Quote:
Originally Posted by Jibba
Don't presume that I'm being flippant--I'm looking at this discerningly. I can only see it having value as an emblem of post-fire initiative, but that's dubious. It isn't particularly architecturally significant, and, as the article you linked to notes, it was built quickly and cheaply. We often deride the hasty results of scrappy, opportunistic developers today; what makes this one any different, aside from it being old? Were it the oldest extant building in the Loop, it would be distinct, and only for that attribute (in which case, it would be very much worthy of preservation).
|
quick and cheap is not a demerit by itself. the fact that it is still standing and structurally sound 150 years later is a testament to that. if we can still say that about the cheap schlock going up today in the same amount of time than i guess we can have that debate.
i find it elegant, brooding, and a reminder of the old Chicago which is all too rapidly being thrown under the bus. it contributes to the fine grained street level experience. does a building need to be a landmark to consider it worthy of appreciating? we have a city filled with thousands of 2 flats, bungalows, and other similar type "workers cottages". they werent built for nobility, they were built for the everyday working man. are they not worthy of our respect? are those not the types of buildings and architecture Chicago for so long prided itself on?
yes, something happens to a building when it is allowed to age. it gains character. and theres no way to fake it, it takes time. and the way buildings from this era weather is distinctly different than the way glass and steel modern construction does. one gets better. the other does not.
frankly there is no need for ANY vintage building to be demolished in this city given what we have to work with, and how rare and distinctive what we have is from the rest of the United States, and the world for that matter. if we keep it up however we will not have much left to distinctly call our own.