Cool facts about beautiful buildings

 

Artist/photographer Chris Hytha, right and writer Mark Houser by Hytha's model of the top of the 
Carbide and Carbon Building at the Chicago Architecture Foundation in July.

    Unlike you, I've been through the nickel skybridge connecting the two Wrigley buildings — yes, there are two, built at different times, with separate addresses, yet still generally considered one Wrigley Building. My wife and I also had our first breakfast as a married couple across the street on one of the stepback terraces of the old Medinah Temple — now the Intercontinental — having wed in a ballroom there the night before. I've sat in one of top floor offices of Tribune Tower, with a glorious half circle window, while admiring one of the three Pulitzer Prizes won by the late cartoonist Jeff MacNelly. And I once gave an architecture talk at the top of Mather Tower, pointing to the various landmarks within sight of the wonderful little round skydeck with a 360 view of the city. 
     What I'm trying to say is that I have a fairly granular understanding of the local subject matter of Chris Hytha's art: gorgeous high rez images of deco towers. And so went to the talk that he and writer Mark Houser held at the Chicago Architecture Center in late July. Not expecting to write anything — I focused on Hytha's stunning drone images (not Ansel Adams single photo frames, but computer-assembled composites) just two years ago.
    Even though the talk offered up a trove of delicious information.

    For all the times I walked past the Carbide and Carbon Building, the cover image on their new book "Highrises Art Deco: 100 Spectacular Skyscrapers from the Roaring '20s to the Great Depression," I didn't realize it is Union Carbide and Carbon the name refers to (I have a hard enough time keeping them in the right order — I keep wanting to make it the Carbon and Carbide Building, until I realized that the second vowels went in order, i before o).
    Nor did I realize the connection between The Chicago Tribune Building and the Chicago Temple, the gothic-topped home of the First United Methodist Church of Chicago (and yes, I've gone through the parsonage located at the top, one of the sweeter gigs in Christendom, and visited the Sky Chapel with its carved wooden bas relief of Jesus gesturing over the skyline of the city, circa 1955). 

    Exactly a century ago, in 1924, the Tribune had its famous contest for a design for its new home.

     "Col. McCormick had just finished an international contest, hundred of architects from around the world., trying to design the most beautiful skyscraper in the world to be the new home of the Chicago Tribune," Houser told the rapt Architecture Center crowd. "Every single one of those entrants had followed the rules that Chicago has a 400 foot tall height limit.  He picked his winner, based on a French cathedral. And that skyscraper is just under 400 feet tall."

    Then the Chicago Temple topped out, far taller than the proposed Trib Tower.

   "Now the City Council is going to allow the church to have a 568 foot tall skyscraper a couple months after he made this announcement," Houser said.

    Col. McCormick was not a happy man. And he had a newspaper to thunder through, though he tried to work with the development.
    " So immediately, there's the headline: 'The Methodists have found a way to break through the 400 foot crust that is stifling Chicago architecture!"' said Houser. "The city saw the error of its way and the Chicago Tribune tower added another four stories" after McCormick pressed the winning architect to make the thing bigger.

     There's much more, but you get the idea. I would have selfishly kept this to myself, but the duo are circling back to Chicago this weekend — alas, their talk Saturday at the Pendry Chicago, a boutique hotel within the Carbide and Carbon (checking those second vowels) Building, 230 N. Michigan, is already sold out. But they are selling (and signing) their magnificent book there 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening and 10 to 12 Sunday morning.  And their show at the Chicago Architecture Center, 111 E. Wacker, runs until the 25th. Check it out if you can; it's stunning.

Chris Hytha with a slide showing how AI can be used to. generate architectural ideas. Over three years
he traveled to some 70 cities shooting deco towers.