Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Returning the Power to LaSalle Street

If you've been around Chicago for a while, you might remember that Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan once had a restaurant.  You might have even wondered, "What ever happened to that?"  Well, it's gone.  Long gone.  Replaced by Lalo's, a Mexican restaurant.



Now Lalo's is gone.  Being replaced by something called LaSalle Power Co.  The logo's tagline reads, "Rock Bar • Stage • Retro Kitchen."  A sign near the door promises it will be an "exciting new concept."

For those of you more interested in the building than its occupants, you'll remember that this brick pile on LaSalle Street was once the LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse.  Massive engines inside dragged trolleys through a tunnel underneath the Chicago River to move 100,000 people a day from one side of the river to the other.



Today, it's still a nice looking building, and we're glad to see it being put to use and not left to deteriorate and implode into yet another River North surface parking lot.

2 comments:

  1. I've gotten a chance to tour the inside of the soon-to-open LaSalle Power Co... they've done an amazing job of redesigning but have also done a great job of preserving a lot of the original elements inside. There is apparently a really big charity concert there on 4/25, and I think it's worth going even just for a sneak peek at this place.

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