River North - I

River North is part of the Near North Side community area of Chicago.. which [apart from River North] includes areas as Streeterville, Washington Square, Goose Island, Old Town and Gold Coast..

River North is bound by Chicago River in south and west, Michigan Avenue in east and Chicago Avenue in north. This area has one of the largest concentration of art gallries in the United States.. [I have not seen any, so something to look forward to this year].. Since there are a lot of interesting buildings in this area, the coverage is in a three part series..
# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Part-I of the three part series ..
River North - Buildings along the Chicago River..

• Chicago Sun Times Bldg.
• Merchandise Mart
• 325 N Wells
• 300 N LaSalle
• Reid Murdock Center
• 321 N Clark
• Westin Chicago River North
• Marina City
• House of Blues
• IBM Bldg.
• Trump Imternational Hotel

[1] Chicago Sun Times..
Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill..
Completed: 1977..
This building was previously the Apparel Mart and was built as a compliment the the neighboring Merchandise Mart. In 2004, the Sun-Times newspaper moved its offices into the building, when its former headquarters building was sold to make way for the Trump Tower.

 

[2] Merchandise Mart..
Architect: Graham, Anderson, Probst and White..
Completed: 1931.
The building was the largest in the world in terms of floorspace, but was surpassed by The Pentagon in 1943..
In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the Mart and the Apparel Center..

 

[3] 325 N Wells
Architect: L. Gustave Hallberg - 1912
Booth Hansen & Assocs. - 1984

 

[4] 300 N LaSalle
Architectural firm Pickard Chilton
Developed by Hines..
Completed: 2009
This 60-story building, has LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which establishes the building as a major sustainable design development.

 

[5] Reid Murdoch & Co. Building..
Also called Central Office Building..
Artchitect: George C. Nimmons
Completed: 1914..
Address: 321 N. LaSalle, Chicago IL..
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: November 15, 1976..
It was built as a central food processing plant for Reid, Murdoch & Company. It was one of the first designs to respond to the 1909 Plan for Chicago's goal for riverfront redevelopment. Docking facilities are recessed at the water level, while a promenade extends at street level. The most distinguishing feature is the clock tower with four massive internally illuminated translucent glass faces.

 

[6] 321 N Clark
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Completed: 1987

[7] Westin Chicago River North
Architect: Helmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
Completed: 1987

 

[8] Marina City
Completed: 1964
Architect: Bertrand Goldberg, a student of Mies van der Rohe..
It has two identical corncob-shaped 65-story towers .. with 5-story elevator and the bottom 18 stories is parking space.
At the base of the famous of Marina City buildings, the House of Blues opened in 1996..

[9] House of Blues..

[10] IBM building..
Architect: Mies Van der Rohe
Completed: 1971
Location: 330 N Wabash Avenue..
This is Mies’ last American building and his largest. Like most International style buildings, this skyscraper has a glass curtain wall, with aluminum and bronze-tinted glass. But unlike many later curtain-wall skyscrapers with uniform facades, IBM's facade is characterized by differentiating glass, spandrel and mullion - window frames are raised and spandrel panels recessed..

 

[11] Trump International Hotel
Architects: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill..

Designated Chicago Landmarks in the River North area includes..
- Assumption School Building..
- The Bush Temple of Music.. ..
- Cable House..
- Chicago Varnish Company Building..
- [Former] Chicago Historical Society Building ..
- [Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
- Medinah Temple..
- Nickerson House..
- Reid Murdoch Center..
- Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard..

# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Read More

River North - II

River North is bound by Chicago River in south and west, Michigan Avenue in east and Chicago Avenue in north.
Since there are a lot of interesting buildings in this area, the coverage is in a three part series..
# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Part-II of the three part series ..
Some significant buildings in the River North area..

• House of Blues..
• Chicago Varnish Company Building..
• Assumption Catholic Church..
• Assumption School Building..
• Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
• Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's..
• Former Chicago Historical Society Building..
• Medinah Temple..
• Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard..
• Cable House..
• Nickerson House..
• John B. Murphy Memorial..
• The Bush Temple of Music..
• Pizzeria Uno.. & Pizzerai Duo..

