was to build two separate buildings. That was changed to a single structure, 1,454 feet high. As board chairman Gordon Metcalf explained, “Being the largest retailer in the world, we thought we should have the largest headquarters in the world.”

Construction began in 1970. The foundations were dug, and the steel frame began to rise slowly over Wacker Drive. At the 1,369-foot mark the Sears Tower passed the former record holder, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Raw, windy weather nearly postponed the May 3rd topping-off festivities. The ceremonial final girder contained the signatures of the 12,000 people who had worked on the project. The construction chief was worried that the 2,500-pound beam might smash into some windows on the way up.

But by show-time a few hundred people had already gathered at the site. Mayor Daley had come to give his blessings. So had Cardinal Cody. The girder was hoisted and set in place.

That was the signal. A chorus of electrical workers called The Tower Bums burst into song, serenading the crowd with such lyrics as:

“She towers so high,

Just scraping the sky.

She’s The Tallest Rock.”

Speeches followed from various dignitaries. Then the mayor brought the proceedings to a close. “I want to thank [Sears] for staying in Chicago when so many are leaving,” he said. “Sears, Roebuck—a name that means everything to the people of America—has no equal in the business world of Chicago.”

Everyone went home happy. The Sears Tower lifted the spirits of Chicago. Having the World’s Tallest Building helped the city get through some tough years.

Still, records are made to be broken. The Sears Tower kept its title until 1996. Today all the sky-piercing structures are going up in Asia.

Meanwhile, in 1992, Sears again moved its headquarters, this time to Hoffman Estates. The tall building on Wacker is now known as the Willis Tower.

A historic Chicago church says good-bye to its bells

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:03:00 -0500

Workers took down the bells at St. James Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood Wednesday.

The Archdiocese of Chicago plans to demolish the 137-year-old building, despite efforts by the Friends of Historic St. James, a group of parishioners that have been advocating to save the church.

“I think the cold and rainy weather reflects the sadness and tears that many of us have seeing these bells being removed,” said Dave Samber, who’s at the forefront of the advocacy efforts. “This is the beginning of what could very well be an end, but it doesn’t have to be.”

Samber said his group, the Friends of Historic St. James, still has time to reverse the Archdiocese’s decision. Parishioners appealed to the Vatican earlier this month to halt the demolition and to suspend the removal of parochial goods, and are waiting to hear back.

A private real estate developer has said he’s committed to investing $5 million to help restoration efforts.

But the Archdiocese of Chicago said the total cost for restoration is $12 million. In a statement, the Archdiocese said it can’t afford to renovate the building and instead will invest $7 million to build a new church a block away on Michigan Avenue.

“The Archdiocese feels that it would be fiscally irresponsible to renovate the existing building … The new St. James Church will better serve the parish, the parishioners and the community in the future,” the statement said.

According to the Archdiocese, the new St. James Church will seat 500 people. In the meantime, the parish will hold mass in its current parish center, and operate its food pantry, as it’s been doing while the church building has been vacant.

The organ and the bells will be saved for use in other Archdiocesan parishes, a spokeswoman said. Demolition is slated to start May 1.

But Eva Leonard, who’s attended St. James for 30 years, said she won’t let go of her church that easily.

“We are going to move back in there,” Leonard said. ‘Cause this is what we want to do. It’s my only Catholic church; [I] can’t see it torn down, no way.”

Preservation Chicago Board President Ward Miller said he expected to see more dialogue between the Archdiocese and its congregation.

“The Cardinal should have come out with his people, he should have talked to all of us. There just has been dead silence for all of us,” Miller said.

The J. Schmidt Building

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500

I was ten years old when I discovered that I had my own Chicago landmark.

We were driving my Grandma to visit one of her relatives in the old neighborhood, when I happened to glance up at the cornice of the building at 2007 West North Avenue. Carved in stone was the inscription “1884—J. Schmidt”.

