Every morning, as I will myself toward the Blue Line's Western stop and the Loop, I encounter this building: 
Contrary to what vehement critics of this blog might expect, I like this brand-new building at 1954 N. Wilmot Ave., which stands in self-conscious defiance of its mass-produced western neighbor: McDonalds. There are countless new condo buildings peppering Bucktown, but none whose unique design directly challenges the greasy predictability of America's fast food king. And few buildings challenge the plain predictability of the neighborhood's rowhouses: 
This is what I love encountering while walking through Chicago's gentrifying neighborhoods. The past and present, just five feet from each other, take three-dimensional form. I'm betting the building's "four contemporary homes with a modern edge," starting at $629k, don't sell too quickly, though.
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Jeremy Gantz
Jeremy Gantz, web editor of In These Times and a freelance writer, can’t quite seem to sit still. A 2008 graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, he has lived in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Washington D.C.
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If you want to do a garish building, just quash the criticisms by putting it next to McDonalds. It forces the analysis to include something other than how garish it is. Clever!
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