past events

january 2011

october 2010

october 2009

october 2008

september 2008

september 2007

august 2007

july 2007

june 2007

Chicago Preservation Holiday Party

Co-hosted by:
APT Western Great Lakes Chapter
AIA Chicago Historic Resources Committee
Construction History Society of America
docomomo_chicagomidwest

Wednesday, January 12, 2011
5:00pm - 9:00pm

Location
Emerald Loop Bar & Grill
216 North Wabash Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

Description
Please join us for an evening of socializing with fellow members of our local preservation organizations. Attendees will learn what each organization has accomplished in 2010 and what each is planning for 2011.

Cost
Free appetizers, cash bar

Details and Reservations
Please RSVP to: aptwglc_at_gmail.com

The Fourth Annual
DOCOMOMO US Tour Day

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Chicago Area Tours:

Architecture in the Round: The Life and Work of Bertrand Goldberg

Sponsors: docomomo_chicagomidwest and the Chicago Architecture Foundation

Saturday, October 9, 2010
12:30pm

Location
Meet: CAF Shop & Tour Center, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Description
Best known for his curving concrete structures, Bertrand Goldberg was a native Chicagoan who “broke the box” and brought new ideas and philosophies to mid-century Modern design.  A student of Mies van der Rohe, Goldberg began experimenting early in his career with new shapes and materials that differentiated his work from the rigid rectilinear style of his mentor.  Goldberg was passionate about revitalizing cities, and we’ll see projects he designed that were intended to inject vitality back into Chicago’s urban fabric as he saw it begin to decay in the 1950s.  By visiting Marina City, Hilliard Homes and River City, you’ll see how Goldberg envisioned Chicago recreating itself as a modern American city.  As a special bonus, we’ll tour the interior of Marina City and see why it is still regarded as one of Chicago’s most beloved modern icons.  We’ll also visit Prentice Hospital, an endangered example of the innovative designs Goldberg developed for hospitals and medical centers.

Cost
$38 person; $33 seniors/students; $33 CAF members

Details and Reservations
AIA Continuing Education Credit: 3.0
To register visit: http://caf.architecture.org/goldberg
For more information visit: http://caf.architecture.org/

As well as other regularly scheduled tours offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation:

Farnsworth House PLUS by Bus

Thursday, October 7, 2010
9:30am

Location
Meet: CAF Shop & Tour Center, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Description
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a founder of Modernism and one of most influential architects of the 20th Century, lived and worked in Chicago for over 30 years. This full day tour by deluxe motorcoach presents some of the greatest works of Mies and the architects that he influenced and inspired. The tour highlight is an extended visit to Farnsworth House, the renowned "glass house" created by Mies in an idyllic country setting.

The first tour stop is at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive, the twin towers by Mies considered to be the first modern skyscrapers. Next is a visit to the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology, originally planned by Mies. This includes Crown Hall, which Mies himself described as his best work, and Carr Chapel, his only religious building. We also view two recent additions to the campus by renowned contemporary architects: Helmut Jahn’s State Street Village and McCormick-Tribune Campus Center by Rem Koolhaas. We then head to Farnsworth House, located near suburban Plano, about a 75 minute drive from Chicago. Along the tour route, we will see more great works of modern architecture: John Hancock Center, Lake Point Tower, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and others. A buffet lunch is included.

Cost
$70 person; $65 seniors/students; $58 CAF members

Mies & Modernism: The IIT Campus

Saturday, October 9, 2010
10:00am

Location
Meet: at the Illinois Institute of Technology, inside Perlstein Hall, 10 W. 33rd Street, Chicago
Northwest corner of 33rd and State streets

Description
The Illinois Institute of Technology is home to the largest group of buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the most influential figure in American Modernism. This walking tour traces the evolution of the campus throughout its history, with a special emphasis on the years 1938-1958, the time of Mies’ tenure as the head of the School of Architecture. The tour also visits more recent projects, including the McCormick Tribune Campus Center (designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas) and the Helmut Jahn-designed State Street Village residence hall. The tour is operated with the cooperation and assistance of the Illinois Institute of Technology: www.iit.edu.

