An Elevated View
We've enjoyed riding the rapid transit system in the city, and have especially enjoyed
getting on and off at the stations of the elevated portion, which makes up Chicago's famous Loop.
We often take the built environment that surrounds us for granted, never really noticing
the buildings that we walk, or drive past on a daily basis. So, taking the time to see the city from the platform of an elevated train line, requires a real commitment. But, seeing a building from a train platform is unlike any perspective you will get from street level. At certain stops a building is so close, that you feel as though you'd be able to reach out and touch it.
If you take the time to wander along the platform of the Washington and Wells stop of the southbound train on the CTA's Brown Line, you will encounter one of the oldest commercial buildings in the city; the Washington Block.
This is a great example of the type of building that filled the city's business district in the
aftermath of the Chicago Fire. The Block was built in 1874, just 3 years after the fire, and is all the more remarkable because it's still standing 135 years later. Another survivor from that era is the Delaware Building a few blocks to the east, but you won't get the same perspective of the Delaware because you can't stand directly in front of the building, 40 feet above the sidewalk.
Across the street from the Washington Block is a large commercial structure built in 1912,
and designed by one of the city's top architectural firms, Holabird & Roche. The detail of the upper portions of the 4-story base is best seen from the vantage point of the el (for elevated) platform. In 2002, the former Morton Building was converted into residential condominiums, a pioneering concept in the Loop at the time.
C.F. Murphy & Associates, 1982 & 303 W. Madison, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1982 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
As you move along the platform to the south, your view changes from one of the oldest
buildings downtown to a grouping of some of its newest. The large sweeping arc of the building in the photo on the right, is from the offices of I.M. Pei. The Hyatt Center is the first building in Chicago from the firm of Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners and opened for occupancy in 2005. The next tallest is from another in Chicago's long line of world-renowned architectural firms, C.F. Murphy & Associates, built in 1982. Standing in front of the Murphy building is 303 W. Madison, designed by the architectural behemoth Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, in 1988. This is the kind of cluster that makes Chicago the architectural capital of the country, if not the world.
Image & Artwork: designslinger]
You don't have to limit yourself to just buildings from the elevated perspective of the
elevated's platform. This station stop is also a great place to see Louise Nevelson's Dawn Shadows from overhead. Supposedly Nevelson's inspiration for this piece came from the curves of the elevated tracks as they looped around downtown. I love how apparent it becomes from this vantage point, that the glass box entry was built specifically to encase and protect the jewel inside. When you're at ground level entering the building, you don't have quite the same sensation.
We'll be back with more views from the elevated in the weeks to come, and remember to
take the time every now and again to look around you, you may be surprised by what you discover.
Posted by designslinger at 7/23/2009 2:07 AM 
Categories: Architecture,Architects,Art,History
Tags: CTA Louise Nevelson I.M.Pei Chicago Loop C.F. Murphy
Categories: Architecture,Architects,Art,History
Tags: CTA Louise Nevelson I.M.Pei Chicago Loop C.F. Murphy
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