Archive - Architecture and History of Chicagoland

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Apr 30

The Desecration of Pleasant Home

On Friday Steve Kelley, a longtime volunteer for the Pleasant Home Foundation Restoration Committee and member of its Board of Trustees, informed the…

Apr 12

March 2023

Women's History Month: Jean Wehrheim

Did you know that today only 23.3% of all American-based architects are women? Considering March is Women’s History Month when we commemorate the vital…

Mar 21

The Destruction of Villa Hortensia

I’m fully aware this substack is supposed to be about the architecture of Chicagoland. But if there is such a thing as a Chicago “North,” then it would…

Mar 7

February 2023

The MacArthur Family and Frank Lloyd Wright

It was exactly a year ago that I wrote a post about “demolition by neglect” by the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. I didn’t expect my writing to get much…

Feb 1

January 2023

Demolitions of 2022

It’s that time of year again when we look back at the buildings we lost in 2022. Just like my 2021 post, Chicago continues to destroy its rich…

Jan 6

December 2022

Edward Dart's Chicago Theological Seminary Faculty Quadrangle

2022 marked the 100th anniversary of architect Edward “Ned” Dart’s birth. Earlier this year I wrote about some of Dart’s architectural projects like the…

Dec 31, 2022

Valley View Farm, Ernest Hemingway, and SOM

For the people who read this Substack, you might not know I’ve freelanced for Chicago magazine for the last year and a half writing up real estate…

Dec 16, 2022

Architect Homes: Paul Starrett

Who knew the North Shore suburb of Kenilworth had a connection to the Empire State Building? Paul Starrett (1866-1957), a master builder with…

Dec 2, 2022

November 2022

Just Say Bunga-No to Pop Tops

Six years ago the Chicago Bungalow Association started a campaign called “Stop the Pop” in response to the ugly second-story additions that have “popped…

Nov 18, 2022

Edward Gorey in Chicago and Wilmette

After a four-month absence I’ve decided to restart my substack, partially due to Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter. If that ship goes down, which appears…

Nov 4, 2022

June 2022

Adaptive Reuse: David Haid's Plastofilm Building

I’ve been spending more time in nature lately, mainly for my mental health. But I’m still drawn to architecture wherever I go, even while exploring the…

Jun 30, 2022

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