CHICAGO | General Developments

[denizen467]

^ Good catch. I still don't understand this project though. Two floors above that, there are some windows that appear "open." Is that an intentional part of the frit pattern, like some kind of little joke, or are there actually glass panes behind the frit glass layer (I vaguely remember something about an enclosure of an enclosure for environmental purposes or something) that are open for temporary access?

Also, I don't understand the 3 black rectangular spaces along the right edge of each window. Is that temporary or permanent? Will the look vary with the angle of the sun? What are they anyway?

Finally, the overall look makes the white portion of the facade look like it's just cinder blocks. Hopefully when completed, and in-person, it will look pleasing. Can anyone post or link to a photo of the building being evoked here?

[denizen467]

Race of the flagships - although Burberry looks like it still has a ways to go, catercorner from it the new AT&T flagship store is apparently aiming for an early September opening.

[BWChicago]

It looks like there's a temporary plastic barrier in the wall behind the glass curtainwall (look on the floor above the windows), the absence of that accounts for the open look. There are black rectangles on the other side too, corresponding with the window surrounds on the original facade - there's just less contrast on the left so it reads as in shadow, to give it depth. Hopefully that's more evident in person.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Can anyone post or link to a photo of the building being evoked here?

The building was built in 1913 as the Arcade Building, refaced by IBM in 1958.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Eh... The rough brick, concrete, and plywood can be seen through the curtain wall. It's really distracting from the ghost-building effect. I hope Columbia fixes this.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

The building was built in 1913 as the Arcade Building, refaced by IBM in 1958.

Thanks Mr D, but I think that's the finished product - I was hoping to see a reasonably good image of the Arcade Building in its virgin glory (I assume they're aiming for the pre-1958 version, seeing as having "IBM" and "1958" in the same sentence only evokes images of a building looking like an ENIAC).

[george]

^
A not so reasonably good image of the old Arcade Building



http://johndcramer.wordpress.com/201...chigan-avenue/

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by george

A not so reasonably good image of the old Arcade Building

Thanks. (Interesting that the publication is including a 1913 building in a "turn of the century" collection.) One supposes the people who designed the fritted glass have some very clear originals they are going off of, so they must at least exist somewhere.

Don't want to go OT, but I'd never thought of this until now: When did the ubiquitous awning disappear from downtown skyscrapers? Did it have to do with aesthetics and/or natural light? Was it the ascendance of the motorcar, eliminating the need to keep horses (and saddle, and dude tending to the horses, and the bag of feed) dry from rain?

[ardecila]

My impression is that the awning and plate-glass window (and luxfer prism) went hand-in-hand.

In the days before electric lighting became cheap, the sun's glare would make the unlit window displays difficult to see unless the sidewalk was also shaded. Once fluorescent lighting became popular, the inside of stores was always brightly lit, which eliminated the glare problem. Awnings were also a maintenance challenge, since they daily needed to be extended/retracted and the fabric needed periodic replacement. Also (as you can see at the refurbished Carson Pirie Scott) the awnings are quite low, making them vulnerable to vandalism and minor forms of defacement, not to mention wind, snow, and ice.

[Mr Downtown]

Here's a section from one of those incredible Detroit Publishing glass negs in the Library of Congress, showing the Arcade Building. The shot from Chicago at the Turn of the Century in Photographs comes from Barnes-Crosby glass negs at Chicago Historical Society. Those are mostly from 1904, but the presence of the Arcade Building is how we know some were taken as late as 1913.



Actually, I'm not sure that there are more than three or four photos to guide the architects of this re-creation. The landmarks report had to settle for a small halftone from a 1929 business directory.

[Hayward]

Ive been impressed with how the glass looks so far

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Actually, I'm not sure that there are more than three or four photos to guide the architects of this re-creation.

Thanks Mr Downtown. Buildings existing today are not at risk of leaving only sparse photographic records for the future, thanks to inexpensive digital cameras. But our generation should remain vigilant, and exploit this technology to the utmost by detailing every last nook and cranny of our age as much as possible.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Actually, I'm not sure that there are more than three or four photos to guide the architects of this re-creation. The landmarks report had to settle for a small halftone from a 1929 business directory.

This one is fairly detailed, even though the focus is on the neighboring building (too bad Columbia hasn't restored that one).

https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/66899

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by spyguy

This one is fairly detailed, even though the focus is on the neighboring building (too bad Columbia hasn't restored that one).

https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/node/66899

Incidentally the neighboring building was originally half that height - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/de...0/4a23995v.jpg

[J_M_Tungsten]

Hotel Lincoln opened last weekend. The view from the roof top bar is pretty amazing, even if the drinks are ridiculously over priced!

[ardecila]

Love the oldtimey sign. I wish it sat on top of the parapet instead of covering up the facade, but that would have ruined the views from the roof. A vertical sign cantilevered off of a corner would have avoided both problems.

[Andrew|W]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Love the oldtimey sign. I wish it sat on top of the parapet instead of covering up the facade, but that would have ruined the views from the roof. A vertical sign cantilevered off of a corner would have avoided both problems.

It has a vertical sign too.
To their credit, I think it was the former failed Park View Hotel project that put the signboard up there, Hotel Lincoln just had to apply their letters.

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by Andrew|W

It has a vertical sign too.
To their credit, I think it was the former failed Park View Hotel project that put the signboard up there, Hotel Lincoln just had to apply their letters.

It was up there even when it was Days Inn Gold Coast and still said Hotel Lincoln whitewashed, it just was never taken down period.

[Andrew|W]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

It was up there even when it was Days Inn Gold Coast and still said Hotel Lincoln whitewashed, it just was never taken down period.

Sorry, I haven't been around here that long, but I found this tiny picture without it and assumed it was fairly new.

Did someone doctor that photo then? Is it even a photo? It's too small to tell, but it made me assume that there was a period when the sign didn't exist.

[ardecila]

That photo looks like a clipping from an old postcard. Here's a different view.