The More Things Change

December, 2010



I can't believe I haven't posted about this house before. Here is a small retrospective of the past four years of photographic ventures to this wonderful old site.
This house is known as the Raber House and is one of a few homes that managed to survive the great Chicago Fire of 1871. Although a designated Chicago landmark, it is in a lonely state of disrepair. It was originally part of a six acre estate built in 1870 for John Raber. No one seems to know what to do with the sad old house but the City of Chicago has discussed turning the area into a park. Sounds great, but I'll believe it when I see it. At least they are removing a dump of old automobile tires from behind the place. I guess that is progress.

September, 2009



December, 2008



January, 2008



April, 2007



February, 2007

A Chicago River Tour or Fun with Copyright Law

Like many people local to an area, I have neglected to do some of the must see activities a tourist would experience. However, a few weeks ago I had family visiting from out of town and we all took a Chicago River Tour. I had heard it is a great way to view Chicago architecture and it most definitely is.
Obviously I snapped any number of photos but I had to resort to the internet to look up the names of some of the buildings.



One such pair of buildings is the Marina City Towers. These interesting condo buildings have appeared in a number of films and television programs including the Bob Newhart Show, Dark Knight and the Blues Brothers. When first I saw these buildings they seemed outlandish to me but they have since grown on me. I am always amused by the lower level parking garages. Where else can you park and get million dollar river views? I think I'd be obsessing over whether I set the parking brake adequately.



Careful what you do with your photos of this building, however. It is under copyright. In theory if, say, I wanted to turn my photo into a postcard to send to my friends, I might need to apply to the condo board for permission. Now, I am no expert on copyright but I have read just enough to be wary of violating these copyright laws. I have received a few requests for copies of my pictures from commercial interests and have always refused for fear of getting into vicarious trouble. Now, if the subject of the photo were a tree, there would be no problem unless the tree's owner got back to me. But since I take lots of architecture and city pictures and since all those buildings are owned by someone, I just have to say no.
A few years ago I took a picture of a totem pole in Seattle, Washington and some homeless people started to object to being in the shot. My thought about them is about the same as how I feel about the architecture question. Don't put yourself or your building in a highly touristy, scenic or public location if you don't want pictures taken of it or if you want to absolutely control the use of said pictures. Hypothetically speaking, if I plant my body in front of the Louvre for a month, do I control rights to all photos taken with me in it? In the article I read, sometimes film makers have to edit out certain buildings from skyline shots due to copyright issues. Imagine altering a film of Seattle with the Space Needle omitted or New York City sans the Empire State Building? It just wouldn't be the same.
Read here for more about the Marina City debate.
All right back to the photos.

Squares are Everywhere

A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.
Mark Twain

Here are a few more examples of squares I've found in my photographic rambles.


Tiles in a mosaic at a local high school.


Detail of an art installation at MIT--ceiling view. Games of Chance and Skill by Matthew Ritchie.

Simmons Hall, MIT

Back to the Museum

Do windows create art out of ordinary scenes?

Here are some more photos of the museum outing. Although I'm not a huge fan of modern art, the new modern gallery at the Art Institute does a lovely job of presenting the art.


Picasso and Millennium Park



I couldn't take pictures of the photography exhibit because photography (ironically) wasn't allowed but I also saw an exhibit of photos by William Eggleston. Although I didn't like all of his work, seeing original photos on display truly proved to me how much a person can miss viewing a reproduction in a book. Some of his photos, especially his portraits, had such amazing depth and texture. If you like photography, check him out.

