Architecture posts

Chicago flowers, tourists, architecture, flag, architecture April 30, 2014
When one photo is able to capture multiple stories, you have a photo that tells one million words. Read about each of the stories below this loooong vertical pano photo. Flowers Emerging from a long cold winter, Chicago’s flowers grow…
Name changes: Willis, Macy’s, U.S. Cellular December 13, 2012
Don’t call it Willis Don’t call it Macy’s Don’t call it U.S. Cellular But why? Gapers Block sells a five-pack of “Don’t call it that” buttons. The tagline is “Buttons for true Chicagoans.” To complement this pack, I would like…
Trump Tower & Pacific Rim mashup November 16, 2012
I would like to share a cool mashup that Cure4 made with my Trump Tower photo. It’s cool seeing someone make something rad with your work.
How many doors are on your commute? October 7, 2011
It's fun photographing all the doors you walk through on your commute. Someday try counting them all.
Photos that float in the sky right after photographing September 2, 2011
Five tourists armed with cameras were taking photos of the Trump Tower architecture. As they were shooting, I wanted their photos to fly magically into the air for me to see. We have technology now that allows people to instantly…
King Kong climbs Wrigley Building in Chicago July 25, 2011
When a tiny King Kong meets architectural history: A playful moment captured atop the iconic Wrigley Building.
Transformers totally destroy Chicago April 29, 2011
STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND WATCH THE NEW TRANSFORMERS TRAILER. At first when I was watching it, I thought, “oh this is neat” but then they showed more and more Chicago, and i was like WHOA WHOA I CAN’T…
Chicago City Hall during Christmas is beautiful December 6, 2010
The old marble walls are lit up with alternating green and red lamps. It’s simply majestic. During lunch I walked from the Tribune Tower down to Daley Plaza looking for Christmas things to photograph. The Christkindl Market in Daley Plaza…
The Grand and not-so-Grand new staircases for the CTA red line station April 30, 2010
What’s your choice? Walking up a nice set of granite stairs or up an echoing metal staircase? You couldn’t have more a difference between the two new staircases installed in the Grand red line station. For the commuters from the…
Pulaski Park Fieldhouse is a wonder December 10, 2009
A few blocks east of Chicago’s hipster neighborhood lies the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. The Renegade Craft Fair holiday show has been held in this wonderful building the past couple years. It’s so much fun exploring all the rooms. Imagine when…
Willis Tower: The new Slip-n-Slide Central August 3, 2009
I’d really like a four-mile long Slip-n-Slide to work. However Chicago has no hills to create Slip-n-Slides, so let’s leverage the height of the great Chicago skyscrapers. All Slip-n-Slides can start from the Sears Tower (oops I mean, Willis Tower).…
Sears Tower is moved to Navy Pier (and being renamed to Willis Tower) March 12, 2009
Photo courtesy josephp via creative commons license Wow. They moved the entire Sears Tower over to Navy Pier. And they built a huge dome over it. A few questions: 1) How did they get the Sears Tower to fit inside…
I really like working in one of the world’s best public squares ever. February 18, 2009
Pioneer court in Chicago on Michigan Avenue has been called one of the world’s best public squares in existence. Surrounded by great architecture on the south with 333 North Michigan Avenue and the London Insurance Building, on the north with…
Coverage of the Barack Obama Inauguration January 23, 2009
Here’s the story of how I captured the 42nd most interesting photo taken on flickr for January 22, 2009. While sitting at work in the Tribune Tower, the TV was tuned into WGN’s coverage of the Inauguration. As I listen…
The Illinois State Capital is a cool-looking building June 24, 2008
(image from benandclare) (image from neowneow) Who knew that Springfield, Illinois had such a cool building? I like how the dome is stretched taller. And that silver color. Very cool. (I encountered this discovery from a photo on a chicagoist…
Chicago Eco-Bridge: One Giant Hug June 12, 2008
Oh wow, this proposed Eco-Bridge off Chicago’s lakeshore is just fantastic! One of Chicago’s true jewels is the lakefront. Yet, it seems that many people outside Chicago aren’t aware of how great our lakeshore is. Dude, the Chicago Ecobridge will…
