Revell Block, corner of Wabash and Adams. Adler and Sullivan, 1883 (demolished, 1960). (Art Institute of Chicago) Further experiments in the potential for hybrid structures of iron and brick came […]
Barry Byrne and the architecture of the altar
This upcoming Thursday and Saturday (September 19 and 21) Vincent L. Michael will sign copies of his new book The Architecture of Barry Byrne at St. Thomas Apostle Church, Hyde Park, […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 9
Palmolive Building, 919 N. Michigan Avenue. Holabird and Root, 1929. Night view from south. (Contemporary post card, collection of Thomas Leslie) The Palmolive’s exterior skin was utterly flat between its […]
Happy birthday to film director Christian Petzold
German film director Christian Petzold was born on September 14, 1960. The director of films Barbara and Jerichow is also the subject of the forthcoming Contemporary Film Directors series release […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 8
Champlain Building, corner of State and Madison Streets. Holabird and Roche, 1894 (demolished, 1916). View from southeast. (120 Photographic Views of Chicago, Rand McNally, 1909) . . . . criticism […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 7
Bowen Building, 62-74 E. Randolph. W. W. Boyington, 1872. (Photo Thomas Leslie) Chicago came to be known as a city of steel, but well into the 1880s it remained a […]
Bluegrass Bluesman awarded by ARSC
Bluegrass Bluesman: A Memoir by Josh Graves, Edited by Fred Bartenstein has been awarded a Certificate of Merit in the 2013 Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards for Excellence category […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 6
Chicago Savings Bank, corner of State and Madison Streets. Holabird and Roche, 1905. View from northeast. (Photograph Thomas Leslie) In addition to limiting height, the 1893 code carries stringent new […]
Q&A with Citizens in the Present co-editor Maria de los Angeles Torres
Maria de los Angeles Torres is professor of Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the co-editor of Citizens in the Present: Youth Civic […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 5
Civic Opera, 20 N. Wacker Drive. Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White, 1929. View from southwest. (Contemporary post card, collection of Thomas Leslie) Powered construction, advanced structural engineering, and rapid elevators […]
Happy birthday to Dario Argento
Horror movie director, writer and producer Dario Argento was born on September 7, 1940. The master of “giallo” is the subject of L. Andrew Cooper’s Dario Argento from the Contemporary Film […]
Happy birthday to Southern Soul-Bluesman Latimore
Singer, songwriter and pianist Benjamin “Benny” Latimore was born on September 7, 1939. Latimore is profiled by author David Whiteis in Southern Soul-Blues, an overview of the genre that mixes blues, […]