tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73839208341550897312012-02-16T04:48:02.293-06:00I'm just a girl from Chicago who has always loved the city and its architecture, so when I landed a job at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) I was thrilled. It wasn't soon after my first day, however that I discovered that despite living here I didn't know as much about my city as I thought. So I came up with this crazy idea that in 2010 I would attempt to take all of CAF's 85 tours. This blog is the record of my journey...Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-86009234567176790962011-05-03T11:10:00.000-05:002011-05-03T11:10:25.179-05:00

 That's me Tweeting while on the tour!  The 85th tour. Kind of has a nice ring to it, right? Well, I made it to the 85th tour: Razzle Dazzle—a tour of Chicago’s theatre district led our docent Joan. And what would a tour of Chicago’s theatre district be without a stop at the historic Chicago Theatre? Even if you’re not from Chicago, I know you’ve seen the Chicago Theatre. It’s the one

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-26355746535952987292011-04-15T11:58:00.001-05:002011-05-03T15:36:54.745-05:00

First of all, let me say there are no hard feelings. I know all of you have been very concerned that I would be upset that nobody showed up to take the 84th tour of the Around Chicago in 85 Tours challenge with me, but really…I’m ok… But honestly, I can’t blame you. If I wasn’t taking the challenge I probably wouldn’t have gone either. Even though I’d been on tours in torrential rain, blizzards

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-43573934895993306472011-03-31T11:11:00.001-05:002011-04-15T12:04:11.028-05:00

Here’s a kicker…the original Palmer House, built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer to his bride Bertha, was completed just days before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and was completely destroyed in the disaster. That would probably discourage some people from rebuilding, but not Potter. He began construction almost immediately, opening the second Palmer House in 1873. This was surely

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-50392462819100189682011-03-04T11:47:00.001-06:002011-04-05T12:07:44.257-05:00

Every once in a while it’s good to take a step back and look at the “big picture”, right? I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. Now, it may have taken until the final few tours of the Around Chicago in 85 Tours challenge, but I think I found the tour that really looks at the “big picture”: Skyscraper Walk Thru Time.  Skyscraper Walk Thru Time tour group As I’ve taken all these

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-85212106116304607222011-02-22T16:47:00.001-06:002011-04-05T12:08:09.844-05:00

It would be impossible to write a blog post about Macy’s on State Street without talking about the incredible Tiffany Dome. Although I’ve visited Macy’s on other tours, the actual Macy’s on State Street tour, led by Barb, really gave an in-depth look at this historic icon of Chicago architecture. As many of you may know, Macy’s was originally Chicago’s flagship department store, Marshall Field

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-58440236906688140872011-02-05T17:55:00.001-06:002011-04-05T12:08:32.484-05:00

The Chicago Old and New tour is a little different from other tours at CAF—in this tour we studied different intersections in the Loop. Jill, our docent and the creator of this tour developed the Chicago Old and New tour with a different angle in mind. Instead of looking at individual buildings, this tour looks at how the buildings relate to each other as well as to the people who occupy them.

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-55282225655333855262011-01-28T13:41:00.001-06:002011-04-05T12:09:02.426-05:00

 Our tour group By the time I took the Rosehill Mausoleum tour I think I was getting pretty used to cemeteries. Well, maybe "used to" isn't the right phrase. But at least I wasn't getting weepy anymore. The Graceland Cemetery tour on Halloween with that creepy Laredo Taft sculpture really seemed to be a turning point for me. I went from weepy to creeped out. And the creepiness factor 

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-15125385534789800832011-01-27T14:09:00.001-06:002011-01-28T14:39:49.771-06:00

 Tour group in front of Alexander Calder's Flamingo Many of us in Chicago pass by world-famous sculpture in the Loop every day without giving it a second thought. Elise, our docent for the Sculpture in the Loop tour was determined to change all that. Some of you may be questioning why the Chicago Architecture Foundation would give tours about public art. Well, there really is a