Cost
$15 person; $10 seniors/students; free for CAF members

Details and Reservations
AIA Continuing Education Credit: 2.0
Walk up tickets available at the tour departure point (check in 15 – 20 minutes early)
Advance reservations not needed.
For more information visit: http://caf.architecture.org/

Modern Skyscrapers

Saturday, October 9, 2010
1:00pm

Location
Meet: CAF Shop & Tour Center, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Description
In the years following World War II, Chicago established itself as a world capital of Modern architecture. On this tour we examine many of the buildings that helped earn Chicago this reputation, from the elegant minimalism of Mies van der Rohe’s Federal Center to the brawny expressiveness of the Richard J. Daley Center. We also look at the “second wave” of Modernism with notable architects such as Helmut Jahn, and the rise of Postmodernism, as evidenced by structures like Philip Johnson’s 190 South LaSalle. Modernism is flowering once again in Chicago, and we’ll look at contemporary examples like Trump Tower, the Art Institute’s Modern Wing, and the recently completed tower at One South Dearborn.

Cost
$15 person; $12 seniors/students; free for CAF members

Details and Reservations
AIA Continuing Education Credit: 2.0
Walk up tickets available at the tour departure point (check in 15 – 20 minutes early)
Advance reservations not needed.
For more information visit: http://caf.architecture.org/

Sculpture in the Loop

Saturday, October 9, 2010
1:30pm

Location
Meet: CAF Shop & Tour Center, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Description
This walking tour covers monumental works by mid-century Modern masters (such as Picasso, Chagall, Miro, and Calder), but also lesser-known gems hidden among the Loop’s skyscrapers. Discover the changing relationships between architecture and sculpture, and learn how artists and architects collaborate in creating successful works of public art.

Cost
$15 person; $12 seniors/students; free for CAF members

Details and Reservations
AIA Continuing Education Credit: 2.0
Walk up tickets available at the tour departure point (check in 15 – 20 minutes early)
Advance reservations not needed.
For more information visit: http://caf.architecture.org/

The Third Annual
DOCOMOMO US Tour Day

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Chicago Area Tours:

The Chicago "Bauhaus District": Home of Many Masters

Sponsors: docomomo_chicagomidwest and the Gropius in Chicago Coalition

Saturday, October 10, 2009
1:00pm - approximately 4:00pm

Location
Meet in front of the south (35th Street) entrance to the “35-Bronzeville-IIT” station of the CTA Green Line

Description
This 2-3 hour walking tour, led by Grahm Balkany, Director and Chief Researcher of the Gropius in Chicago Coalition, and LaLuce Mitchell, Senior Architectural Tour Guide at the Illinois Institute of Technology, will showcase a section of Chicago’s Near South Side that has a deeply ingrained Modernist heritage. The tour will begin with a thorough tour of Mies van der Rohe’s Illinois Institute of Technology Campus. Several of Mies’s buildings have been restored in the past few years, including a recent restoration of the “God Box” by DoCoMoMo Board Member Gunny Harboe of Harboe Architects, PC. The tour will then proceed to Walter Gropius's Michael Reese Hospital campus. The campus is extremely endangered and is scheduled to be demolished beginning this autumn. This campus has recently been fenced off from public access, but many of the structures remain visible. The tour will conclude with views of works by Wright and Sullivan, and by passing through the grounds of Lake Meadows.

Cost
FREE (donations to Gropius in Chicago Coalition gladly accepted)

Details and Reservations
www.gropiuschicago.org

Mid-Century Modern in the Fox Valley

Sponsors: Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley

Party – Friday, October 9, 2009
7:00pm - 9:00pm

Location
Campana Building, call for directions 630-377-6424

Description
At the 1937 Campana Building, the evening will start with a presentation by Anthony Rubano from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency entitled, “Highlights of Mid-Century Modern in the Midwest,” followed by a question and answer session. Visitors will additionally have the rare opportunity to view an exhibit of Wolfgang Hoffmann’s 1930s furniture, as well as a medley of Chromesteel tables and chairs from the Howell Company. Vintage designer clothing will also be on display. The evening will be crowned with champagne and an exquisite buffet.