House of Blues..
Designed by James Cafarelli ..
Opened: 1996
Address: 329 N Dearborn,
Chicago, IL 60654..
The House of Blues is located in the Marina City complex on the Chicago River. It is modeled after the "Estavovski" Opera House in Prague..
The House of Blues [HOB] is a chain of music halls and restaurants. It was found by Isaac Tigrett [Hard Rock Cafe founder] and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd..
It's designer James Cafarelli has built over 250 different restaurants and clubs across the country.

Chicago Varnish Company Building ...
Address: 33 W. Kinzie St.
Year Built: 1895
Architect: Henry Ives Cobb
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 25, 2001 ...
The Chicago Varnish Co. Building was built in 1895 for a producer of varnishes for railroad cars, coaches, and interiors.. It's currenly Harry Caray's Resturant ..
# For more.. click here..

Assumption Catholic Church..
Completed: 1886
Address: 323 West Illinois Street,
Chicago, IL 60654..
Assumption was the first church in Chicago specifically commissioned to minister to the growing Italian population..
# For more.. click here..

Assumption School Building..
Address: 319 W. Erie Street
Year Built: 1899
Architect: Frederick L. Foltz
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 10, 2003..
The school was founded by Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), the first American to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
# For more.. click here..

[Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
Completed: 1887..
Architect: Unknown
Location: 228 W. Illinois Avenue, at Franklin Street..
Designated a Chicago landmark on December 12, 2007..
The firehouse was built in 1887, and was initially the home of Engine 42. Since 1968, the building is no longer in use by the Fire Department ..
# For more.. click here..

Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's..
Address: 600 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60610..
Neighborhood: River North..
It is a flagship location..
Formerly known as the "Original Rock 'N Roll McDonald's", which opened in 1983 ..
The new building was redeveloped and reopened on April 15, 2005.. The site has a Rock & Roll exhibit in a building adjacent to the restaurant and a small upstairs McDonald's museum display. It is the first McDonald's location with a two lane drive-through. The reopening in 2005, coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Des Plaines, Illinois restaurant which was opened by Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955.

Former Chicago Historical Society Building..
Now it's Excalibur nightclub..
Address: 632 N. Dearborn St.
Year Built: 1892
Architect: Henry Ives Cobb
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: February 26, 1997..
Considered to be Cobb's finest work, it's one of the best examples of Romanesque Revival architecture.
The Chicago Historical Society occupied the building from the 1890s until 1931. It was that organization's need for a fireproof structure that accounts for the structure's granite-clad construction.
The building's later uses included the prestigious Institute of Design and recording studios for influential blues and rock n' roll performers in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Now it's the Excalibur nightclub..

Medinah Temple..
Address: 600 N. Wabash Ave.
Year Built: 1912
Architect: Huehl & Schmid ..
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: June 27, 2001 ..
Bloomingdale has taken over this building since 2003 ...
Medinah Temple is considered one of the nation's finest examples of a Middle Eastern-style Shirine temple..
# For more.. click here..

Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard..
Address: 601-623 N. State
Architects: Parfitt Brothers, Bauer & Hill, Hill & Woltersdorf ..
Designated a Chicago Landmark ..
This is the nation's oldest-known artist studios.. It was constructed by philanthropists Judge and Mrs. Lambert Tree ..
# For more.. click here..

Cable House..
Address: 25 E. Erie St.
Year Built: 1886
Architect: Cobb and Frost
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: October 2, 1991 ..
Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, this house was built for Ransom R. Cable, the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company. The Cable House is among only a few remaining structures that illustrate the original elite residential character of the area just west of North Michigan Avenue.
# For more on.. click here..

Nickerson House..
Address: 40 E. Erie St.
Year Built: 1883
Architect: Burling and Whitehouse
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: September 28, 1977..
The house was built for Samuel M. Nickerson, a liquor baron, who also founded the First National Bank of Chicago..
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the city's Near North Side became a fashionable place to live for wealthy entrepreneurs.. This house, along with the Cable House across the street, are among the few survivors of that period of development. Nickerson House is sometimes called the "marble palace," with building's interior decorated with a profusion of marbles, carved and inlaid wood, tile, mosaics, and hand-tooled leather..