I was excited as only a 10-year-old could be. I knew that Detroit had a downtown street called John R. Street. But here was a building with my name on it, right in my own home town. Maybe someday I could buy the building and live in it!

With time and growing up, my fascination with the J. Schmidt Building faded. Years later, I took the trouble to look up the building in one of the old city directories at the Historical Society. The original address had been 466 West North Avenue, and was a meat market. The proprietor was named John Schmidt—no relation, but a nice coincidence. On my way home that day, I stopped and took a picture of “my” building.

Decades pass. I’m digitalizing some old slides, and run across my photo of the J. Schmidt Building. The next time I’m in Wicker Park, I decide to see what my favorite Chicago building looks like today, now that the area is booming.

The building is still there. Only trouble, the top two floors are gone. And with them, the “J. Schmidt” inscription.

Yes, what’s left is a remnant of the original structure. It’s not a new, one-floor building. For whatever reason, the owner founded it necessary to remove the upper floors. I doubt the cornice was preserved.

So here’s your assignment. If anyone finds another building with an inscription that has a suitable variation on my name, take a picture of it and send it to me. I’ll post it on this blog, giving you proper credit.

And this time around, I’ll know better what to do. I’ll apply for Historic Preservation.

Mod Squad Chicago - Chicago at Midcentury: Images by Lee Bey

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:20:00 -0500

Lee Bey has had a distinguished career in the built environment as an architecture critic, mayoral advisor, adjunct professor and civic leader. But he is also a published and exhibited architectural photographer who has documented the city's mid-century modernist architecture. Bey shared his photography of the city's modernist architecture and discussed the importance of documenting this unique architectural style. The program was part of Lunch Talks @ CAF, a weekly lecture series that takes place every Wednesday at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Recorded live March 20, 2013 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Four Illinois buildings added to historic places register

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:16:00 -0600

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency says four buildings in the state have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Named to the list was the 1920 Neuville apartment building in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, an early example of luxury apartment buildings that offered the amenities of private mansions. It features an elegant lobby and 10-room apartments.

The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America Building in Chicago, which still houses the organization and its Polish Museum of America, made the registry, as did the Vesta Accumulator Company Building, constructed in 1913 on Chicago's South Side. Batteries, lights and other electric devices for cars were made there.

Also making the list is the Classic Revival-styled Sheffield Village Hall in Bureau County, built in 1910 by George Franklin Barber & Co.

Architecture on TV: Your picks for opening credits that feature architecture

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:00:00 -0600

Last week, I talked about television programs with opening credits that best showcased architecture and place.

I had my picks, as did the architecture professor whose class prompted the discussion. But I asked for yours and got responses that included the opening credits to the 1980s comedy Perfect Strangers, to the 1960s show The Prisoner.

Let's begin with WBEZ's John Schmidt's pick of the early 1970s show Banacek—seen in the clip above. Schmidt said the intro features two of his loves "Boston and old Packards." It's good, crisp—begins showing star George Peppard rowing along the Charles River (the rear projection on the close-up is a little dodgy, though) with what I think is Boston Government Center in the background. And the helicopter shot that begins on the speeding 1941 Packard 180 convertible at 0:12 then whirls around to the city's skyline is pretty sweet.

The Bob Newhart Show was also a fave of readers Jason and ScooterLibby. I can't embed it here, but here's a link. Reader Mark was the one who mentioned Perfect Strangers for showing "local architecture, the L, and the 360 N. Michigan building." Not to mention Wrigley Field and that newsstand that used to be right outside the Chicago Cultural Center. Let's have a look:

Sylvia Franklin suggested the intro to the original Dallas show. The helicopter shots (and you can see the helicopter's shadow, which is funny) of the skyline and the moving split screens of buildings, oil rigs, livestock and open-roofed Texas Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys played during those glory years were pretty impressive. Here's a link.

As we close, I'll offer one more: The intro to Jeremy Piven's short-lived but funny ABC series Cupid—with no less than The Pretenders' Human as its theme: