Art is language and public art is public speech.
Jonathan Jones
The Guardian
Join me as I tour Chicago's Public Art
from The Daley Plaza to The Adler Planetarium
First stop, the Daley plaza at Washington and Dearborn.
Unvield in 1967 The Picasso was Chicago's first real piece of modern public art
On that day business as usual changed for Chicago's public spaces
Prior to the Picasso Chicago's outdoor sculptures
were monuments of historical figures from the past
With the Picasso Chicago now had High Art as Public Art
Chicago had elevated it's cultural standing
At that moment, Chicago became world class.
Two blocks south at Adams and Dearborn
Federal Plaza features Alexander Calders Flamingo
The Calder is landed on a large plaza
next to Mies van der Rohe's -Kluczynski Federal Building
Flamingo allows you to roam around, through and underneath of it
On the way to the museum campus at Roosevelt and Columbus
I pass through Agora by Magdelena Abakanowicz - aba can o vitch
In ancient greece the Agora was the main gathering place in town
The greeks Agora was the center of artistic, spiritual and political life.
Chicago Agora feels primal, primitive and somewhat ancient
The headless, armless figures speak to ones intellectual self
Chicago's Shedd aquarium beckons vistors
with Stephan Balkenhol's bronze Man with Fish
Welcoming the tourists the fountain informs the viewer of what's to come
It stands watch at the aquarium after all
The Adler Planetarium, last stop, end of the line
Henry Moore's stellar cast bronze sundial
Man Enters the Cosmos
Conceptualy fits it's location
Like Man with Fish
Cosmos informs that this is a Planetarium
Cosmos signifies man's knowledge of the Universe.
"public art","Jonathan Jones","The Guardian",Chicago,"Daley Plaza","Adler Planetarium","The Picasso",modern,"Alexander Calder","Mies van der Rohe","Kluczynski Federal Building",Agora,"Magdelena Abakanowicz","Shedd aquarium","Stephan Balkenhol","Man with Fish","Adler Planetarium","Henry Moore","Man Enters the Cosmos"
The indian proverb says:
Life is a bridge, cross over it but build no house on it
Well that's india
This is chicago
and these are my favorite bridges
The canal street bridge is a railroad bridge
That crosses the south branch of the chicago river
And it's got a house on it
Always thought they should use that house as a movie location
Like some secret agent crib
Tiny on the outside
Deceptively large and techy on the inside
Brilliant
18th Street Bridge
If you cross the tracks by the Canal Street bridge
and head north
You come upon a pair of mammoth railroad bridges
The St Charles Air line bridge which is down
And the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal bridge
which is permanetly up
Notice the huge counterweights
These are bascule bridges
Bascule bridges are drawbridges with a counter weight
Another historic bridge is the Cherry Street bridge
It connects North Avenue to Goose Island
Because of the large counter weight
It could be mistaken for a Bascule Bridge
But it's actually a Swing Bridge
It used to open for river traffic
like a big door rotating to the east
If look underneath you can see the old turntable
The Lincoln Park Pedestrian Overpass
Allows pedestrians in Lincoln Park to cross over
Lake Shore Drive to North Ave Beach
and the best ever blizzard photo
was shot from the Overpass
The Damen Ave Bridge
Is an Arch Suspension bridge
with no latteral braces between the arches
which makes for a very clean & modern design
when it was first built it was red
Now it's gray
I guess gray doesn't fade like the red
The Nichols Bridgeway Connects Millenium park
to the Modern Wing of the Art Institute
Designed by Architect Renzo Piano
The design is clean and elegant
And it's got some killer views
Architect Frank Gehry's sepentine BP Bridge
Connects Millenium park to Maggie Daley Park
Now under construction the rehabed park is gonna include
an meandering ice skating ribbon
a children's play area
climbing walls
And a great lawn
I can't wait to see it
By visiting Chicago's bridges
We look back at a great city's past
and we look forward to it's future
"Life is a bridge",india,chicago,Canal Street railroad bridge","chicago river","St Charles Air line bridge","Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal bridge",counterweights,"bascule bridge",drawbridge,"Cherry Ave bridge","Goose Island","Swing Bridge","Lincoln Park Pedestrian Overpass","Lake Shore Drive","North Ave Beach","Damen Ave Bridge","Nichols Bridgeway","Millenium park","Renzo Piano","Frank Gehry","BP Bridge","Maggie Daley Park"
The Chicago Tribune has a rock collection
no, not that kind of rock collection
Robert R. McCormick was the Chicago Tribune's
editor, publisher and owner
In Belgium 1914 world war one
while working as a war correspondent
McCormick grabbed a stone
from a bombed Ypres Cathedral
This was the start of
The Chicago Tribune's rock collection
Fragments from around the world
are embedded in the facade of tribune building
Petra - Arabia
The ancient city of Petra is now a World Heritage site
Omaha Beach - Normandy
The spearhead of World War Two's Normandy invasion.