Buildings and pencils May 27, 2008
The pointy top of the Prudential 2 building in chicago is much like a pencil. Stellaroxy recently fav’ed one of my photos on deviantart, and this pencil photo was sitting next to it. They make a nice pair. The photos…
View of Chicago from America’s third tallest building, the AON Center May 21, 2008
The 80th floor of the AON Center has fantastic views. As of now, it’s the 3rd tallest building in America. (Sears Tower, Empire State Building, AON Center). The 80th floor is not open to the public, instead, it’s leased to…
If the IBM Building were a person, what would his name be? May 5, 2008
Chicago’s IBM building. It’s a classic. Very simple black box. And now he has a good buddy across the street from him, Trump Tower. Of course IBM traditionally stands for International Business Machines. But here we are talking about two…
Installing new lights at Wrigley Building December 10, 2007
Last week, the historical landmark Wrigley Building was testing out some new lights in their courtyard. One of the workers told me that he was concerned that they were too big. I thought they looked just fine and told him…
IBM Building and Construction of Trump Tower November 7, 2007
There are some days that I’ll shoot a photo that just really pleases me a lot and makes me surprised that I’m able to create something so neat. This is one of those images. (Shot yesterday during lunch). The reflections…
IDEA: Sears Tower plush robot October 18, 2007
Someone out there, please make a plush stuffed Sears Tower, complete with arms and legs. And the eyes would be lights up in the top of the Tower. Oh man. That would rool so hard core. Would it really a…
What if the Chicago Spire doesn’t get built? September 13, 2007
Right now construction crews are drilling 34 holes in the ground going 120 feet deep, 10-feet in diameter. These will be the caissons for America’s tallest building, the Chicago Spire to be completed in 2010–or will it be completed? Many…
Woodpecker on Tribune Tower April 4, 2007
While at work on the 14th floor of the Tribune Tower our copywriter spotted a woodpecker outside our windows! The little birdie was just hanging onto the outside of the wall. So I carefully walked over and snapped some photos.…
Chicago’s Twizzler Tower to be tallest in America December 12, 2006
There’s plans for a new monster 2,000 foot tall building to appear on the lakefront in Chicago. Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune wrote an excellent review pointing out how the old plan had the tower gracefully pointing upward into…
Tribune Tower has twin buildings in Rockford and Elgin, Illinois October 30, 2006
Both the Rockford News Tower and Elgin Tower appear to have been built recently, however it’s amazing that they were both built just a few years after the Tribune Tower. Tribune Tower: 1922; News Tower: 1930; Elgin Tower: 1929 ————————-…
Waterslide arrives on top of downtown Chicago office building October 11, 2006
The rooftop of a downtown building in downtown Chicago just got a curious addition built this morning. A white bulbous alien ship/water slide just landed down on top of the Realtor Building on 430 North Michigan Avenue. I work on…
Chicago skyscraper to double height September 19, 2006
(image from ArchitectureChicago Plus blog) The Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building in downtown Chicago at 300 East Randolph is going to double its height by adding another building right smack on top of it. According to the ArchitectureChicago Plus blog, The…
Chicago’s Trump Tower is eight days behind schedule September 12, 2006
The McDonalds across from the Trump Tower is where you overhear all the current news on the construction status on the Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago. I was standing in line behind a construction worker with a bunch stickers…
Sun-Times Irv Kupcinet statue pointing to Trump Tower August 8, 2006
A nine foot tall bronze statue of Irv Kupcinet was recently installed to commemorate the man behind a record-breaking 60-year Chicago Sun-Times column. He even is depicted holding a Sun-Times final edition under his right arm. The 9 feet tall…
The truth behind Chicago’s Trump Tower July 26, 2006
As the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago slowly rises from the ground, everyone can immediately see a huge construction flaw. The main materials used for the construction of the tower are giant toilet paper cardboard tubes. Donald Trump…