yk's I ((L)) Chicago Nov 2010 Trip Report (+ 24 hrs in Dallas)
Nov 17th, 2010, 08:48 AM
#21
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ARCHITECTURE in IIT Campus
Before this Chicago trip, I had no idea of the deep relationship between Mies van der Rohe and Chicago. Doh! He was the director of architecture dept at IIT for 20 years (1938-58).
IIT is easily reached via the Green Line; a 10-min ride from the Loop.
There is a Mies Society at IIT, and they offer both guided and self-guided audio tours. We couldn't make it to the guided tour in the AM, so instead, we took the 90-min audio guide tour ($10pp).
http://www.iit.edu/giving/mies/tours/
We first visit a cluster of buildings designed by Mies; just to the East side of State Street. Although somewhat dull-looking, the audio guide does a good job explaining the design ideas behind them.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7121.jpg
Crown Hall (1956) is no doubt the main attraction on this tour. Looking at it, I can see the similarities to the much larger Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, built a decade later. The building is supported by the steel frame, allowing the interior space to be open and column-free.
IIT has renovated Crown Hall in recent years - replaced all the glass and repainted the steel frame. Crown Hall currently is where architecture classes are held.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7126.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7124.jpg
2 other Mies building we looked at are the Carr Memorial Chapel and the Commons.
Also on the audio tour are 2 buildings by contemporary architects. One is the State Street Village (Helmut Jahn; 2003) which is a student dormitory. Built right next to the elevated tracks, the east side of the building is sheltered by noise-muffling glass to keep the train noise down.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7131.jpg
The other building is the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (Koolhaas; 2003), built right next to Mies' Commons. It is an irregularly-shaped building, with the "exelon tube" above the building where the L track runs through.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7132.jpg
There is plenty of homage to Mies in the MTCC, among them the founders wall and the exterior.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7115.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7118.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7120.jpg
--------------------------------
I think that's all I have to say in this trip report. Thank you all for reading.
There are still plenty of attractions we didn't get to visit on this trip; we also would love to take many more walking tours offered by CAF. And then there's Farnsworth House which we'd love to see. I hope to persuade DH to go to Chicago again next Spring... we'll see.
Before this Chicago trip, I had no idea of the deep relationship between Mies van der Rohe and Chicago. Doh! He was the director of architecture dept at IIT for 20 years (1938-58).
IIT is easily reached via the Green Line; a 10-min ride from the Loop.
There is a Mies Society at IIT, and they offer both guided and self-guided audio tours. We couldn't make it to the guided tour in the AM, so instead, we took the 90-min audio guide tour ($10pp).
http://www.iit.edu/giving/mies/tours/
We first visit a cluster of buildings designed by Mies; just to the East side of State Street. Although somewhat dull-looking, the audio guide does a good job explaining the design ideas behind them.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7121.jpg
Crown Hall (1956) is no doubt the main attraction on this tour. Looking at it, I can see the similarities to the much larger Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, built a decade later. The building is supported by the steel frame, allowing the interior space to be open and column-free.
IIT has renovated Crown Hall in recent years - replaced all the glass and repainted the steel frame. Crown Hall currently is where architecture classes are held.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7126.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7124.jpg
2 other Mies building we looked at are the Carr Memorial Chapel and the Commons.
Also on the audio tour are 2 buildings by contemporary architects. One is the State Street Village (Helmut Jahn; 2003) which is a student dormitory. Built right next to the elevated tracks, the east side of the building is sheltered by noise-muffling glass to keep the train noise down.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7131.jpg
The other building is the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (Koolhaas; 2003), built right next to Mies' Commons. It is an irregularly-shaped building, with the "exelon tube" above the building where the L track runs through.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7132.jpg
There is plenty of homage to Mies in the MTCC, among them the founders wall and the exterior.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7115.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7118.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_7120.jpg
--------------------------------
I think that's all I have to say in this trip report. Thank you all for reading.
There are still plenty of attractions we didn't get to visit on this trip; we also would love to take many more walking tours offered by CAF. And then there's Farnsworth House which we'd love to see. I hope to persuade DH to go to Chicago again next Spring... we'll see.
Nov 17th, 2010, 09:01 AM
#22
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DALLAS
Ah! I probably should say a few words about our 24-hr stay in Dallas at the beginning of the trip.
Thanks to Priceline, we got very good rates for hotel and rental car. The hotel was under $50 all-in, and rental car was $23. We stayed at Radisson Central Dallas - located just off the Central Expressway, very near to Mockingbird station and SMU Campus. I picked that area because we're very familiar with that part of town, and we know the Dallas Museum of Art & the Opera House are both a short drive away.
During our short stay, we paid a visit to the Dallas Museum of Art. The Mourners (from Dijon) have traveled there and we really enjoyed the installation by the DMA. We had seen the Mourners when they were at the Met in NYC earlier this year, but they were roped off and it was difficult to see these exquisitely-carved statues from 15 feet away. At the DMA, you can get much closer (~ 2 feet) to the sculptures.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6828.jpg
In the evening, we headed to the Arts District about an hour before curtain time for Don Giovanni. I wanted to spend some time checking out the 2 new additions: the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre (designed by Koolhaus), and the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House (designed by Foster). [Both opened in 2009.]
My first impression is that while the new buildings are bringing more people to the downtown arts district, the area is still in dire need of actual people who live there or nearby. Right now, apart from these arts venues, there is little of anything else - no shops, no restaurants, no condos. It would be nice if the area gets developed into something like the Uptown area of Dallas where people would come, even if they aren't attending a performance.
The Wyly Theatre looked quite severe during the day time when it reflects the bright sunlight. However, at dusk, I find it much more appealing to look at.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6844.jpg
The exterior of the Winspear Opera House does not disappoint. I particularly like the outdoor plaza and the reflecting pool. I also love the dark red color of the inner drum.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6832.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6841.jpg
However, once inside, I find the public space very cramped: in the lobby, on the staircase, and the hallways on each level. There is no restaurant and no formal gift shop in the building. Worse still, inside the auditorium, there are only a handful of doors and aisles. As our seats were in the center, we had to pass through 20+ seats to get to ours. Fortunately, we were there early, but if we had to leave in the middle of the performance, we would have to climbed over 20 people to get to the door.
On the positive note (no pun intended), the acoustics is a vast improvement over Fair Park, which is where the old opera house was. I also love the cool LED chandelier inside the auditorium, which retracts into the ceiling at the start of the performance.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6850.jpg
We didn't eat at any place fancy while in Dallas:
Lunch at the Atrium Cafe inside DMA
Dinner at La Madeleine at the SMU campus
Breakfast at Cafe Express at Mockingbird Station
Ah! I probably should say a few words about our 24-hr stay in Dallas at the beginning of the trip.
Thanks to Priceline, we got very good rates for hotel and rental car. The hotel was under $50 all-in, and rental car was $23. We stayed at Radisson Central Dallas - located just off the Central Expressway, very near to Mockingbird station and SMU Campus. I picked that area because we're very familiar with that part of town, and we know the Dallas Museum of Art & the Opera House are both a short drive away.
During our short stay, we paid a visit to the Dallas Museum of Art. The Mourners (from Dijon) have traveled there and we really enjoyed the installation by the DMA. We had seen the Mourners when they were at the Met in NYC earlier this year, but they were roped off and it was difficult to see these exquisitely-carved statues from 15 feet away. At the DMA, you can get much closer (~ 2 feet) to the sculptures.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6828.jpg
In the evening, we headed to the Arts District about an hour before curtain time for Don Giovanni. I wanted to spend some time checking out the 2 new additions: the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre (designed by Koolhaus), and the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House (designed by Foster). [Both opened in 2009.]
