5 Spots For Great Chicago Skyline Views Away From Tourists
It's hard to beat this, but we have some ideas. Photo via Opacity/Creative Commons
Where's the best perch for seeing Chicago's iconic architecture and signature cityscape? The answer to that question is attracting a lot of investment from the city's tallest buildings, according to a new Tribune article, which notes that the John Hancock Center is currently upgrading its observatory, recently renamed 360 Chicago, with stadium benches that allow for a more relaxed view of the sunset. Not to be left behind, the Willis Tower Skydeck will also see some yet-to-be-revealed improvements, according to a spokesman from new owners the Blackstone Group. The Trump Tower is even upgrading its Terrace. While its fair to say the Hancock and Willis Tower offer some of the city's best panoramas, these upgrades suggest they'll continue to attract a good portion of the city's tourist traffic. If you're looking for inspiring views without dispiriting lines, here are some suggestions. It's by no means a complete list, so add any suggestions in the comments.
Zell Sells Off Mies van der Rohe's Illinois Center for $375M
Image via End User/Creative Commons
Sam Zell is progressing with his plan to unload his $3 billion portfolioof properties and capitalize on the particularly strong investment sales market. One big stride forward is his latest deal to sell the modernist Mies van der Rohe-designed Illinois Center for at least $375 million, as reported by Crain's.
Plan Proposed to Bring Back a Greener Humboldt Park Beach
[photo via tedadavis/Creative Commons]
Chicago's beloved inland beach may get a second lease on life if a plan being advanced by Humboldt Park Advisory Council president Amy Vega becomes reality, according to DNAinfo. After the city closed the beach in May, citing a $1.6M maintenance price tag and the increasing cost of running water to keep the lagoon clean, public pressure, including a beach blanket sit-in, forced the Park District to reconsider. They've since committed to redeveloping the beach, and the new concept reimagines the beach as part of a larger, more sustainable development, .
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$10.9M Linden Avenue Estate Offers Drama on the Lakefront
All images by Estately
What's beautiful on two acres with with five beds and seven baths? This stately home at 15 Linden Avenue, that's what. This beautiful gem of English architecture, built in 1941, offers both lakefront views and a private lane. And because there's so much house on three floors, you'd even get your own elevator, so you can zip from one area of your dream house to another. How else would you get from the sauna, to the wet bar, and on to your own movie theater in time to host an intimate gathering?
Horatio Wilson-Designed, $1.2M Albany Park Home Offers A-Plus Porch
Photos courtesy Redfin
Architect Horatio R. Wilson has left his mark across the city and Midwest, designing the South Michigan Avenue building that once housed Chess Records as well as the imposing Milwaukee mansion that now serves as the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. But this quaint four-bedroom in Albany Park, built in 1909 but recently rehabbed, makes a case for this wide, sunny porch being a particularly nice legacy. The vintage bungalow, asking $1,189,000, offers classic touches, like the beamed ceiling and gabled roof, a well as modern conveniences, like a fully finished basement. Blocks from the end of the Brown Line and a short walk from Horner Park, the home boasts a convenient north side location. And the pergola and fire pit combination in the backyard offers a relaxing way to end the day.
Parkside Development Project: Final Plans for Mixed Use Homes
photo by Stephen J. Serio via Chicago Business
Hold on, Old Town. About 200 homes are coming your way, courtesy of developer Peter Holsten.
This replaces the former Cabrini-Green public housing project, which has been underway for well over a decade. The goal? Move residents out of high-crime buildings and into mixed-income developments.
Wabash Lights Kickstarter Raising Funds for Beta Test
The long-discussed Wabash Lights public art installation, which would turn the L's unsightly undercarriage into a glowing, programmable light show, has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds for a beta test. If the appeal can raise $50,000, designers Jack C. Newell and Seth Unger will be able to install and test a small section of the overall installation with the blessing of the city and CTA. By observing how the LED lights react to vibrations, weather and overall wear and tear, they'll be able to troubleshoot before starting the estimated $5 million capital campaign needed to fund the full project.
Did Mumford & Sons Show Make a Stand for Car-Free Concerts?