Cost
$45 per person
weekend package (includes party and tour): $50 per person, $90 per couple

Tour – Saturday, October 10, 2009
1:00pm - 5:00pm

Location
call 630-377-6424

Description
1937 Campana Building, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Wayne, Illinois. Guides will give tours of the exterior and interior features of each site: 1954 Stone Ranch House in Batavia, 1950 Glass House – the “Geneva House” designed by Jacques Brownson, 1968 Bruno Conterato House in Geneva designed by a partner of Mies Van der Rohe, 1957 Contemporary Home designed by Frazier & Raftery, 2 Ranch Houses from 1950’s in old Delnor Hospital neighborhood bordering the Pottawatomie Golf Course, c. 1960 Contemporary Home with pool in rural Wayne.

Cost
$20 per person
weekend package (includes party and tour): $50 per person, $90 per couple

Details and Reservations
www.ppfv.org

Saturday, October 4, 2008
1:00pm - 4:00pm

3.0 AIA CE Learning Units

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Limit of 20 attendees
Please reserve by email:
boulemichmodern@docomomo-chicagomidwest.org

Fee
$20.00 for non-members
Free for current members and new members who sign up at the event

Departure Location
Meet at 1:00pm Meet in front of the Jeweler’s Building, 35 East Wacker Drive, Chicago

Tour Description
How did the modern develop in Chicago? Did midwest modernism have its origins in American Art Deco? Explore the development of modern ideas of design in the context of an expanding metropolis. Tour upper Michigan Avenue with local preservationist and art historian Rolf Achilles. Join us for an intriguing discussion of the origins of Boule Mich Modern and how architectural design developed for commercial entities in a neighborhood that transitioned in the 20th century from residential to one of the world’s most renowned retail districts.

The tour will meet in front of the Jeweler’s Building and then commence at Michigan and Wacker with a look up and down Michigan Avenue - a view like nowhere else in the U.S! We will then move in and out of buildings up Michigan Avenue, with a grand Palmolive finale.

Tour Leader Bio
Rolf Achilles, President of Landmarks Illinois and Adjunct Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Chicago architectural and art historian Rolf Achilles is a preservation advisor for the Reid House in Chicago, Unity Temple in Oak Park, the Haus Hohen Pappeln in Weimar, Germany, and the Richard H. Driehaus Collection in Chicago.  He teaches historic preservation and decorative arts at the Art Institute, is the curator of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier, and is a member of the Chicago Public Art Commission.  Rolf also curated and administered the IIT Centennial Exhibition of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Architect as Educator.

Sunday, September 21, 2008
1:00pm. 2:00pm, 3:00pm

Location
Crow Island School, 1112 Willow Road, Winnetka, IL
meet in the school foyer

Tour Description
Designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with Perkins, Wheeler & Will, the elementary school opened in 1940 and has been in continuous use ever since. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990 for its architectural significance and influence on subsequent school design.

Next door in Crow Island Woods is the c1837 Schmidt-Burnham Log House where continuous tours will be offered from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. that day. There is a suggested donation for Log House tours.

Sponsor Organization
Winnetka Historical Society, 847-446-0001 www.winnetkahistory.org

www.partnersinpreservation.com

Saturday, September 15, 2007
10:00am - 3:00pm

Location
Great Lakes Naval Base, North Chicago

Tour Description
The Great Lake Naval Museum Association will have an open house from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. to show the general public Building #42, the Hostess House, designed my noted modernist architect Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and its plan to restore this significant building as its new museum.

The U.S. Navy is working closely with the Great Lakes Naval Museum Association to transfer Building 42 to the Naval Museum Association, which will then embark on a $12 million multi-phase plan to restore the Hostess House to its WWII grandeur. The Museum Association's goal is to have the building restored in time for the 100th Anniversary of the Great Lakes Naval Station in 2011. This event will be free to the general public.

Metra Directions
Take the Union Pacific North Line to the Great Lakes Station. Walk to the north (approximately 2 blks) to the front gate entrance.

