Shiny Shiny Security

The back lobby of the NBC Tower (200 East Illinois Street) is very clean, very shiny, and not used much these days.

This is the security checkpoint where countless thousands of freaks and their fans went through metal detectors (on the left, click to enlarge) on their way to tapings of the Jerry Springer Show.  Since "Springer" moved to Connecticut, it sits.  Waiting.  And gleaming.

Chicago was once Hollywood before there was a Hollywood.  Then the movie industry moved to the west coast, mostly for the consistent weather.  When radio became big, Chicago was huge, but lost its edge to New York.  Then TV came along and gave birth to another media golden age in Chicago.  Over the years, dozens of TV shows have been filmed in, or at least set in Chicago.  The grandpappy of gabfests, Donahue, was filmed at the WGN-TV Studios (2501 West Bradley Place) in the city's North Center neighborhood before it moved to New York.  Of course, we still have the Oprah Winfrey Show, but that's going away, as have Springer, Lykos, Hunt, and others.

There are still a few hold-outs.  Chicago is home to the nation's last superstation, WGN-TV, which produces a couple of national programs a year.  Cable programs on the Food Network, HGTV, and TLC are constantly scouring the neighborhoods of Chicagoland.  Some segments of NBC's semi-syndicated LX.TV are filmed in the Chicago area.  And last weekend NBC ran a pilot for a "reality" TV series called The Match Off that was produced locally.

Pix: How Chicago Skyscrapers Marked Earth Hour

Last night, many places around the world dimmed their lights to mark Earth Hour, an even organized by the World Wildlife Fund.  I've posted a few photos below.  Last year, participation by Chicago buildings was spotty.  This year was better, though there were still a few hold-outs.

Among those I could see going dark:

• Navy Pier, except for its ferris wheel still blazing into the night (600 East Grand Avenue)
• The John Hancock Center (875 North Michigan Avenue)
• Willis Tower (233 South Wacker Drive)
• Aon Center (200 East Randolph Street)
• Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile (540 North Michigan Avenue)
• The Park Tower (800 North Michigan Avenue)
• Grand Plaza (540 North State Street)
• 55 East Erie (55 East Erie Street)
• NBC Tower (200 East Illinois Street)
• Chase Tower (10 South Dearborn Street)
• The Clare at Water Tower (55 East Pearson Street)

I assume that the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower participated because they participate in most everything.

The Marriott always has trouble with its sign, so it ended up darkening some of the letters early in the evening (spelling out "Mot").

Trump International Hotel and Tower was also dark, but not for the occasion.  In spite of what the Chicago Tribune reported, it does not light up at night at all, so this was one of the few occasions when it actually looked appropriate in the night skyline.

Some buildings didn't join in:  

• Millennium Centre (33 West Ontario Street)
• 300 North LaSalle (300 North LaSalle Drive)
• 353 North Clark (353 North Clark Street)
• The Hyatt Regency Chicago (151 East Wacker Drive)
• Museum Park (1215 South Prairie Avenue)
• The Fordham (25 East Superior Street)
• Millennium Park (337 East Randolph Street)

As you can see in the photos below, 300 and 353, and the Hyatt are the brightest things in the Chicago skyline, and conspicuous for their illumination when all of their neighbors have gone dark. As always, you can click to enlarge the pictures and see the offenders.

What's In A Name? The NBC Tower

 

 The NBC Tower is one of our favorite Chicago buildings.  In fact, it may be one of the best looking buildings in the city.  But we can't help but wonder these days if it's in for a name change.

For the last couple of months the Sun-Times has been chirping about NBC Universal moving production of the Jerry Springer Show and the Steve Wilkos Show to Connecticut.  Then last week there was a big brouhaha when NBC informed the state that it plans to lay off more than 100 people who work in the tower.  And now he rumblings are getting louder about NBC selling WMAQ-TV.

It's not exactly a secret that NBC doesn't want to be in the local television business anymore.  Word in broadcast circles is that the peacock network would like to dump every local station it has outside of New York and Los Angeles .  The fire sale is already on in New England where Providence is gone and Hartford is next.  How long until the flames reach the Illinois prairie?

It will be a sad day for Chicago when that illuminated peacock is winched down from the 37th floor of 200 East Illinois Street.  Sure, channel 5 will continue to broadcast, but Chicago will have lost another bit of broadcast prestige and the city's cultural voice that once boomed across the nation's midsection will become yet a little quieter.