Historic Building May Find New Life With The Dead

Just got an alert from Alderman Reilly's office about the Three Arts Club building (1300 North Dearborn Street).  This beautiful, historic building has been vacant for years.  Now it may get new life.  So to speak.

Mr. Bill Bickford of Depree Bickford Associates, LLC and his partners have signed a letter of intent to purchase the historic property and expect to close by the end of 2009.  Mr. Bickford's team is proposing to redevelop the ThreeArtsBuilding into a "columbarium" - a facility that houses vaults that are used to store urns containing human ashes.

The Holabird & Roche building located at 1300 N. Dearborn occupies an important site in the Gold Coast.  Alderman Reilly will carefully consider community concerns regarding landmark preservation, traffic congestion, loading and the intensity of use as this project moves through his deliberative public process.  It is important to note that any potential new use occupying this historic property is limited due to the building's status as a Chicago Landmark.  The Three Arts Club's landmark status not only protects the building's exterior but also its height, massing and elements of the interior public spaces. 

In coming weeks, Alderman Reilly plans to meet with Mr. Bickford to review the developer's conceptual plans and discuss details related to interior design changes, programming and the facility in general.  During that meeting, the Alderman will inform the developer of his expectations for the upcoming community process that will be used to foster full public review and open dialogue regarding their proposal.

In the next month - once the City Council concludes its deliberations over the proposed 2010 City Budget - Alderman Reilly will invite neighborhood residents, representatives and local stakeholders to join him and the developer's team at a community meeting to review all aspects of the columbarium proposal and offer their feedback and input. 

While not exactly the development we'd hoped for, this kind of use is better than leaving it abandoned.

Plan for Three New River North Hotels Revised

Back in August we told you about a plan to put three new hotels on half of the block bounded by Clark Street, Grand Avenue, Dearborn Street, and Illinois Street.  Well, those plans have been revised.

There was concern about the kind of parking needed for a project of this size.  621 hotel rooms mean hundreds of extra cars.  Under the revised plan, the new hotels would use the new parking garage opening December 1st a couple of blocks away at 601 West Kinzie Street.

As usual, traffic is a concern, so the alleyway has been redesigned to not only handle deliveries, but to also serve as a valet area and a guest loading and unloading zone.

42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly's office issued a press release Tuesday night stating that the architects, "[redesigned] key portions of the facades that better contemplates the architectural language of the broader River North community."  What exactly that means, we don't know because the link to the detailed documents that the alderman's office sent out doesn't work.

But what we do know is that the project also now has a proper address.  It's now going by "501 North Clark Street."  It's not known yet if the former name "Clark and Grand Hotels" still sticks.

When Alderman Reilly's office gets the link thing straightened out, we'll post an update.

An Architect's Building

What kind of building would an architect buy, if he could buy any building?  The answer is 30 West Monroe Street, the former Inland Steel Building.  The building has been a favorite of architects since its construction because of its many leading-edge design features.

Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill put the structural supports on the building's exterior and the elevator and services in a separate tower behind the building, giving the tenants oodles of column-free workspace, while still allowing massive amounts of natural light to penetrate to the building's core.

The building is so beloved by architects that starchitects Frank Gehry and David Childs bought the building in 2007 for $57 million.  And when it came time for Richard Keating to design 1 South Dearborn next door, he told me he was extra careful to be both deferential to and harmonious with 30 West Monroe.

Slice of Life: Chasing Construction

Looking down on the plaza in front of the Chase Tower (10 South Dearborn Street) in the Loop.  The popular fountain is decked over while work is done on the building's sloping facade.

Not Much Information: That Honkeytonk Place

From the Not Much Information file: Remember that honkeytonk-looking joint on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street?  Remember how it closed about a year ago?  Well, it's back -- this time as a pizzeria.

Three New Hotels Planned for River North

The City of Chicago is considering a plan to open three new hotels in River North.

The project, known collectively as the "Clark and Grand Hotels" has been designed by HOK Architects, and would be located on the western third of the block bounded by Clark Street, Grand Avenue, Dearborn Street, and Illinois Street.