John B. Murphy Memorial..
Address: 50 E. Erie Street..
Architects: Marshall & Fox
Built between 1923 and 1926..
The Murphy Memorial is immediate east of the Nickerson House ..
The Murphy Memorial Building was built in honor of Dr. Murphy, MD, FACS [1857-1916], one of the more prominent founders of the American College of Surgeons. Shortly after his death, a group of Murphy's friends formed an association to solicit funds for erection of a suitable memorial, to be built in his honor. The memorial is designed is in the French Renaissance style, patterned after the Chapelle de Notre-Dame de Consolation in Paris, built in 1900... The Murphy Memorial has housed many ACS meetings, and offices of College staff over the years.

The Bush Temple of Music..
Address: 100 W. Chicago Ave.
Year Built: 1901
Architect: J.E.O. Pridmore
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: June 27, 2001 ..
The Bush Temple of Music was built as the headquarters and showroom of the Bush and Gerts Piano Company, one of Chicago’s leading piano companies.
# For more.. click here..

Pizzeria Uno.. & Pizzerai Duo..
Pizzeria Uno on 29 E. Ohio St., Chicago, IL 60611..[opened 1943]
Pizzeria Due a block away at 619 N. Wabash.. [opened 1955]
'Pizzeria Uno" is said to be the birthplace of Deep Dish Pizza ...
Citylore has it that a Texan named Ike Sewell created the dish at his bar and grill named Pizzeria Uno in 1943.
For more.. click here..

Designated Chicago Landmarks in the River North area includes..
- Assumption School Building..
- The Bush Temple of Music.. ..
- Cable House..
- Chicago Varnish Company Building..
- [Former] Chicago Historical Society Building ..
- [Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
- Medinah Temple..
- Nickerson House..
- Reid Murdoch Center..
- Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard..

RELATED LINKS..
# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Read More

River North - III

River North is bound by Chicago River in south and west, Michigan Avenue in east and Chicago Avenue in north.
Since there are a lot of interesting buildings in this area, the coverage is in a three part series..
# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Part-III of the three part series ..
Cathedral District..
The area is bounded by Chicago Avenue on the north, Rush Street on the east, Ontario Street on the south, and Dearborn Street on the west.
The Cathedral District name comes from two cathedrals in the area..
# Holy Name [Roman Catholic] Cathedral
# St. James [Episcopal] Cathedral



Holy Name Cathedral...
Address: 735 N. State St, Chicago ..
Seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago ..
Completed: 1874
Architects: Patrick Charles Keely, HJ Schlacks, Charles Murphy, Joseph McCarthy ...
Architectural Style: Gothic revival ...
The cathedral features "Tree of Life" motifs ...
# For more.. click here..



Saint James Cathedral..
Address: 65 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL - 60611
Founded in 1834, St. James is the oldest Episcopal congregation in Chicago... It was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire [October 8, 1871] .. In 1875, exactly four years and one day after the Great Fire, a newly rebuilt church was officially completed and blessed ...
# For more.. click here..

Designated Chicago Landmarks in the River North area includes..
- Assumption School Building..
- The Bush Temple of Music.. ..
- Cable House..
- Chicago Varnish Company Building..
- [Former] Chicago Historical Society Building ..
- [Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
- Medinah Temple..
- Nickerson House..
- Reid Murdoch Center..
- Tree Studios, Annexes, and Courtyard..

# Part-I.. Buildings along the Chicago River..
# Part-II..
# Part-III.. Cathedral District..

Read More

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel..
Built: 1928
Architect: Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue..
Location: 1156-1180 E. 59th Street..
Date designated a Chicago Landmark: November 3, 2004..

The University of Chicago campus architect Henry Ives Cobb, in his original sketch of the campus in 1892, included a chapel on the east end of the main quadrangle ..
In 1918, New York architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue [1869-1924] was asked to prepared designs for a University Chapel. Goodhue died on April 23, 1924, two years before construction of the Chapel began, and it is considered his last monument and enduring testament ..
Organ ..The world-famous organ was designed by E.M. Skinner.. The built into the Chapel during its construction and dedicated with the Chapel in 1928.
Carillon.. The carillon was added to the tower in 1932..
Interior as well as exterior sculptures.. Lee Lawrie and Ulric Ellerhausen..

The Chapel is 265 feet long and 102 feet wide at its widest point. The tower, towards the northeast corner, is 207 feet high and can be ascended via a spiral stone staircase of 271 steps ..











