Often I see a new home in Bucktown and immediately think: No one, not even the most persuasive architect or developer, will ever convince me this building is beautiful and improves the neighborhood. (It’s a gut reaction, but that’s a rough English translation.) This pair of homes at 1935/37 W. Dickens Ave. is a case in point:
A few blocks southeast from the Blue line’s Western stop, a glimpse of Bucktown’s future - ? :
A motley assortment of colors, designs and materials. Can’t say I like these building facades side-by-side (or at all), but seated as they are across from empty lots tracing the Blue Line’s Milwaukee corridor, they do offer El riders something of aesthetic interest.
A recent NY Times article explores and critiques that city’s current “boomlet” of high-flying residential buildings designed by big-name architects. Ouroussoff is ambivalent about the designs of the “preening, sometimes beautiful, sometimes obstrusive towers,” and much of what he writes, I think, could and should also apply to Chicago:
Side-by-side contrasts have a way of crystallizing neighborhood architectural trends:
Since There Goes the Neighborhood began in January, it's been gratifying to hear from readers about some of the condos I've highlighted in posts. But it’s been decidedly ungratifying to discover some of those readers think I’m a reactionary philistine addicted to negativity. So herewith, responses to some recurring criticisms: I hate new buildings and want everything to stay the same.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words -- especially if its subject is gentrification. This blog aims to bypass Chicago's never-ending debate about that controversial and over-used word, and head straight to its often hideous results: condos. Think of it as visual venting for Chicago's aesthetically offended residents.
Posts will initially focus on Bucktown's growing collection of curious monstrosities, but the blog's author vows to post any submitted photos of condos - as long as they're ugly enough to revoke an architect's license. About the author.
© Windy Citizen About Blog Tools Content Policy Terms of Service Privacy Contact Us RSS/Subscribe Advertise
Subscribe to our Feed