Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

Yet another update on the new Children's Memorial Hospital (225 East Chicago Avenue) going up in the Gold Coast.  Though there's much glazing work to be done, the main parts of the facade are mostly in place.  For the last few weekends, there have been early-morning shipments of large pieces of truck-sized equipment whose labels, to a layman like myself, appear destined for the emergency room or ICU.

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

This is probably the six zillionth status update we've done for the new Children's Memorial Hospital (225 East Chicago Avenue). But I happened to be in a hospital and managed to snap this picture of the back side of the new building.  Looks pretty good so far.  You can see the area on the left setback where the green roof and play area will be, and how the building cantilevers over its right side at the same point.

New Children's Hospital is Hanging Out

In what may be the first of many "Look ma! No hands!" moments around the new Children's Memorial Hospital, the building has begun its horizontal expansion over the alley to its east.

We've done a number of status updates on the hospital at 225 East Chicago Avenue (here, here, here, here, here, and here), but with this horizontal movement, the facade being attached and even some glass going up, it's actually starting to something like its rendering.

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

It's not often we have a status update that lacks a photo, but this is one of those cases.

We've received word from Children's Memorial Hospital that the new hospital at 225 East Chicago Avenue will be topped off by early December, maybe a little sooner if the weather cooperates.

Right now, the project has entered a new phase of construction -- building the portion of the skyscraper that cantilevers over the northeast side of the building and contains the sky lobby.  That should be done in the spring.

A hospital spokeswoman also sent over a revised fact sheet.  Maybe I missed it the first time around, but this was new to me:

Sky Garden: The 5,000 square-foot sky garden, a unique activity and respite area, will include a translucent interactive light wall that changes color as children approach.

That sounds pretty neat.  Maybe it will turn flashing red when a helicopter approaches so the kids know to run for cover!  Seriously, though -- I'm all in favor of the continued greening of Chicago's roofs, and the sky garden will be 11 stories below the heliport anyway (12 if you count the 13th floor, which doesn't exist).

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

The new Children's Memorial Hospital in Streeterville (well, technically it's the Gold Coast, but SOAR's headquarters are a block away) is sprouting up faster than a toddler on Flintstone's vitamins.  Notice the setback matching the sculpture pavilion of the neighboring American Dental Association building at 211 East Chicago Avenue.

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

The new Children's Memorial Hospital (officially, The Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Memorial Hospital of Chicago) continues its growth spurt at 225 East Chicago Avenue.  The steel frame of the building is rising at what seems like a remarkable speed.  In this photo, it's up to the 12th floor, but by the time you read this (most of our articles are written a couple of days in advance), it will likely be up to 14 or even 15 of its eventual 22 stories.

No, we're not going to express an opinion about the proposed heliport for the facility.

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

Here's a look at how far the new Children's Memorial Hospital on Chicago Avenue is coming along.  The elevator core is rising quickly, and the steel isn't far behind.  Already there's steel in place for portions of the first and second floors.

Status Update: Children's Memorial Hospital

Things are moving along quickly at the new Children's Memorial Hospital on Chicago Avenue.  Since the tower crane went up a few weeks ago.  The elevator core is now up to about the fifth floor and the rest of the building can't be too far behind.

Children's Hospital Gets Its Crane On

If you follow our Twitter tweet feed , then you got the alert on February 5th when the crane went up at the new Children's Memorial Hospital on Chicago Avenue.  Now that it's in place, construction is really starting to move along.

Up to this point, virtually all of the construction work had been going on underground.  Now that the crane is in place, things are starting to spring up.

As of this writing, just a couple of days after the photo above was taken, the elevator shaft has already risen a couple of stories above the construction fence.  It shouldn't be too much longer before the exterior starts to take shape.

Clare Flashing Her Downtown Neighbors (with video)

Although it's open and people are living there, the finishing touches are still being put on The Clare at Water Tower.  The shiny new East Pearson Street skyscraper is home to the Loyola School of Communication downstairs and a retirement community upstairs.

But on the roof there is something new -- obstruction lighting.

The aircraft warning devices were switched on yesterday afternoon (January 20, 2009).  There's four white strobe lights during the day that switch to red blinking beacons at night.  It's a nice addition to the skyline -- if you happen to be viewing the skyline from the suburbs.

But the fact is that The Clare is only 589 feet tall.  That means its strobe lights flash into the homes of hundreds of its neighbors who happen to live in taller structures.  The Park Tower is the closest, but the Residences at the John Hancock Center, the Olympia Centre, Water Tower Place, and the Residences at 900 North Michigan are all seeing the glare.

Here's a video showing the lighting by both day and night (better quality links below).  In the video you can see that the beacons are at a height that's only about half that of The Clare's neighbors.  So why does the new building need the lights at all?

Maybe it has to do with the new Children's Memorial Hospital being built down the street.   The hospital plans to fly medical helicopters into the neighborhood, which is crowded with skyscrapers.  But why does The Clare deserve four strobes, when the Park Tower and others lack daytime illumination, yet are hundreds of feet taller, and hundreds of feet closer to the new hospital?

Our guess is that more aggressive beacons will be coming to those buildings, and others, in the future. 

What would be nice is if a feature could be installed where the pilot phones ahead, and an automation system activates the beacons only when they're needed.  Such systems are in common use at small airports across the country.  It could be a way to reach a compromise between the safety of the emergency flights and neighbors living with what looks like an all-night disco outside their windows.

Higher quality: YouTube version of the video .

Highest quality: .Me version of the video .

Hospital for sale!

While a lot has been written about the continuing controversy surrounding the new Children's Hospital in Streeterville, the people at the Chicago Journal haven't forgotten about the old place.

The Journal reports that people living nearby are worried about what will happen when the thriving hospital at the heart of their neighborhood becomes an abandoned hospital in the heart of their neighborhood.

Naturally, there is talk of turning it into a library or a community center or any of the other typical suggestions that come up when vacant space presents itself.  But considering the city's financial condition and the condition of the real estate industry, this chunk of real estate is likely to remain abandoned for a long, long time.