Help Determine Chicago’s Cultural Scene in 2030

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Jim McKay

At the behest of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is developing Chicago Cultural Plan 2012. While written for 2012, the target is what our city’s cultural scene will look like in 2030.

The first plan was developed in 1986 under Mayor Harold Washington. It was then revised in 1995 under Mayor Richard M. Daley. Many consider the transformation of Navy Pier into Illinois’ top tourist destination to be the pinnacle of the many results of these plans.

Now it’s 2012, and Mayor Emanuel wants to hear form you. Specifically, DCASE wants to hear from EVERYONE, the starving store front artist to potential multimillion-dollar corporate sponsor. To that end, DCASE is sponsoring meetings around the city. A few have been held already and there’s one more planned.

I attended last Thursday night’s meeting held at Senn High School on the far north side. About 100 attended with a cross section of young artists, higher ed faculty, concerned parents and even patrons of the arts. For much of the meeting, attendees were broken down into about nine brainstorming groups. The group I observed developed a case for the need for art education in K-12 schools, support through tax breaks and other means for the struggling artist, and, most especially, a need for culture events to spread out more into the neighborhoods, to serve as satellites to the rich and internationally renowned cultural events and institutions of the Loop and city center.

There is one more of these public planning events coming up—this Tuesday, February 21. Be sure to pre-register at the Chicago Cultural Plan 2012′s website. There you will find all sorts of information. There you will also find access to the Cultural Plan’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

A Guide to Chicago Street Rules

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Anne Levon

WBEZ’s John Schmidt talks about Chicago’s street naming conventions during a great segment on Eight Forty-Eight.

While there is no guide on the use of Avenue or Street in a name, there is a whole set of conventions associated with the likes of Boulevard, Parkway, Drive and Road.

Check out the story here.

One of the more fascinating names is West Forest Preserve Drive which is technically not a Drive but an Avenue, despite local protocol. Forest Preserve Avenue (or Drive) was, oh, about a hundred years ago, a railroad right of way along an Indian treaty line. Even more interesting is that another street along the same trajectory, Rogers Avenue, has addresses that run north rather than west. That’s despite the fact that Rogers runs more east-west than north-south. Tangentially (and not part of Mr. Schmidt’s story) is how some streets change direction. For instance, on the south side, Ogden Avenue runs east-west; on the north side, it runs north-south.

Kudos to Mr. Schmidt for such a provocative story.

Chicago Architect Doug Garofalo, FAIA Dies

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Jim McKay

World-renowned Chicago-based architect Doug Garofalo, FAIA died this past Sunday, one day short of his 53rd birthday. A protege of Stanley Tigerman, Doug’s best known works among many were his collaboration on the Korean Presbyterian Church in Queens, NY; locally, the Hyde Park Arts Center; and a residence for Lewis and Susan Manilow in Spring Prairie, WI. Doug was a trail-blazer in innovative approaches digital design processes both in his practice and as a professor in the UIC School of Architecture. More than ten years ago, Doug (and his students) eschewed the use of mundane CADD software like AutoCAD, instead taking an non-conventional approach using high-end animation studio packages such as SoftImage and Maya years before anyone else.

It was ten years ago in 2001 that Doug was the Interim Director of the UIC School of Architecture and its Advanced Digital Design Studio. I worked for Doug as the IT manager of the Advanced Digital Design Studio and he eventually gave me the opportunity to teach graduate digital media courses.

Here’s to many great experiences thanks to Doug. God bless Doug and his loved ones.

Chicago Tribune Obituary for Doug Garofalo, August 5, 2011.

It’s All About The Chicago Experience

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Mark Le Vecque

There’s been much discussion about the future of the Wrigley Building as the parent of Wrigley Gum, Mars, Inc., prepares to relocate to Goose Island from its flagship home of over 70 years.

First of all, let’s express gratitude to the Wrigleys for maintain this iconic building for so many decades, especially in recent years when Wall Street does not reward companies for doing the right thing by maintaining prominent landmarks in the community.

The question comes up: will the Wrigley Building have a name change to reflect the next tenants? Who would move in? Will it be maintained? How will new owners or tenants impact one of Chicago’s most prominent vistas of which the Wrigley Building is a prominent feature?

It all comes down to The Chicago Experience. And will any change be for the better.

When the Sears Tower was renamed the Willis Tower, many complained, but, in fact, the experience remained the same. One might argue that there was even the carrot in the form of Skydeck Chicago’s new Ledge attraction. In the end, it can be officially called whatever the owners want, but to many it remained “the Sears.” Look at Manhattan’s Sixth Avenue. Rechristened decades ago with the best of intentions “Avenue of the Americas,” natives still refer to it as Sixth. Moreover, dual signage exists.

Then there’s the case of the Museum of Science and Industry. Museum directors announced last summer that they are open to the renaming of the museum in return for corporate sponsorship in hopes of making the museum even better. On first glance, that might seem agreeable enough since the MSI is named for no one. But on further investigation, the primary benefactor of the MSI’s founding, the often self-deprecating Julius Rosenwald, was adamant that the institution not be named for him, despite the offer. Still, maybe something could be worked out.

In the case of Children’s Memorial Hospital, it becomes Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s hospital as it moves to a bigger and state-of-the-art headquarters in 2012. No one seems to be quibbling about that one. A whole new hospital in a whole new location. What a great thing.

Then there’s the case of Marshall Field’s on State Street which became Macy’s in 2006. There are more than a few who insist that the emporium is no longer quite the same experience since the change, that its place as a uniquely Chicago experience has been diminished.

That brings us to the Wrigley Building. For most all Chicagoans and its visitors, the Wrigley Building is all about experience! How many readers have actually been inside the building and consider its interior spaces a top destination? By comparison, it is its Venetian exterior that is iconic world-wide as part of the vista down the Chicago River.

What needs to happen is Chicago needs to landmark the facades of the Wrigley Building. That’s what’s important. It may not be possible to keep the name, and Chicagoans will call it what they will. But the exterior must be protected. That exterior is an element of Chicago’s character as an international city. Without it remaining in tact, Chicago as a whole would be just a little less international.