CHICAGO | 108 North State (Block 37)

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by honte

Remember how the Reliance Building went up? The precedent is literally right across the street!

What was the story there?
Do you mean adding floors onto an existing low-rise?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

The large building in the foreground is the Columbus Memorial Building, but the narrow building to the left, also demolished, was called the Venetian Building, a landmark in the development of steel cross-bracing. Both were demolished to make way for the eventual Old Navy building.

[honte]

Originally Posted by denizen467

What was the story there?
Do you mean adding floors onto an existing low-rise?

The Reliance building has a bizarre history. In brief: There was a four-story building there from the 1870s. In 1890, the new owner wanted a 15-story building, but the upper floors had leases several years out. So, they shored-up the upper floors and managed to excavate the ground floor and basement, add piers for a 15-story building, and build a new ground floor to the design of John Wellborn Root. This was going on while the upper floors were occupied! Carson Pirie Scott moved into the new department store, on the first floor and basement, when it was done.

Then, when it was time to expand vertically in 1894-5, they demolished the upper floors and added the rest of the skyscraper (I am not clear as to when the upper floors were actually demolished - it might have been before this time). The addition was designed by Charles Atwood because Root had died in the meantime. Again, the ground floor retail continued to operate while this was going on. New steel was erected in only two weeks and the cladding went up not long after.

It's not a direct comparison to Old Navy, but it's a good precedent and inspiration. Definitely there must be a way to keep them there if they want to be there, while giving us a respectable building on that site again.

[denizen467]

Wow, interesting.

(I knew there must be some good reason for giving the Atwood Cafe that name!)

[honte]

^ Reading your post I just saw that my first date was a typo. That should have read "In 1882, the new owner wanted a 15-story..." The first part of the building we see today was built from 1890-1891.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by honte

Remember how the Reliance Building went up?

Oh yeah, I remember, those sure were the good ole days, eh honte?

[wrab]

Saturday 7/26:

[wrab]

Sunday 7/27:

[hdtvtechno]

guess what ?
We have a actual date now for CBS2 News Studio broadcasting
September 22 2008 is the date..

[wrab]

^ Should be a good place (via Daley Plaza) to watch the November election returns.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

Am i missing something here ...but that obvsiouly is just the middle piece of the jumbotron...gonna place in the left and right portions...the screen is not just that middle piece?

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....st-1.html#more

Not seeing eye to eye at Block 37: A battle over CBS 2's broadcast screen
Blair Kamin

...Joe Ahern, CBS 2's president and general manager, defends the placement of the screen, saying it is more visible to people on the plaza and that the proportions of the sign work better for actual broadcasting than the conceptual superwide element in Johnson's drawings. "We didn't just plop it up there," he told me in an interview last week.

[harryc]

Modern


Classic




Can't leave this corner without a shot of this one.

[Mr Roboto]

Originally Posted by spyguy

...Joe Ahern, CBS 2's president and general manager: "We didn't just plop it up there," he told me in an interview last week.

Sure as hell looks like it. I agree with Kamin here. Im very dissapointed not only with the placement of the screen, but obviously the width. The renderings totally threw us off, I was expecting something much wider. But if thats all they got, thats all they got. Somehow Im not surprised.

[chicubs111]

yea...this is crap...what the hell is there renderings for if there gonna screw the whole things up...this was supposed to be a screen that wrapped around...i cant believe this !

[left of center]

The video screen, for me, was the one saving grace of this utter failure of a grand project. Looks like they fudged that up too. Ive been following this project from day 1 when they first annouced it (back when there was supposed to be a giant artistic video frieze all around the building, a huge atrium in the center with a giant video obelisk tying into the CTA station underneath, etc. etc. etc.) and over the course of its construction, each and every new bit of news has been a terrible dissapointment. They cut this. They downsized that. Blah blah blah. I say tear the whole thing down and bring back Skate on State. This building just pisses me off now.

[wrab]

HarryC, the reflections on the P&W tower are amazing, aren't they? At times, the building just melts away.

And the Reliance is still an astonishing building, even today, well after its centenary.

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

Am i missing something here ...but that obvsiouly is just the middle piece of the jumbotron...gonna place in the left and right portions...the screen is not just that middle piece?

no kidding. it looks very odd. It should fill that whole space.

does anyone have the render of the screen?

[i_am_hydrogen]

There's one included in Kamin's article.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....day_copy_4.jpg

[cbotnyse]

^^ thanks. I forgot about the article. duh.

after reading that, I agree. Its just another missed opportunity for something great, kind of like every aspect of this project.

[pottebaum]

Ugh. Jeebus. It looks so incomplete.