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-32154391338122229032011-01-25T14:35:00.001-06:002011-01-27T15:27:39.389-06:00

 The beautiful Chicago skyline  View along the Chicago River showing Wolf Point where the city was founded The photos above look like postcards, don’t they? I mean, me…the girl with the less than perfect eye for photography somehow managed to get shots like these. Yep, (patting self on back), I’m pretty damn proud of myself. But, of course, I can only take partial credit. After all, it

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-12170026690521112032011-01-24T12:13:00.001-06:002011-01-27T15:28:22.301-06:00

Graceland Cemetery tour group I have to admit, one of the challenges of the Around Chicago in 85 Tours Challenge was actually scheduling all the tours. Since some tours are only offered once a year, some once a month, others more frequently…my entire year had to be planned out at the beginning of 2010. Getting that all figured out was certainly a feat. However, there was some thought put into

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-1072825355845364422011-01-20T16:27:00.001-06:002011-01-24T12:15:47.548-06:00

Tour group on L platform By the time I got to take the Elevated Architecture tour led by Kent I had already taken 70-something tours. And while I had found 99.9% of the tours fascinating, I have to say my enthusiasm for taking tours at that point had somewhat diminished. Hey, I’m human. So, if you haven’t guessed by the title of the tour and the photo above, the Elevated Architecture tour

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-26662681301967426712011-01-19T13:46:00.001-06:002011-01-20T16:28:29.901-06:00

 Our huge tour group One thing that has taken some getting used to during the Around Chicago in 85 Tours Challenge is how many people have been willing to open up their home to our tour group. Not only do I think that is incredibly generous, but I also think it’s a testament to how passionate we are in Chicago about our architecture. Hey, if we have a cool, architecturally-significant

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-44714803456752379702011-01-15T19:10:00.001-06:002011-01-20T10:22:08.061-06:00

Trump Tower Chicago In Chicago we can be very passionate about some things: our sports teams, our food, and of course our architecture. And when a new skyscraper goes up in the city of skyscrapers, you can bet people will be talking. Now I know some people aren’t fans of Trump Tower, but I am. To me it fits with the skyline—it’s elegant yet modest, strong yet subtle. But I’m no architecture

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-18071492897196448942011-01-15T13:25:00.001-06:002011-01-17T15:47:25.324-06:00

Just starting the Highland Park tour I grew up in the Chicago area and I have to admit, I couldn’t imagine what could possibly be so interesting in Highland Park that the Chicago Architecture Foundation would have a tour there. I mean, it’s just a suburb, right? Well, yes…it’s a suburb. It’s a suburb with Frank Lloyd Wright homes, a home designed by W.W. Boyington (who was also the architect

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-6889719705350525502011-01-14T15:55:00.001-06:002011-01-17T15:47:48.347-06:00

I think as Chicagoans we often take our lakefront and Michigan Avenue for granted. During the city’s growth spurt of the late 1800’s, city leaders did not opt to use the lakefront as a dumping ground. Ok, maybe I should backpedal a bit here. I don’t mean to say that at that time they tried to keep the Lake pristine. The lakefront was dirty and the river was filthy. However, city leaders had the

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-64202326379286878652011-01-07T14:13:00.001-06:002011-01-14T15:57:14.682-06:00

 Ganz Hall The Temples of Culture tour includes a Chicago gem that you might not otherwise see—Ganz Hall in the Auditorium Building. I didn’t really believe our docent Paul when he told me that I’d see something on the Temples of Culture tour that I won’t see on other tours. I mean, at that point I had already taken 70-something tours…what more could I possibly see…especially in the

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-21670070968663542462010-12-14T10:10:00.001-06:002011-01-14T15:57:48.086-06:00

 Kenilworth North tour group One of the most interesting architects I’ve learned about during the Around Chicago in 85 Tours Challenge has been George Washington Maher. Not that I’m anti-Wright or anti-Mies or even anti-Jeanne Gang…I just find Maher intriguing, especially for his time. In the late 1800s, early 1900s, Maher was considered a leading Prairie School architect. Much of his work