Image from a presentation by HOK Architects

One would be a 181-room Fairfield Inn and Suites at 56 West Illinois Street.  Currently, this location is a surface parking lot. The new building would be 16 stories, and 159 feet tall.  The architect's drawings label it 17 stories, but they're skipping 13.

Second is an 18-story, 168-room Hyatt Place on the corner of Clark and Illinois.  It currently has the puzzling address of 520 North Dearborn Street, but the front door of the new building would be moved to Illinois Street.  The height to the roof is about at 155 feet, 173.5 feet to the top of the mechanical penthouse, and 182.5 feet to the maximum height of the structure.  Right now it's an old bank building from 1947.

Third is also 18 stories.  It is expected to be a 272-room Aloft hotel, at approximately 511 North Clark Street.  Right now this is surface parking.  In addition to the hotel, space has been left in the building for some ground-floor retail facing Grand Avenue.  Its main distinction from the other buildings is the inclusion of a decorative cornice which shades the roof and extends down the Grand Avenue side of the building.  Roof height of this building is pegged at 171 feet, while the cornice gives it an overall height of 187 feet.

Image from a presentation by HOK Architects

The project isn't too much taller than Boyce Building, with which it will share the block.  But it's somewhat larger and taller than its neighboring buildings.  However, a number of those buildings are older and municipal in nature (fire station, post office, etc...) so they are out of scale with the rest of this mid-rise zone.

Image from a presentation by HOK Architects

In addition to the Boyce Building, the other buildings that remain on the block are the shuttered Blue Water Grill, and a mixed use building at 57 West Grand that is home to a restaurant and a jazz bar.

Image from a presentation by HOK Architects

• The alley running north-to-south from Illinois Street to Grand Avenue would be used for loading dock access, but would be capped by the Hyatt Place hotel structure.
• Total project floor space: 379,000 square feet
• Total hotel rooms: 621

Slice of Life: The Oriental Consistory

I admit it -- I had to look up the word "Consistory."  I still don't understand how it fits in to this phrase which adorns an arch at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on North Dearborn Street.  I checked the massive Encyclopedia of Chicago, but for some reason the tome has hardly any information on any churches in Chicago.  Not even Holy Name or Old Saint Patrick's warrant coverage in a book that's supposed to be encyclopedic.  I'm not sure how you can do a history of any American city without including something substantial about its faith community.

Slightly further off topic -- the park across the street from the Scottish Rite Cathedral is known by many as Washington Square Park.  But it used to be known as "Bughouse Square" and was named for the nearby mental hospital, or "bughouse" in the parlance of the time.

The Big Gap in Madison Street

I don't get down to the corner of Madison and Dearborn as much as I used to.  With the Washington Mutual on the corner closing and Wendy's no longer factoring so prominently in my diet, I'm bound to miss a few things as the months pass.

One of the things I missed was the disappearance of the Gap clothing store that used to be at 70 West Madison, in the Three First National Plaza building.  As you can see from the picture above -- it's gone.  If anyone knows when it vanished, post a comment below.

The Gap store was one of a group of interesting retail holdouts in the Loop -- stores that you normally find in a suburban mall or along Michigan Avenue that manage to eke out an existence from the office workers filtering out of the business district's skyscrapers.

I've always tried to patronize these shops to reward them for the effort they put into keeping the heart of the city alive.  Some of them are a little above my pay grade, and many cater to a gender other than my own, but I still appreciate what they contribute to Chicago's downtown districts at a time when most American cities have little to no business district retail.

Dearborn Street: Mandatory Breakdance Zone

What's this wackiness we found outside of Marina City ?  Looks like some kind of CDOT-enforced mandatory breakdance zone.  This isn't a case of having a screw loose this sign is intentionally in this position as evidenced by the bolts holding it in place.

So next time you're crossing the Dearborn Street Bridge, be sure to borrow a scrap of cardboard from the nearest vagrant and get your backspin on.  It's the law.

Three Kinds of Blue on Dearborn Street

Have you seen the new subway entrances that the CTA is using in the Loop?  They're nice.  They remind you of the quaint Quincy elevated station (the only CTA station without advertising).