Despite the throwback sounds, a Mumford & Sons show might have made a fairly progressive stand at their Chicago concert last Friday night at Cricket Hill. Their Montrose Beach show, and the crowd of 35,000, was louder than expected, leading to noise complaintsneighborhoods away and plenty of northsiders feeling like there was a mandolin player inside their apartment building. But while the concert brought the noise, it didn't bring the traffic, according to Streetsblog Chicago. An article quotes Tressa Feher, chief of staff for 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman, as saying that the show brought minimal traffic complaints. Temporary taxi stands, bike parking and Divvy stations were set up to handle the traffic, and while the parking situation in the dense neighborhood didn't leave many options, the pre-show promotion by the city and JAM Productions may serve as a model for more car-free outdoor events in the future.
POPULAR
World's Fair; Davis Theater Makeover; Relocate Riot Fest; More
[Photo via the Curbed Chicago Flickr pool/Michael Salisbury]
· Des Plaines development to lure millennials to the 'burbs [Chicagoist]
· Vera's spectacular city view [Apartment Therapy]
· A video tour of the 1893 World's Fair [Chicago Architecture Blog]
· Davis Theater getting $4M makeover [DNAinfo]
· Streeterville apartment project scores $160M loan [Crain's]
· Protestors to alderman: Keep Riot Fest out of Douglas Park [DNAinfo]
· Check out the "architectural garden party" by Chicago's Design With Company [Metropolis]
· Vera's spectacular city view [Apartment Therapy]
· A video tour of the 1893 World's Fair [Chicago Architecture Blog]
· Davis Theater getting $4M makeover [DNAinfo]
· Streeterville apartment project scores $160M loan [Crain's]
· Protestors to alderman: Keep Riot Fest out of Douglas Park [DNAinfo]
· Check out the "architectural garden party" by Chicago's Design With Company [Metropolis]
$1.1M Prairie Avenue Condo Offers Commanding Lake Views
All images by VHT Studios via Redfin
Set next to a curve in South Lake Shore Drive that places it in the midst of the city's sports and cultural district—Soldier Field, the Shedd Aquarium and the Museum Campus are a short walk away—the tower at 1211 South Prairie Avenue has an advantageous address. But take a look out the window, and the benefits of its location becomes even clearer. The southeast corner unit on the 28th floor of One Museum Park East provides a great panorama of the lake towards the south, and with more and more towers scheduled to go up south of the Loop, pole position next to the highway provides primacy as far as Lake views are concerned. While features like the granite breakfast bar and hardwood floors are nice, if not a little cookie cutter, you're really paying $1,095,000 see what's outside the windows.
Navy Pier Plans to Get Some New Wheels...or Namely Just One
[photo by Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune]
The Navy Pier is really doing it. They're getting a new wheel. We've been talking about this since at least 2008--so now let's broach the subject again. Whereas the intent, seven years ago, was to bring the wheel up to a staggering 300 feet, that's not quite happening.
Pabst Mansion Back On Sale (Again) for $6.3M
All images by VST via Redfin
While beer prices have stayed relatively steady, home prices have taken quite a few twists and turns over the last few years, a fact that becomes very clear when looking at the recent sales history of the Pabst Mansion in Glencoe. The former estate of company boss Harris Perlstein, it was designed by William Pereira in 1936 before the architect would move out west and work on futuristic structures such as the Pyramid Center in San Francisco. This 14,364-square-foot, 8-bed Georgian manse is much more of a throwback, part of a palatial two-acre estate that's been compared to an island retreat. It has been through the ringer, sales wise, being offered for as much as $14 million at one point. Current owner Jeffrey S. Lange picked it up last year for a relative bargain, $4.8M, and is now trying to make a tidy profit, asking $6,295,00. The sales price has jumped from domestic to microbrew, so to speak; perhaps the next owner will stay longer than 10 months.
Airbnb For Subletting Wants to Pay Your Rent As You Travel All Summer
All images by Flatbook
Airbnb is a cash-flush startup that's taken over the world. But with questions on the appropriateness of evading taxes that a hotelier would otherwise pay, and security issues haunting the organization, there's room for another model. Enter Flatbook, a Melbourne-basedorganization that offers to pay all your bills while your property is vacant. Sounds too good to be true?
For $1.85M, You Can Have Your Own Private Nature Cottage
All photos courtesy of Estately
You're looking for a respite of tranquility, and it's gotta have five bedrooms, five baths, and balconies that overlook Haffner Meadow. And if Ike Colburn means anything to you, then this house may as well be yours. Two acres of freedom from circa 1965--and if you have extra cash to spare, you'll probably be interested in redecorating the bedrooms.
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