Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Architecture Tour Plus

Okay, this is my final Chicago entry. I have photos from the Architecture tour we went on, plus a few random photos that I didn't put in anywhere else.
First, the part of town I was staying in had quite a few really high end stores. Included was Gold Coast Motors that sold things like Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porsche, etc. In these photos are a De Lorian and a Bugatti. Nice, Huh?




Here is a photo of the Water Tower from the Hancock building. I left it out of the other post. And in the dark photo, if you look up to the top of the photo on the right, you can see a balcony that is enclosed. That is Oprah's town house. Geoff says it's on the market, so she might night live there anymore.






Here is a photo of the Chicago river and the boat that we took our tour on.











The Chicago Theatre sign.





The top of the Playboy building.







Geoff was demonstrating to me how this sculpture worked. It was designed to make noise when moved. The security guard who immeadiately yelled at Geoff said it was just supposed to be the wind. He told Geoff to stop touching it.
Geoff used to work for a firm called SOM. When he worked there he worked on the "skin" of this skyscraper that is in Dubai. You can kind of see that is a framework of metal that twists up and around. This is the architectural model of the building that is in the Art Institute.









This is the top of the Intercontinental hotel on Michigan Avenue. The thing that looks like a Chimmney was where they used to dock dirigibles or blimps. Then passengers would walk through that dome and into the hotel. Fun huh?

This is the new Trump Tower. It is right next to the Wrigley building. The bottom floors are hotel and are already being used. The top floors are condos and are still under construction.











I forgot the name of this building, but it used to be the largest commercial building built. For a long time it was owned by the Kennedy's.



This clock tower is on top of the Boeing headquarters. It is the tallest clock tower in the world.













The Sears tower in the background.
















Geoff and I on the tour. Aren't we a cute couple? Too bad we aren't really a couple.









Okay the following few buildings were all done by the same architect. Notice how all the windows are arched and the "pod" effect? The same guy did Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center where I work. Too funny. This first building is condos.












This building is a hospital at Northwestern and looks a lot like my hospital.





He also did these condos that look like corn cobs. Look at where the cars are parked. It would make me nervous.

I think this was the coolest building I saw. Look at how the balconies change at different levels of the building.

I don't remember what they said about some of the buildings. I know a lot of them were firsts. Some of them are just pretty to me.





















































This was the original Montgomery Wards building. This statute used to be featured on the old catalogs.

















































Real gold leaf on this rooftop.

















And the birthday boy himself.











The top of the Chicago Tribune building.


























Monday, July 20, 2009

Oak Park and Frank Lloyd Wright

Okay, I've got a ton of photos for this entry. Geoff and I went to Oak Park to see Frank Lloyd Wrights, home and studio. He also designed several homes and the Unity Temple there. This photo is of his home and studio. The two tortured looking guys are sculptures over the studio entrance.




This is the plaque and coat of arms that he designed.






This is a home he designed in the neighborhood. It actually has some rather gothic features.










Another Wright design.
















Flowers in the area.


















A lot of really nice victorian homes too.










Wright Design.























A gate into Austin park.














Geoff and a neat sculpture in Austin Park.














Wright design.



































Wright Design.








A lovely neighborhood garden.











Wright design.














Wright design.












Wright Design.

































































































































































































Across the street from the Unity Temple.















Unity Temple



















Unity Temple