[i_am_hydrogen]

Please offer your nominations for the worst surface lot in the city. Feel free to share your reasons for why it's the worst.

 

[prelude91]

Probably not THE worst, but I have a personal hatred for the lot on the S.W. corner of State and Goethe.
I lived across the street from it and it really was an eye sore, plus it really took away from the character of the neighborhood.

 

[The Urban Politician]

Ahh, but there are so many..

I personally give that collective honor to the sea of parking around the Roosevelt/Canal shopping centers and the Division/Halsted shopping centers (it's a tie!) because 1) they were built so recently against our better judgement and 2) they are not stand alone lots but are instead parking for large big box retailers and thus the hope for them to be redeveloped any time soon is very slim.

 

[Mr Downtown]

Wolf Point. Harrison & Dearborn. South of NBC Tower.

There's nothing bad about the parking lots there; it's just that they'd be wonderful building sites. Though Harrison/Dearborn would also make a wonderful European-style urban plaza, since it's properly fronted by buildings on all sides.

 

[cbotnyse]

Wolf Point. Harrison & Dearborn. South of NBC Tower.

There's nothing bad about the parking lots there; it's just that they'd be wonderful building sites. Though Harrison/Dearborn would also make a wonderful European-style urban plaza, since it's properly fronted by buildings on all sides.

completely agree. We can save those for the next boom.

Its also funny to think Waterview was a surface lot and the Spire site was an empty lot.

 

[Chicago2020]

wasn't that lot south of NBC tower supposed to have a 1000' or at least a 900'???

 

[nomarandlee]

I would say the

1) Parking lot south across Union Station on Jackson/Canal
2) Lakeshore aethilic club and its lot just south of Nordstroms on Wasbash/Hubbard

 

[cbotnyse]

I would say the

1) Parking lot south across Union Station on Jackson/Canal
2) Lakeshore aethilic club and its lot just south of Nordstroms on Wasbash/Hubbard

How could I forget about this??? I live next door to this waste of space!! The LAC is currently shut down and now Mars corp owns the land after they purchased Wrigley. My building management office gets weekly/monthly updates on this site and I will report if I hear anything.

 

[ardecila]

Pritzker Park. It's an empty lot and it's on the surface, so it qualifies.

It's evil because it looks wrong. The ENTIRE area around it has been built up, between Harold Washington, the University Center dorms, and others, but it remains empty. Plus, it affords a sweeping vista of the backsides of a bunch of buildings, which you usually don't see in the Loop since all new or old buildings pretty much fill the lot lines.

Since you see the backs of all those buildings, it feels more like a gaping wound in the urban fabric than a beneficial "open space".

And I haven't even gotten started on the homeless people.

 

[asauterChicago]

I vote for the lot that was the old Chicago Merc. Just absolutely senseless they tore that building down. Huge, one block worth of empty lot, right in the middle of the finical district. It pisses me off every time I look at, especially when I remember how awesome the interior and exterior of that building was hno:

 

[NearNorthGuy]

I vote for the lot that was the old Chicago Merc. Just absolutely senseless they tore that building down. Huge, one block worth of empty lot, right in the middle of the finical district. It pisses me off every time I look at, especially when I remember how awesome the interior and exterior of that building was hno:

I agree with the choice of the old Merc site, which is a huge site that includes the lot to the north of the Merc. This site is on the west side of Franklin, running from Washington to Randolph.

By the way, in 2002, with the Merc still standing and demolition looming, Preservation Chicago had a group of protesters, each with a huge letter, spell out the phrase "ANOTHER BLOCK 37?"

 

[NearNorthGuy]

Across from Holy Name Cathedral

Oh, my vote for the number two worst surface lot is the entire block bounded by State, Chicago, Dearborn, and Superior.

There are several small buildings along Dearborn, but this block is otherwise barren. It is mostly owned by the Archdiocese.

 

[prelude91]

Oh, my vote for the number two worst surface lot is the entire block bounded by State, Chicago, Dearborn, and Superior.

There are several small buildings along Dearborn, but this block is otherwise barren. It is mostly owned by the Archdiocese.

I forgot about those lots; that stretch of State and Dearborn is very disapointing