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  #321  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2012, 3:01 PM
the urban politician the urban politician is online now
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I just traveled 100 years into the future and I brought back this excerpt from an article that I had read in the Chicago Tribune:

"Wealthy Chicagoans, with their mighty city-region having seceded from the United States, are now in the process of remaking their beautiful city into the great capital that it will become. One of the first orders of business is to rehab the classic building formerly known as Lincoln Park 2520. Built nearly a century ago and designed by the revered French-born architect Lucien LaGrange, this classically inspired masterpiece has fallen into significant disrepair and has even attracted homeless squatters. They plan to lovingly restore this once lovely building back to its original state of grandeur.

Interestingly, this building was much maligned by contemporaries when it was first built. Many in the architectural community decried its backwards-looking design, criticized its massing, and criticized the use of materials that were then considered unbefitting for a building of this style. Of course, that was a long time ago, and how would they have known that the cost of materials and construction today are so exorbitant that a stunning building such as this one could never be built again. We Chicagoans can only consider ourselves lucky that individuals today exist with the means to restore it to its original grandeur, lest it be lost forever to the soulless wrecking ball!
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  #322  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2012, 2:41 AM
Andrew|W Andrew|W is offline
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Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280 View Post
Is that actual limestone on the first two floors of the building? If it is, that salvages this design just a little bit in that it is pretty impressive stonework for this era. It just appears to have more texture to it than precast.
I am not entirely sure from the other side of the street, but I think that is real Limestone on the first two floors, but it only occurs on the center and northern sections. On the south (grayish) portion, the precast definitely comes all the way to the ground.
     
     
  #323  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2012, 5:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Mikemak27 View Post
Hayward, What do you think of the white building right across the street from the Elysian, 2 W. Delaware? My sister and I used to live in that building. Do you know if the empty lot behind it is going to get developed into the second phase of that project? I know the two towers were suppose to share the pool, but it never got built. It's too bad we got evicted
I don't think anything is going to be happening with this lot anytime soon. You'd probably have a better idea on occupancy of that building, but when I look out my window daytime, I can see right through many of the units, which tells me there's still quite a few that need selling.

When I compare night photos, it does seem to get more lit up month after month which tells me people are moving in.
     
     
  #324  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2012, 12:43 AM
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Couldn't they just have rotated those column caps sideways so we don't see the joint?

^ These lower 2 levels are almost certainly some sort of stone, not precast. I took a look up close today. I'm not very knowledgeable about stones: limestone, perhaps? It actually looks like they are using 2 materials: limestone along the sides, and some sort of porous stone just around the above entrance.
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  #325  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 12:01 PM
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Another shot of the top of 2520 under construction. I hope they don't make it look as awful as the top of the Elysian.
     
     
  #326  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 1:59 PM
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^^^ Yeah, between the limestone base and what is looking to be an OK top, this is by and far the best LaGrange tower. I might even say it's not even ugly, just not my cup of tea. Looking like it might work out to be an "acceptable" in my book.
     
     
  #327  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 5:00 PM
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There are certainly some more redeeming qualities to this building, but in typical Lagrange fashion - the back of the building seems like a complete after thought. For me, it takes well out of the running for "his best"

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  #328  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 5:03 PM
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There are certainly some more redeeming qualities to this building, but in typical Lagrange fashion - the back of the building seems like a complete after thought. For me, it takes well out of the running for "his best"
My biggest problem with Lagrange is not necessarily that the good angles look all that bad, but that the bad angles are as boring as any other precast tower in the city...
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  #329  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 5:10 PM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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I actually don't mind the back of it. I've said it many times, but there really is nothing wrong with a blank wall that doesn't face the street. There has never been any shortage of buildings with blank walls facing the interior of the block in this city because, frankly, who want's to look at that? I'll wait to see it when it's done, but at this point it looks like the blank wall might actually add visual interest and, ironically, express the structure of the tower as it get skinnier and skinnier with the core.
     