Back to Gary--post number 1002

Not much more than a year ago today, I took my first and only other set of photos of Gary, Indiana. I said most of what I could say on this post last year. This year I traveled over many of the same streets and revisited my favorite row of cast concrete row houses (built around 1910, architect D.F. Creighton, according to my sources). After a bit of searching on-line, (I do so love the internet), I learned that the initial concept for these houses came from Thomas Edison (one of my childhood heroes) and that these homes were built as low cost worker housing. According to a posted application for the National Historic Register, the Monroe Terrace Historic District these homes were built for the workers of the U.S. Sheet and Tin Plate Company and are "an outstanding example of early twentieth century company-supplied worker housing that utilized experimental methods and materials of house construction." (See above link). I wonder if the application was approved. I saw no signs of improvement to the houses since I visited them last year.
Well, this was more than I had planned on posting. I wanted to mention as well that I have posted over 1000 posts! I never dreamed this blog would last this long when I started it. I am amazed at how much I've learned and at the friends I've made this way. It has been worth it.
Have a great weekend.

Gargoyles

Gargoyles are so cool!



Seen at Washington University in St. Louis

Gary, Indiana

"There is just one place
That can light my face.
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome, but--
Gary, Indiana,
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
My home sweet home."

Lyrics from the Music Man



When I was a kid I saw the movie, Music Man, a number of times. It was one of my father's favorites. It is all about the sweet wholesomeness of a small town and how it brings out the best in a man of bad character. Since I grew up in Seattle and Los Angeles, this was my only encounter with Gary until recently.
Living in Chicago as a young adult, I came to regard Gary as a place to pass above (on the Skyway, an elevated toll road) on the way to the Indiana and Michigan Dunes, great sandy hills on Lake Michigan. No one that I knew ever went to Gary. It wasn't considered a destination.
Gary has repeatedly been called the "murder capital of the country." It has earned the title by having the most murders per capita of a city of more than 100,000 people. This number was 58/100,000 in 2005.



I would have never have considered going to Gary but my fellow urban photographers kept posting wonderful pictures of the Gary area. In my wanderings on the south side of Chicago I keep moving farther south and the next interesting stop appeared to be in Indiana. I had a child-free day and there I went.
Honestly, Gary has some lovely architecture and the first neighborhood I passed through seemed relatively prosperous and well kept. I truly loved the homes which were a mix of brick and stone, each unique and elegant.



Closer to downtown Gary I saw the parts of town that generated the negative reputation. Gary seemed more desolate than the worst parts of Chicago I have visited. There were hardly any people out on this cold day, but there seemed to be almost no place for people to go to. I saw a few young men on the main street but didn't stick around to chat.



Gary is a city that has great architectural bones. I hope they find a way to revitalize it, to bring back jobs, safety and hope to its residents. I'm glad I'm not the mayor, though. I wouldn't know where to start.



I know it is a lot to ask, but as the new president is inaugurated today, I hope Obama remembers his "community organizer" roots and figures out a way to help those Americans who live in the direst of poverty in these pockets of violence and despair.

Kind of Cool

To have a son who has the credentials to apply to MIT. I think I might want to go there too if they'd have me. More on college tours later (when I'm not at work).

Tuesday Challenge--Towers

Marina City, Chicago. Architect Bertrand Goldberg, completed in 1964. Described as a "corncob" although to my eye, a close up seems more scalloped.

Lensday submission--Modern

This is one piece of modern architecture I really like. It is an El station at the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. I like its lines and how it appears to swallow the train whole.

Who will buy? Wordless Wednesday

So who buys used churches anyway?

Larger building view

Here is a larger view of the building shown on the previous post. It puts the faces in context.
According to Cinema Treasures, this was a movie theater which was built in 1913 and closed in the mid-1990's.

Wanderings

During my wanderings around Chicago, I found this little cluster of frame houses surrounded by vacant lots, industrial sites and less savory neighborhoods. Many of the houses are boarded up and I was reluctant to photograph the occupied ones but the area caught my fancy. I hope someone decides to rescue these homes. They are a part of our architectural heritage that counts as much as the more gaudy downtown high rises. I think they are of an architectural type known as "workers cottages."

I think I need to swing by again and take more pictures. There is a story behind the area which I will try to blog sometime soon.