Pearl Harbor - Hawaii
December 7th 1941 - A date that will live in infamy.
Washington - Mount Rainier
54 Miles from Seattle -
Mount Rainier is considered one of the worlds most dangerous volcanoes.
Arizona - Petrified Forest
Home of the Petrified Forest National Park
Colorado - Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
Dating back to 400 AD
The Pueblo People's home.
Mesa Verde is the largest archaeological preserve in the united states.
Reims Cathedral - France
If you were king of France
Reims or Nortre Dame was where you were coronated
World Trade Center
911 - 2001
Roman Ruins - 455 BC
All great empires fall.
The Berlin Wall
And some walls come down
The Great Wall of China
And some walls never fall
Union Stock Yards Gate
The world has a past
And Chicago has a past
as seen in the Chicago Tribune's Rock Collection
You can learn allot about a city
and the world
by looking at it's past
"google earth","Tribune Tower","Chicago Video Log","rock collection","Robert R. McCormick","Chicago Tribune",Belgium,"Ypres Catherdral",Petra,Arabia,"World Heritage site","Omaha Beach",Normandy,"normandy invasion","Pearl Harbor",Hawaii,Washington,"Mount Ranier",Seattle,volcano,Arizona,"Petrified Forest",Colorado,"Mesa Verde",Pueblo,"Reims Cathedral",France,"Nortre Dame","World Trade Center",911,"Roman Ruins","Berlin Wall","Great Wall of China","Union Stock Yards
In 1884 chicago's saloon licence fees were steeply raised
rather than close saloon owners went to the brewiers for financial help
The only catch for the owners was they were Tied to the Brewer's beer.
Hence the name
Tied house
Our first tied house
Is now a coffee house
at Belmont and Leavitt
It's a Starbucks in a Schlitz House
Schlitz bucks
Or at least it will be
When they finish the inside
and move out of the trailer
We're down on the southside in morgan park
at the Carribean Lounge
Another Schlitz house
Like much of the Southside
This one has seen better days
In it's hey day
Chicago had 166 breweries
prohibition Killed Edward R. Stege in 1923
Three Stege Tied houses still exist
Our first Stege house is at 24th & Western
Notice the Stege Sun Emblem
The building appears to now be apartments
Our second Stege house is at 24th & Washtenaw
It was hard to tell if this was in fact the Stege house
until Therese spotted the Stege Sun Emblem
Up top on the side of the house
Still on the south side
Our third Stege house was at 23rd & California
Therese was excited to see the tile work on the stoop
Sorry Terese
The sun emblem up top is missing too
Back on the northside
We have another Schlitz house at Divison and Wood
The Schlitz Globe was easily identifieable
We're saving the best for last
Schubas is a working bar
With a bar in the front
A stage and ballroom in the back
And a private room up stairs
Many fine original fixtures
are all in working order
We're at Southport & Henderson
at the Southport lanes
This is a nice place
Bar in the front
Billiards in the back
And a bowling alley
Who knew?
So that was a nice little tour
You can tell a lot about a city
by looking at it's past
"Chicago's Tied houses",chicago,saloon,brewerys,Schlitzbucks,"coffee house",Belmont,trailer,"Schlitz house",Stege,Schubas,"Southport lanes",Billiards,"bowling alley"