It's official website informs about the sculptures ..
More than one hundred stone sculptures decorate the outside of the Chapel, representing philosophy and the humanities, religion and University life. The sculptures were designed by Lee Lawrie [1877-1963] and Ulric Ellerhausen [1879-1957]. Lawrie executed the sculptures up to the 30 foot level, and Ellerhausen above that, in consultation with Lawrie. Although the sculpture is archaic in style, the subjects chosen are drawn from twentieth century life as much as from ancient religious allusion, making for an unusual mixture of themes.

REF: Rockefeller Memorial Church.. click here..

Read More

Olivet Baptist Church

Olivet Baptist Church..
Address: 3101 S King Dr, Chicago, IL 60616 ..

The Encyclopedia of Chicago [click here].. informs that ..
Olivet Baptist Church is the oldest African American Baptist church in Chicago. It was organized first as Xenia Baptist Church on April 6, 1850, then became Zoar Baptist Church when it was formally incorporated three years later. Under the direction of the church's fifth pastor, Jesse F. Boulden, the church united with another black Baptist congregation and was named Olivet Baptist Church in 1861.

Olivet Baptist Church played a major role in the Great Migration [1910-1930].. Olivet stimulated the migration with the promise of jobs and housing. The congregation grew to an enormous size, estimated at approximately 10,000 in the 1920s, when it was hailed as “the largest Protestant church in the world.”

Another church of great importance in the African-American history is the Quinn Chapel AME Church.. click here





REF:
Encyclopedia of Chicago.. click here..
Olivet Baptist Church of Chicago.. click here..

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River North: [Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse

[Former] Engine Company 42 Firehouse..
Completed: 1887..
Architect: Unknown
Location: 228 W. Illinois Avenue, at Franklin Street..
Designated a Chicago landmark on December 12, 2007..

The firehouse was built in 1887, and was initially the home of Engine 42. Since 1968, the building is no longer in use by the Fire Department ..

In 1964, Engine 42 had to be relocated to 202 E. Chicago [Eng. 98’s quarters, which was built in 1904] for a short period of time due to a fire in a building next door. The firehouse was fixed and remained open until November 1, 1968. Engine 42 was moved to a brand new firehouse at 55 W. Illinois Street, and is still there today. It’s the largest firehouse in the city. After the move, “228 W Illinois Ave” became a garage for the Dept. of Streets and Sanitation. The building is now privately owned...

RELATED LINKS:
# River North - II..

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River North: Assumption Catholic Church

Assumption Catholic Church..
Completed: 1886
Address: 323 West Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60654..
Assumption was the first church in Chicago specifically commissioned to minister to the growing Italian population..

The Assuption Parish Church website informs.. [click here]..
Assumption Church began dedicated to the care of arriving Italian immigrants. Bishop Foley entrusted the care of the new parish to the Order of Servants of Mary (OSM), commonly called The Servites. The Order had been founded in Florence, Italy in 1233. Servites had arrived from Italy and ministered to the immigrants living in the area near Old Saint Patrick Church at Des Plaines and Adams Streets. The present structure of Assumption was completed in 1886. Many immigrant Italians lived in the neighborhood and were quickly expanding north and west from the Chicago River. Assumption was the first church in Chicago specifically commissioned to minister to the growing Italian population and as such was authorized to enroll as parish members any Italians living within the Archdiocese of Chicago, which at that time included what are today the Diocese of Rockford and the Diocese of Joliet. Therefore, it can be said that the parish boundaries extended from the shores of Lake Michigan to the east shore of the Mississippi River.

The parish grew and prospered. A school was opened on Erie and Orleans Streets in 1895 and was staffed by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, founded and directed by Mother Cabrini, the first American to be canonized. At one time the school had as many as 800 students enrolled. However when the neighborhood changed from residential to business, commercial and industrial, many Italians moved away from the downtown area and the school closed in 1945. The building still stands. It was used as a business and commercial structure for many years and most recently was converted into condominiums. During the years when almost no one lived near Assumption, many Italian families continued to return on Sunday for Mass. The church also served the needs of downtown workers.

Assumption School Building..
Address: 319 W. Erie Street
Year Built: 1899
Architect: Frederick L. Foltz
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 10, 2003..
For more on Assumption School Building, click here..

RELATED LINKS:
# River North - II..
# River North: Assumption Catholic Church..
# The Assumption School Building..

REF:
The Assumption Parish Church .. click here..
The Chicago Landmarks.. click here..

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