Random Chicago Posts

[Frumie]

Originally Posted by nygirl

Happy Thanksgiving Chicago... u rock my socks.

And a happy thanksgiving to you NYgirl; you won our hearts as well.

[UrbanSophist]

Okay, I really think its time for another 24 hour coffee shop to open up. The only one I know of is on North and Wells and it's always packed. I can never get a seat there...

Do you guys know of another one that is open late?

[ChgoLvr83]

What in the hell is wrong with SSP? I got lurking to do.



That tis all.

[The Urban Politician]

^ Beats the hell out of me too. It seems like a quota for that site--it has to be totally inaccessible for a few hours a day in order to annoy just the right number of people

[forumly_chgoman]

A question about Google Earth....I was checking out the Chicago Loop todday and the rest of DT area......I was wondering just how old this image is......in it Soldier Field is underconstruction, and Millenium Park is underconstruction....my guess is 2002????

I don't rememer what year it was that these were both under construction....also LSE appears to still be a golf course

[spyguy]

Google Maps is rather outdated for Chicago. They actually updated the Chicago area many months ago, but for one reason or another they switched back to the old version.

[spyguy]

"My Boys" - a new show set in Chicago that might actually make it past season one?

I've only seen one episode, so I can't really judge it, although I thought the plug for match.com was very unusual.

[UrbanSophist]

I'm so weary of bad t.v. shows trying to be Chicagoish... But hopefully this one'll be good.

[ardecila]

Has anybody noticed that the "fake skyline" behind Jay Leno on the Tonight Show is a re-arranged Chicago? Mostly more obscure buildings, but I picked out the Pittsfield, Willoughby Tower, Mather Tower, a cut-off Sears, and the Loop Transportation Center.

I guess the Burbank, CA skyline just doesn't cut it.

[UrbanSophist]

^ I think its supposed to be all american skyscrapers...

[urban_addict]

Yes it is supposed to be all American skyscrapers... and what pisses me off is how the Sears Tower always is hid slightly behind that mesh curtain thing.

[mohammed wong]

I stole this from urban naturalist in the united states urban forum,
this is very very cool



Green Shopping Mall Coming Soon: Chicago

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago, the great frontier for environmental and sustainable initiatives, has embarked on yet another milestone: A green shopping center inside, and more than likely outside as well. The mall will feature green printer presses, sustainable furniture and clothing stores, a car sharing service, bike shops, organic restaurants/cafes.
Again, what does this have to do with SSC, well obviously its the fact that urbanites will using resources that are less consumptive and more in tandem with the natural environment.


Green Exchange Coming Soon to Chicago

Filed under: buildings and construction,events: chicago, interviews, shopping — rebecca @ 11:02 am
December 7, 2006

Chicago: It is the city paving the way towards a greener America, and today is no different. Last week Baum Development announced the Green Exchange project. Soon to be the first green shopping mall in America, we also expect it to be added to the list of places to spot celebrities in Chicago. If Oprah (aka Queen of Chicago) happens to mention it on her show, expect to wait in line for your “hybrid car priority parking” spot.

Green Exchange will be located in an existing 250,000 sq. ft. building that was formerly the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company, in a neighborhood known as Logan Square. The building will be revamped to hopefully achieve a LEED Silver rating. It will house retailers of everything green, making it convenient (finally) to buy eco-friendly products.

We talked with Joanna Salmen of Baum Realty, who told us that the green retailers should be, “trying to expand the marketplace” and really pushing the green movement. She says the project really has both the Alderman’s and the communities support, as it is expected to replace the jobs lost with the lamp company closing last year.

It doesn’t look like they’ll open soon enough for Vince Vaughn & Kevin Spacey to have some lunch at the planned organic restaurant & cafe. However, I’m sure Chicagoan Daryl Hannah is planning on stopping by to catch the green ribbon cutting on tape in (hopefully) Fall 2007.

So what else can you expect when you visit the Green Exchange when it (hopefully) opens in Fall 2007? Well, tenants are still signing up, but those currently on board include an eco-friendly printer, a sustainable furniture store, an eco-clothing store, a car sharing service, and a bike shop. Plus, I love this part, a bike room and showers. They’ll also have a green roof and priority hybrid parking.

The zoning permits haven’t passed on this project yet, but should by the end of this year. We hope it’s in the bag. Green Exchange also hopes to have some incubator lofts for people that wish to live and work in one spot.

http://www.ecorazzi.com/?p=737

[ardecila]

Sweet! I'm glad that the Cooper building won't be torn down.

It's great to see some of Chicago's ridiculous demand being used to test new ideas, especially green ones. I saw an amazing exhibit in DC about green building a few days ago... Kind of inspired me lol.

[wickedestcity]

thats a pretty old pic they used for the banner

[wickedestcity]

Ambitious idea to unite lakefront no small plan

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 13, 2006


Chicago should acquire more lakefront and create land where none is available as it pushes to complete the chain of parks along the South Shore, a prominent advocacy group is proposing.

Friends of the Parks has begun shopping an ambitious series of plans to give the public access to more than 2 miles of South Side lakefront currently off limits.

After meeting with Chicago Park District Supt. Tim Mitchell Tuesday, the group will make its pitch for the multimillion-dollar expansion in meetings and exhibits around the city.