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-65366549278135088802010-12-10T13:58:00.001-06:002010-12-14T11:08:04.930-06:00

My favorite part of the Parks and Boulevards: Lincoln and the West Parks tour was visiting the Garfield Park Conservatory. What an amazing place…and what an amazing history to go along with it. As our docents Maurice and Nancy explained, Garfield Park Conservatory—designed by the famous landscape architect Jens Jensen—was revolutionary at the time it opened in 1908. While other conservatories

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-4327283323465496272010-12-06T13:03:00.001-06:002010-12-10T13:59:34.824-06:00

After about a minute of contemplation I decided that although we saw many wonderful sculptures on the Sculpture in Lincoln Park tour, the one I’d like to focus on in this post is the most striking of them all—Augustus Saint-Gaudens “Abraham Lincoln”, also known as “The Standing Lincoln”. The Standing Lincoln It might be difficult to appreciate now, but as Dick, our docent for the tour told

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-49839265849600693232010-11-30T17:15:00.002-06:002010-12-10T13:59:56.745-06:00

Travel south down LaSalle street and you can’t miss the anchor building of Chicago’s financial district—the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Established in 1848, it is the oldest futures and options exchange in the world. I actually used to work for a clearing firm here in Chicago—I won’t get into the gory details—and I have always found the industry fascinating. Naturally, the CBOT building was

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-23999980882063970152010-11-23T17:03:00.003-06:002010-12-10T14:02:10.755-06:00

Printer's Row tour Deep breath…I’m just going to get this right out into the open. Ok, so you might remember in other posts I’ve mentioned that I was an English lit major in college. Well…here’s my confession…I’ve never been to the Printer’s Row Book Fair. Gasp! Egads! Yikes! Blasphemy! The annual Printer’s Row Book Fair, started in 1985, is one of the largest in the country (check out

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-28709214060156895672010-11-17T16:54:00.001-06:002010-12-10T14:00:55.640-06:00

In an earlier post I mentioned how the Riverwalk 1 and Riverwalk 2 tours are like walking versions of parts of the River Cruise…and I still think that’s accurate. But today a colleague and I were talking and he asked me why someone would want to walk the route instead of cruise along on a boat. That’s a valid question, and here’s the answer: on the Riverwalk tours you get a more in-depth look at

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-75040646615964624802010-11-11T14:42:00.002-06:002010-12-10T14:01:22.684-06:00

Wicker Park tour My head was spinning at the end of the Wicker Park tour. Wow…what a neighborhood. The thing is…I wasn’t too surprised that there is so much unique history to Wicker Park. I’ve always been intrigued by the neighborhood, and I was always suspicious that it had a rich history, but I never knew for sure. Ted, our docent for the Wicker Park tour, confirmed my suspicion. Wicker

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-84325895109059791982010-11-09T15:02:00.001-06:002010-11-11T14:47:27.474-06:00

First of all, before I get to the reason I got the “church giggles”, let me just tell you a little bit about the uniqueness of the Churches by Bus tour. This is a once-a-year tour that visits five different churches in one day. Every year it’s a different set of churches. And it’s not just one bus of tour-goers…it’s FIVE. And as you can imagine, putting this all together is a huge logistical feat

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7383920834155089731.post-36747905143507824692010-11-01T12:02:00.003-05:002010-11-11T14:47:50.192-06:00

Mies van der Rohe coined the phrase “less is more”, is a founder of modernism, and even though part of his life became tabloid fodder, (see my blog post http://bit.ly/aXCZpu), his design—dominated by steel and glass—is known for its simplicity and straight-forwardness. Today, many of us look at the steel and glass behemoths that puncture city skylines without a second thought. They are

Jennifer Lucente, Chicago Architecture Foundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12487617895331847566noreply@blogger.com2