My first impression is that while the new buildings are bringing more people to the downtown arts district, the area is still in dire need of actual people who live there or nearby. Right now, apart from these arts venues, there is little of anything else - no shops, no restaurants, no condos. It would be nice if the area gets developed into something like the Uptown area of Dallas where people would come, even if they aren't attending a performance.
The Wyly Theatre looked quite severe during the day time when it reflects the bright sunlight. However, at dusk, I find it much more appealing to look at.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6844.jpg
The exterior of the Winspear Opera House does not disappoint. I particularly like the outdoor plaza and the reflecting pool. I also love the dark red color of the inner drum.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6832.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6841.jpg
However, once inside, I find the public space very cramped: in the lobby, on the staircase, and the hallways on each level. There is no restaurant and no formal gift shop in the building. Worse still, inside the auditorium, there are only a handful of doors and aisles. As our seats were in the center, we had to pass through 20+ seats to get to ours. Fortunately, we were there early, but if we had to leave in the middle of the performance, we would have to climbed over 20 people to get to the door.
On the positive note (no pun intended), the acoustics is a vast improvement over Fair Park, which is where the old opera house was. I also love the cool LED chandelier inside the auditorium, which retracts into the ceiling at the start of the performance.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMG_6850.jpg
We didn't eat at any place fancy while in Dallas:
Lunch at the Atrium Cafe inside DMA
Dinner at La Madeleine at the SMU campus
Breakfast at Cafe Express at Mockingbird Station
Nov 20th, 2010, 03:34 AM
#23
Thank you for the wonderful report. I really enjoyed your pictures. I have gotten many good ideas reading this report about Chicago, and like I previously said, I have lived about 90 miles from the city all my life. For our girl's weekend we are going to eat at the Signature Room at the 95th. I have always wanted to eat there, and should have done it long before (funny, how we make sure we see the good attractions in other cities, and sometimes forget what is in our own back yard so to speak). I just did the architectural cruise on the Chicago River last year for the first time, and loved it. Chicago does rock! Again thanks, for all the good ideas. (I really need to do the FLW tours, and my brother even went to the University of Chicago and lived in Hyde Park for years. What's wrong with me??? ha,ha)
Nov 20th, 2010, 06:59 AM
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barbrn, you're so welcome! There's nothing "wrong" with you - it's really quite a common thing among all of us. I had lived in Philadelphia for 6 years and just never found time to see more of the city. Now that I am in Boston, I make an effort to play "tourist" whenever I can.
Dec 1st, 2010, 12:30 PM
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Wow! yk, your report reminds me why I so love my hometown. We're going soon to visit family and seeing these wonderful pics is such a primer. Thanks for taking the time to share in such detail. I want to especially thank you for the pictures! I LOVE TR's with pics. You'll have to tell me the formatting secret as I have not been able to write a TR like this. It always jumbles or something when I try to bold, bullet, etc. Anywho, thanks again for this fantabulous report! Love it, love it, love it! cdg
Dec 1st, 2010, 01:15 PM
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CDG, thanks! There's no secret to my formatting; simply just using "preview" to make sure everything looks a-ok! I've learned that "copy and paste" never works well here without doing some editing (eg, if you've written your TR elsewhere and just wanted to paste it).
As for the pics, I have a free account at photobucket. For each uploaded pic, there is a unique html link I can copy and paste here.
As for the pics, I have a free account at photobucket. For each uploaded pic, there is a unique html link I can copy and paste here.
Mar 19th, 2012, 07:50 AM
#32
yk - so glad to find this. I'll be in Chicago for far too short a time between trains at the end of April, and am now planning lunch at the Signature Room (after a CAF tour). I was really looking for tips on safety, so this was reassuring.
Apr 21st, 2013, 04:57 AM
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This couldn't be more timely as we leave for Chicago o on Wednesday! I haven't had too much time to put together a to do list but this has real ticked all the boxes! As always, a delight to read yk's reports and drool over her pics. Thanks for topping this, Shelley.