Driving Directions
• From I-94 (Tri-State Tollway) or From Route 41 via I-94 (the Edens)
• Exit Buckley Rd (Rt 137), travel East about 3 miles until it ends
• Stay in right lane as road curves to Sheridan Road – turn right (north)
• Follow signs to the Main Gate / Visitor’s Center, Bldg 6130,
  (just 100 feet past the Main Gate) and park in the parking lot to the left
• Proceed to the long brown building (Bldg 42, 610 Farragut Ave, Great Lakes, IL 60088).

www.partnersinpreservation.com

Sunday, September 16, 2007
3:00pm - 6:00pm

Location
Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park

Tour Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple, one of the most important and influential buildings of the 20th century. Learn more at www.utrf.org.

Sunday, September 16, 2007
1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm (1 hour tours)

Location
1112 Willow Road, Winnetka

Visit this landmark building that is listed on the docomomo international sites register. Learn more at docomomo.com.

Tour Description
On Sunday, September 16, docents will lead tours of Crow Island School in Winnetka. Designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with Perkins, Wheeler & Will, the elementary school opened in 1940 and has been in continuous use ever since. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990 for its architectural significance and influence on subsequent school design. The free tours are scheduled for 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Meet in the school foyer at 1112 Willow Rd. Next door in Crow Island Woods is the c1837 Schmidt-Burnham Log House where continuous tours will be offered from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. that day. There is a suggested donation for Log House tours. Sponsored by the Winnetka Historical Society: information at 847/446-0001 or www.winnetkahistory.org.

Thursday, August 23, 2007
5:30pm
All are welcome to attend

Location
The new AIA Chicago offices at:
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 250
(in the historic Jewelers Building)

Thursday, July 19, 2007
5:30pm
All are welcome to attend

Location
The new AIA Chicago offices at:
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 250
(in the historic Jewelers Building)

June 21-23, 2007

Location
Illinois Institute of Technology campus (designed by Mies van der Rohe)
3201 South State Street, Chicago

Event Description
This three day event will consist of a one day symposium; a day of tours; and a day devoted to meetings of the ISC20C and the ISCARSAH including separate meetings of numerous preservation groups and agencies that plan to attend.  For a description of ISCARSAH see below. This event presents an occasion for two International Scientific Committees, both founded by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), to collaborate; and provide an opportunity for interested North American experts to participate in this collaboration. ISC20C was founded at the ICOMOS General Assembly in Xi’an China in 2005.  ISCARSAH was founded at the General Assembly in Sofa Bulgaria in 1996.  Each Committee is comprised of representative members internationally with established expertise who are recognized architects, engineers, historians, and scientists.

Organized By
ICOMOS International Scientific Committees on 20th Century Heritage (ISC20C) and Analysis and Restoration of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH)

Co-partner Organizations
United States Committee of ICOMOS
Association for Preservation Technology (APT)
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)

Sponsor Organizations
Art Institute Historic Preservation Curriculum, Chicago, Illinois
DOCOMOMO International and DOCOMOMO US
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Landmarks Illinois
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Unity Temple Restoration Foundation

For information, and to register, please check the website:
http://icomos-isc20c.org/_wsn/page3.html
http://icomos-isc20c.org/_wsn/page4.html

June 16 - July 29 (closed June 23 and July 4), 2007
Monday - Sunday, 10:00am-3:00pm

Fee
$5.00 for non-members
Free for all Mies Society and Elmhurst Art Museum members

Location
IIT, S.R. Crown Hall
3360 South State Street, Chicago

Description
This study explores the similarities between West and East that we find concealed in their architecture. It reveals striking parallels between Mies van der Rohe’s conceptions and Eastern philosophy. Documents unpublished as yet point out constructive analogies between the works of this pioneer of Western architecture and traditional building art of the East. Without suggesting any direct interdependence, the comparison brings to light the deep correlations of an architectural rationality that knows no boundaries, enabling us to witness a fascinating face-to-face of West and East.
-Werner Blaser

Sponsored by the Mies Society

For information, and to register, please check the website:
http://mies.iit.edu/upcoming_events/

June 14-16, 2007

Location
Hyde Park/Kenwood, Chicago
University of Chicago – Conference Headquarters

Description
Tours will feature the 1893 World's Fair site, Gothic Revival campus buildings, and seminal examples of Early Modernism by architects Pond & Pond, Barry Byrne and Frank Lloyd Wright.