     
  #330  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 5:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280 View Post
I actually don't mind the back of it. I've said it many times, but there really is nothing wrong with a blank wall that doesn't face the street. There has never been any shortage of buildings with blank walls facing the interior of the block in this city because, frankly, who want's to look at that? I'll wait to see it when it's done, but at this point it looks like the blank wall might actually add visual interest and, ironically, express the structure of the tower as it get skinnier and skinnier with the core.
Given that there is a sizable private park behind the building I would expect there to be more of an effort. I don't mind a blank wall in principal either, but the back side is a hodge-podge of design choices. Why place the windowless recesses in one part and not pursue a similar solution somewhere else?

I think the recesses themselves are a little odd, but they add some texture as well as help break up some of the monotony.

Last edited by jc5680; Apr 6, 2012 at 6:44 PM.
     
     
  #331  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 5:41 PM
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All the seemingly random historic elements almost look like he was trying to do a historic deconstructionicist style although knowing Lagrange he always states how his designs are so traditional and historic. Its crazy how he has a cornice along the back side of the right midrise and then it extends to the middle of the main building but then stops. Why? This makes no sense. Why didn't he extend the cornice along the top of the left midrise part as well? Doesn't he understand symmetry? The midrise parts would look alright on their own I suppose. I really like his midrise along LSD in the gold coast. But this thing is just so clobbered together. The more I think about it the more it makes my head hurt.
     
     
  #332  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 7:05 PM
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Blank walls are okay in theory, but only if they're facing lot lines where another building is eventually expected. Also, the blank wall can and should be "composed" so it's not a blight on the cityscape.

The Roosevelt tower is a good example, with the waffle slabs of black precast (these actually mask ventilation grilles).
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  #333  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2012, 8:14 PM
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The courses on this thing are all over the place; I wish a little more thought was put into them. The meeting of those elliptical rosettes (or whatever) with the bays above the entrance is a little awkward as well (specifically, those clunky lintels look odd next to the piercing receding edges of the bottom of the bay). Otherwise, the entrance isn't too terrible. Most irritating is the pretense of this being three separate, abutting structures. If that were really the case, there wouldn't be balconies jutting out from the party walls...
     
     
  #334  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2012, 3:19 PM
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The back of this building will be very visible throughout Lincoln Par -- here is the view from Wrightwood, Sheffield & Lincoln intersection looking east down Wrightwood. You can see the tops of 2626 and 2650 in the image, and 2520 will today be visible... I'd guess between the stoplights. It's not like the back of the tower faces an alley or the back of some other high rise... there is nothing beyond about 10 stories anywhere to its west, so it'll be visible from countless vantage points across Lincoln Park. Hell, I think it'll be clearly visible from the Kennedy Expressway.
     
     
  #335  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2012, 12:09 AM
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I was in the area, and was able to grab a quick cellphone shot. Now that the crane is down - it looks like there is at least some textural treatment to the blank span on the back of the building. So, not as bad as I originally thought it would be. Still quite odd, but not as offensive.


Last edited by jc5680; Apr 8, 2012 at 2:03 PM.
     
     
  #336  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2012, 9:30 PM
102ndFloorNYC 102ndFloorNYC is offline
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It amazes me how it has 33 floors yet it is almost 500 feet tall
     
     
  #337  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 1:40 AM
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  #338  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 2:01 AM
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At least from far away (most people will see this one from LSD anyways) this isn't too bad. The massing, especially of the top, is pretty good. I'd have prefered if it were around 100'-150' shorter. It looks anachronistically tall right now while, if they had cut the height, it could have looked like the Plaza (at least from a distance... if you squint).
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  #339  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 3:17 AM
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Originally Posted by ChiPhi View Post
I'd have prefered if it were around 100'-150' shorter.
Burn the heretic!!!
     
     
  #340  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 3:27 AM
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Burn the heretic!!!
I know. I never thought I would advocate for a tower being shorter, but that seems to be my complaint with many of LaGrange's historicist (especially the beaux-arts ones like this, 840 N LSD, 10 East Delaware). One need only look at how well the height-appropriate 65 E Goethe turned out (as a side-note, the detailing on that building turned out quite nice as well - usually the greatest failure of a LaGrange design; it also has real stone instead of precast if I'm not mistaken). I'd bet the height was a result of NIMBYs trying to keep the "neighborhood character" intact. In this one case (if it was NIMBYs that are responsible), I commend them. Wow, I really am quite the heretic. I suppose I'll get that bonfire ready myself and you guys can just tie me up...
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