Between 71st and 75th Streets, where the lakefront is occupied by residences, one idea is to use landfill to create islands--an archipelago connected by bridges that would allow the public to get around one of the last privately held stretches of shoreline, south to Rainbow Beach.

At the next gap in the chain of parks, the former USX property, about 123 acres has been set aside for a lakefront path, said Friends of the Parks President Erma Tranter. But because residents feel that stretch would be too narrow, the group's plan calls for building out into the lake and creating beaches.

Farther south, more than 40 acres at the mouth of the Calumet River designated as a confined disposal facility are expected to become park property once the facility is filled with dredge material and capped.



A larger Calumet Park

The Friends of the Parks proposal calls for the city to negotiate with the Illinois International Port District for adjacent green space that is unused, allowing the Park District to double the size of the heavily used Calumet Park.

Mitchell said he would wait for Friends of the Parks to present two or three plans with the most community support, likely this summer. With those plans in hand, he said he would go to federal and state officials to seek funding.

"This fits into thinking about the generations that have come before us," Tranter said. "We're starting to rethink this generation and future generations' responsibility to complete" the city's lakefront park system.

Only 4 out of the city's 30 miles of lakefront are needed to fulfill Daniel Burnham's 1909 vision of an entirely public lakefront. The latest plans would account for more than 2 miles on the South Side.

But they avoid the thorny issue of nearly 2 miles of private beaches on the North Side along the Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods.

Rogers Park activists have fought off attempts to build marinas both in the neighborhood and in Evanston next-door. In 2004, they helped pass an advisory referendum proposal opposing an extension of Lake Shore Drive on landfill.

Some observers fear residents to the south might have similar objections to the Friends of the Parks plan to create parkland east of private lakefront.



Islands seen as problematic

"Everything sounds doable except the islands," said Peter Skosey of the Metropolitan Planning Council. "They're going to have the same problems as they did on the North Side."

But, he added, "sometimes the public good outweighs the private interest," and the city should look at acquiring land.

"It may be cheaper than landfills," Skosey said.

Park District officials said they encourage the group's efforts to build consensus.

Leaders of Friends of the Parks said they began looking at how to complete the lakefront park system in hopes that they could take advantage of momentum created by several development efforts in the South Shore and South Chicago area.

The Chicago Deptartment of Transportation plans to begin work in the summer on a $60 million project to relocate U.S. Highway 41 several blocks east from its current path, where it jogs south and east between 79th and 92nd Streets.

The city is also working with developers on plans for the former USX property, and the Park District hopes to release a new harbor study calling for a marina at the site

If the park extension were approved, it would also help mark the 100th anniversary of Burnham's plan.

Friends of the Parks officials said they had learned in public meetings that the community wants more than the 123 acres allotted for parks at the USX site.

The organization held meetings with the community and, working with volunteer architects, community members proposed adding landfills at the former steel site to create more beaches and form 200 acres of parkland.

The group is also suggesting the creation of a lagoon that would include the new marina.



Visiting lake can be difficult

Karen Roothaan, a member of the Bush Homeowners and Tenants Association, lives a block from the steel mill's entrance on 86th Street. She walks a mile to the beach at Calumet Park, which is almost always crowded, or has to go farther north to Rainbow Beach. A 7-foot wall keeps residents from the lakefront.

"There are people in the neighborhood who don't know that there is a lake out there," she said.

But new landfills would be challenging because of the federal approvals that may be required, such as those from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Skosey said. He suggested park advocates first try negotiating to acquire more land from the developers.

Another proposal called for a museum on the site commemorating the heavy industry and influence of steel-making on the Southeast Side community.

Based on community suggestions, the Friends of the Parks proposes doubling Calumet Park south of the Calumet River and adding seating area and vistas to the city's skyline, as well as more ballfields.

The most controversial piece of the proposal is the series of islands proposed north of Rainbow Beach. The islands would allow residents to keep private beaches.

They would include natural areas, a continuation of the bike trail connected by bridges, and allow for residents using boats to move easily into the open lake, Tranter said.

Still, this portion of the proposal has not been well received by residents, who worry about privacy and views. In a meeting five weeks ago, 100 people living in the stretch between 71st and 75th turned out.

"It was bruising," Tranter said.

----------

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...l=chi-news-hed

[mohammed wong]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Sweet! I'm glad that the Cooper building won't be torn down.

It's great to see some of Chicago's ridiculous demand being used to test new ideas, especially green ones. I saw an amazing exhibit in DC about green building a few days ago... Kind of inspired me lol.

I think there is an exhibit right now at the contemp museum in chicago
about green architecture, or atleast futuristic architecture in general,
looks like it is pretty cool, hopefully i can make it before its gone.

[XCRunner]

They're loving Chicago over on the Portuguese forum:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=421639

The guy must have visited awhile back, his pictures are good. Portuguese is similar to Spanish, so I could grasp some of what they were saying, but most of it was out of my reach.

[UrbanSophist]

They do a lot of comparing between Chicago and New York. Surprise surprise...

[XCRunner]

I noticed that too... at least it's good to see that Chicago is getting some international exposure.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by XCRunner

They're loving Chicago over on the Portuguese forum:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=421639

The guy must have visited awhile back, his pictures are good. Portuguese is similar to Spanish, so I could grasp some of what they were saying, but most of it was out of my reach.

I've also seen threads in the Polish and French forums about Chicago.