For attendees interested in the preservation of Mid-Century Modern architecture, a special "Recent Past" track has been included as part of the program.

Please see the conference schedule at:
http://landmarks.org/events_conference.htm

"Recent Past" highlights include:

Mid-Century Modern Architects Panel
Thursday, June 14
6:00-7:30pm
Museum of Science and Industry
57th St. and Lake Shore Drive
Hyde Park, Chicago

"Experience the Era – Firsthand:" A Discussion with Local Architecture Icons who will discuss their prolific careers, via an open dialogue, and offer the audience an unparalleled opportunity to visit the era firsthand through personal accounts, anecdotes and experiences.  Discussion will include the academic forces influencing design interests, economic and cultural divides, emerging technologies, Chicago’s “incubator” firms (and the work and personnel they produced) and the life-long partnerships and friendships developed alongside professional competitions.  Participants will also give their thoughts on the preservation community now embracing the need to protect the Mid-Century architecture they produced.
 
Moderator: Joseph Rosa, Curator of Architecture, Art Institute of Chicago

Cocktail Reception
7:30-9:00pm
Enjoy drink and hors d'oeuvres in the last surviving major structure from the 1893 World's Columbia Exposition.

Rolf Achilles is dedicating this tour to his good friend, George Danforth – noted architect, educator, and former Dean of the College of Architecture at IIT – who died peacefully in his sleep the night of Tuesday, June 5.

Saturday, June 9, 2007
2:00pm - 4:30pm

2.5 AIA CE Learning Units

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

Limit of 20 attendees
Please reserve by email:
minglingondearborn@docomomo-chicagomidwest.org

Fee
$20.00 for non-members
Free for current members and new members who sign up at the event

Departure Location
Meet at 2:00pm at the Federal Plaza: Dearborn between Adams and Jackson

Tour Description
Why are some of Chicago’s greatest modern architectural icons landmarked while others aren’t?  Tour Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Loop with local preservationist and art historian Rolf Achilles to learn more about what it takes to landmark buildings of the modern movement, many of which helped win Chicago’s place in architectural history books.  The tour will begin in Mies’s famed Federal Plaza on Dearborn and end at Goldberg’s beloved “corncob” Marina City.  The tour will also take in important modern outdoor sculptures that add to the city’s urban environment, including Calder’s Flamingo and Picasso’s unnamed masterpiece in front of Daley Center.

Sites Featured on Tour

• Federal Center: Dearborn between Adams and Jackson, 1964-1974, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
  • including Alexander Calder sculpture, Flamingo, 1973
  • look over at Metropolitan Correctional Center:  Van Buren between Clark and Federal, 1975, Harry Weese & Associates
  • Inland Steel:  30 W. Monroe, 1958, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
• First National Bank Building: Madison between Dearborn and Clark, 1969, Perkins & Will
  • including Marc Chagall mosaic wall, Four Seasons, 1974
• Chicago Loop Synagogue: 16 S. Clark Street, 1958
  • including stained glass window by Abraham Rattner, 1960
• Brunswick Building: 69 W. Washington, 1965, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • including Joan Miro sculpture, Miro’s Chicago, 1981
• Daley Center: 50 W. Washington, 1965, C. F. Murphy Associates
  • including Pablo Picasso sculpture, Unnamed, 1967
• Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist: 55 E Wacker Drive, 1968, Harry Weese & Associates
• IBM Building: 333 N. Wabash, 1971, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
• Marina City: the River between Dearborn and State, 1959, Bertrand Goldberg

Tour Leader Bio
Rolf Achilles, President-Elect Landmarks Illinois and Adjunct Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Chicago architectural and art historian Rolf Achilles is a preservation advisor for the Reid House in Chicago, Unity Temple in Oak Park, the Haus Hohen Pappeln in Weimar, Germany, and the Richard H. Driehaus Collection in Chicago.  He teaches historic preservation and decorative arts at the Art Institute, is the curator of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier, and is a member of the Chicago Public Art Commission.  Rolf also curated and administered the IIT Centennial Exhibition of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Architect as Educator.