When a pack of businessmen in trench coats and fedoras flush out of the tunnel during rush hour it just feels like you're looking back in time.  I'm not sure if Chicago is the only city in the world where men still wear fedoras and pork pie hats, but I'm grateful that some things haven't changed.  Especially when you consider the alternative.

This monstrosity is just a block away and represents the worst of the city's mass transit architecture.  According to Chicago-L , this entrance is from the mid-80's based on designs from the 70's.  It looks like it.  Utilitarian in the worst sense of the word.  But there's relief just two more blocks away.

Unlike London, Tokyo, Paris and other cities, there aren't many private subway entrances in Chicago.  This may be the only one.  It's in front of the Chase Tower (10 South Dearborn) and instead of having layers of caked-on blue paint, it features nice brass plaques and stonework that matches the nearby plaza.  Chase finished this project in 2008 and the results are great.  Though most people don't think of it, it's a little gift to the city from the bank.

What's in a Name? An Obamanation.

Lots of people are trying to cash in on Barack Obama's ascendency to the White House.  We're happy the hype is over and the nation's first half-black president can finally get to work and do some good.  But while the balloons and confetti are done flying in Washington, Obama is still being celebrated here in Chicago.

Case in point:

Yes, that hair salon is called "Obama's Hair Design."  It's in the Manhattan Building (431 South Dearborn).  I guess if Walgreen's can cash in with six months of Obama merchandising, we can't begrudge a local entrepreneur from attempting the same.  Still, this seems more appropriate in Hyde Park than in the Loop.

Obama's Hair Design (actual address is 433 South Dearborn) is owned by Mahmoud M. Elsheikh.  He registered the name with the state on November 12, 2008, one week after the election.  The name had to be re-registered because of a typo on the 25th (it happened to us once, too).  

Changing the name to "Obama" was probably not such a bad idea.  The business' previous name was Ossama's Hair Design.  Talk about an opportunity landing in your lap.  

There are actually eight companies in Illinois with "Obama" in their names that are not campaign-related.  There's a barbecue joint, a tax company, the afore-mentioned hair salon, a souvenir web site, and even a trucking company.

Quickie: Blue Water Evaporates

The same location that saw the death of Wolfgang Puck's Spago outlet has claimed another restaurant.  Crian's reports that Blue Water Grill is no more.  The eatery at 512 North Dearborn received generally good reviews, but its parent company decided to streamline operations by closing shop.

Slice of Life: Mad About Snow

People in Chicago know that the city is cold and gets a fair amount of snow, but still they complain about it.  But at least most people don't have to stay outside when it snows.  And chances are you're not made of stone, either.

But these two fellows are both made of stone and made to stay out all night in the snow.  They're embedded in a decidedly homemade-looking brick wall in front of 831 North Dearborn Street.  Maybe they're famous writers.  Maybe they were rescued from a building being torn down.  We don't know the story behind them, but we'd wager they have some stories to tell.

Slice of Life: The Pigeon Warming Center

Every winter there is a migration of television microwave trucks from the garages of channels 2, 5, 7, 9, and 32 to the City of Chicago's official warming center at 10 South Kedzie.  But what about the city's pigeons?  Where do they go when the weather outside turns frightful?

The answer is Daley Plaza.  Unnoticed by most of the millions of people who wander through the plaza during the city's frigid season, pigeons huddle around the gas-fed eternal flame.  It's a war memorial that our feathered friends use as a means of survival.

A Fisher of Compliments

Chicago is one of those places where it pays to look up.  Sure, no one wants to look like a tourist, but at the same time many of the city's architectural delights aren't at eye-level.

Case in point: The Fisher Building.  This Chicago School masterpiece is loved by architecture enthusiasts around the world.  But unless you live in the building you may not have noticed that it's best face is actually hidden beneath the elevated tracks on Van Buren street.  The snowycam photo above simply doesn't do the relief justice.  The building's main entrance on Dearborn Street lacks the elaborate ornamentation.  Instead, it's saved for the dank, noisy side.

In a way, this makes sense.  At the time the Fisher Building was erected (1906) there was probably streetcar tracks running on Van Buren, and not the elevated structure we see today.  So the building actually did put its best face forward.  It's just that the world revolved away from it.