Chicago - A Clear View

As I child growing up in a suburb of Chicago, I did not spend a lot of time in the city.  There were special occasions like baseball games @ Wrigley Field, a field trip from school or a family outing that brought us downtown.  One of my earliest recollections of the city was in about 1971 when the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) was under construction and my dad took the three “older kids” downtown to see the building under construction.  It was awe-inspiring to look up at that incredible structure and realize it was going to be the tallest building in the world (at that time).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Tower

During high school, my friends and I were fanatical about going downtown.  We learned the bus routes and elevated train/subway routes to get to Water Tower Place (of course, shopping) and Oak Street Beach.  I don’t think we were forthcoming with our parents about what we were up to most of the time – they probably would not have allowed it.  Although, times were definitely different then! 

We would sit on the beach sunbathing, play Frisbee and volleyball.  My friends would look at downtown as if it was unremarkable – “the city”.  I looked at the buildings and knew I wanted to somehow be part of the field of architecture. 

During my undergrad years, whenever I came home from college for a weekend or for the summer (University of Illinois is about 140 miles away) I always felt drawn to the city.  Driving into Chicago from the western suburbs, there is a clear view of the skyline visible from several miles out.  The city developed along the lakefront, so it is long and linear from north to south, and radiates out to the north, west and south.  Chicago is the 3^rd largest city in the United States after New York and Los Angeles (Boston is 20^th and Minneapolis is 48^th), so even the close-in suburbs feel dense and urban.  

My brother (now an urban planner, but at that time a history major) and I would often head downtown and walk into every building that was open.  We would explore the lobbies, the elevators (always ornately designed), the courtyards.  My favorite accidental discovery was the Rookery Building (Burnham and Root, 1888).  I could not believe no one ever mentioned this building to me – it was incredible.  (Photos below from http://www.therookerybuilding.com/building-timeline.html )

After college, my husband, our son and I moved to Minneapolis and trips into Chicago occurred less frequently.  My husband’s grandmothers both lived on the north side near the lake, so we would typically at least drive past the city and see the skyline if we did not have time for a stop in the Loop.  Our son (now a meteorologist) was interested in science, so we would occasionally head to the Museum of Science and Industry or the Planetarium when we were in Chicago.  These museums are situated along the lakefront, so I was able to get my favorite lake view of the city from the museum sites.   

One of our favorite stops was Buckingham Fountain, where there was a light show most summer evenings (as a kid, there was a human being who controlled it; when my son was little they had a computerized program that changed the lights while music was playing!). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Fountain

For many years, that was my interaction with Chicago.  Every once in a while I would get into town for something work related (Neocon at the Merchandise Mart, the National AIA Convention in 1993) and that was when I started to look at Chicago from a different perspective.   We have lived in Minneapolis since I was in my mid-twenties.  Now that I am older and have much more architecture and planning experience, I am able to take a more informed view of cities. 

My earlier Chicago experience was very emotional and personal.  Since I travel quite a bit (for my job and personally), I have had opportunities to visit many US cities numerous times in recent years.  I can now look at Chicago through an objective lens  in comparison to New York, Boston, Portland (OR), Seattle, Denver and of course Minneapolis.  There is a definite hustle and bustle to Chicago – energy and personality that feel both businesslike and friendly.  People in Chicago will actually look at you and say hello on the sidewalk.  That doesn’t typically happen on the coasts, but it does happen in Minneapolis. 

Mayor Daley the second (Richard M.) has been a force in getting the city to think differently about development – he vowed to make Chicago “the greenest city in America”.  (http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=21 )  He is a supporter and advocate for sustainable growth and on his watch many new programs have been established – including a “green permit” program, which allows applicants to have an expedited review if they commit to certain sustainable strategies for their project. 

Since 2004, the view of Buckingham Fountain as you look north towards Grant Park has changed by the addition of Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion (Frank Gehry) and the Bean Sculpture (“Cloud Gate” by Anish Kapoor) that draws people in to interact with its shiny surfaces and unique twisted views of the city and the people.    The addition of Millennium Park has revitalized the loop and brought it into the 21^st century.  It got people talking about and visiting downtown again – even Chicago natives who rarely get into the Loop took a special trip to see the new fountains, sculpture and pavilion. 

It’s amazing what a spin that addition to the city has caused.  I’m not sure how many skyscrapers and convention center additions it would take to capture people’s attention so strongly.  And there have definitely been several of those projects in the past 25 years!

The city has strength in its built environment, most likely caused by how it formed along the edge of the lake.  The lake helps to give a clarity and identity to Chicago that would not be there otherwise – an edge with a clear view of the skyline.   And if city planners can continue to draw more people to the Loop – the center of the city – by creative planning and vision, that will only strengthen Chicago’s image in my mind.