NEW EAST/RIVERVIEW WINTER NITE

Winter can be a beautiful time of year for those extra special vistas. The nite air is cold and crystal clear; Lake Michigan quiet and placid as it slows to a frosty state of being and dusk imbues the horizon in holiday blues. This view is from a 12th floor condo at 415 E. North Water Street. It is located neither too high nor too low-just at the right height.

Snow Blanket On Lake Michigan

SOUTH LOOP VIEWS

RETIRE IN THE SOUTH LOOP WITH VIEWS

GO to this link for the full SunTimes article:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20051218/ai_n15938048


Some people would search for a leafy getaway in Wisconsin or Michigan. But George and Carol Georganas thought a condo at Michigan Avenue Tower in the South Loop is the way to go.
The Georganases, who live in Park Ridge, own a condo at the two- tower development at 1250 and 1400 S. Michigan. The first 29-story tower is built and occupied, and sales are almost completed for the second tower.
"We looked around the city at other high-rises," said George Georganas, a partner in Grecian Delights, a food company based in Elk Grove Village.
"We decided on the South Loop because it's a growing area," he said. "We also wanted to be close to all the city amenities and attractions in the South Loop itself.
"We have floor-to-ceiling windows, so our views are spectacular. We have north and east views and can see all the way to Navy Pier," he said.
The couple bought a 2-bedroom condominium with a den about a year ago. Their residence has 1,376 square feet of space.
The South Loop is close to several of the Windy City's landmark attractions -- such as the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, Navy Pier and Grant Park. Other lures include easy access to major highways and a two-level Jewel/Osco store at Wabash Avenue and Roosevelt Road.
Residents are also close to great blues and jazz clubs and upscale restaurants such as Opera, 1301 S. Wabash, along with such established eateries as Chicago Firehouse, 1401 S. Michigan; Gioco, 1312 S. Wabash; Hackney's Printers Row, 733 S. Dearborn, and Blackie's, 755 S. Clark.
Other South Loop night spots include Buddy Guy's Legends, 754 S. Wabash; the Cotton Club, 1710 S. Michigan; HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo; Kasey's Tavern, 701 S. Dearborn; Tantrum, 1023 S. State, and Velvet Lounge, 2128 S. Indiana.
Anchored by an increasing number of new residential developments, the booming South Loop has emerged as a destination neighborhood for new housing, dining and entertainment. New single-family homes, lofts, new-construction condominium high-rises and town houses dot the neighborhood.

The Chicago River

Million Dollar Chicago Views

http://www.aviewoncities.com/
Daniel Burnham is known for his influence on the preservation of the Chicago lakeshore and the creation of Northerly Island; but one of his greatest contributions may very well be The Michigan Avenue Bridge which was one of the linchpins in his “Plan for Chicago”. The Beaux Arts-style bridge today connects north and south Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River. It is constructed as a Double Bascule Trunnion allowing clearance for boat traffic through the river and into Lake Michigan.

It is the Chicago River (156 miles long) which winds through Chicago and along Wacker Drive . It creates,in combination with towering skyscrapers, some of the most eye catching views one could possibly imagine. Those views are the focal point for the new Trump Tower which itself will add eye candy to the sparkling nite lites shimmering upon the waterway.

You should avail yourself of the numerous architectural boat tours which at the Michigan Avenue Bridge or Navy Pier.Try these links:- Wendella Archtecture Tour- First Lady Architecture Cruises- Shoreline Architecture Cruises

The Spire designed by international architect Santiago Calatrava received the "Go Ahead" by the Chicago city fathers(Mayor Daley pulling out all stops for the Olympic bid?) in 2007. This slim corkscrew pencil will stretch 2,000 feet into the Chicago skyline. Cranes and huge digging machines are already toiling at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, its future site. The billion dollar question is whether sufficient support from the local and world real estate market will make the 150 story residential condominium a reality. Blair Kamins, the renowned architecture critic notes in the Chicago Tribune,"Beyond question, however, is the quality of Calatrava's recent refinements, which make his dynamic tower seem more like a real work of architecture than a dazzling cartoon. Next year will likely tell whether the Spire gets built despite the crumbling real estate market -- or whether it joins Eliel Saarinen's second-place entry in the Chicago Tribune Tower competition of 1922 as one of Chicago's great unbuilt designs."

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas !

Irridated Bean-Millenium Park Chicago,IL.

You've seen hundreds of photos of Cloudgate,affectionately tagged "The Bean" by its Chicago natives. This one, however, is a truly unique interpetation on how this sculpture inverts its enviroment.

What a great Lincoln Park view! This photo was taken by Shellscript and is posted in Flickr.com This one of my favourite Chicago scenes. Chicago architecture melded with nature.

South Loop Ocean View

Well, I thought it looked like an ocean when I first came to Chicago over 30 years ago. I had lived on the East coast most of my adolecsent life and really enjoyed our family jaunts to Seabright,N.J.-the seagulls,salt air and the murmer the waves echoed as they rolled onto the sandy beach. I was sure I was really going to miss the ocean as I relocated to the Midwest; Chicago to be exact. Driving the Rambler over 1600 miles form New Jersey to Chicago was stretching that poor car's intestinal limits.



LOST! I thought! I had taken Lake Shore Drive in from Indiana and lo and behold what lay before me but what had to be a grand ocean. What was this ocean doing in the midwest?



WRONG! It was Lake Michigan! It had sandy beaches and a horizon just like an ocean. When a storm brews, those are waves crashing against the shoreline. Seagulls;lots and lots of them(too many if you ask me).



Thirty+ years later it still looks like an ocean . Makes a great view,doesn't it?

Chicago-A Midwest Paris

Some would say that a West view at nite in Chicago is the perfect view, as a straight on East view of the lake can result in inky blackness. What is your preference?

East Or West?

" Now that is a million dollar view! How much is this property at 1501 N. State Parkway going for?" he inquired,lips pursed and brow furrowed.

The real eastate agent, who specialized in high end luxury condos in Chicago replied in a banal tone,"We have it listed at just under $1,400,000-it is quite a steal for one of the most perfect North East lake views in the Gold Coast-it is, after all a permanent, unobstructed view."

He squinted his eyes and remarked, "You know, I think I prefer a West view with an evening sunset".

Perfection-Chicago Sunset

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW3ZQaH8c_c Here is a sunset view from an apartment looking West and North in the South Loop. Eric Perry was the videographer. Chicago sure is a beautiful city!

The Good Neighbor

THIS IS A TRUE STORY. The view was so important to him. He had searched and searched for a home in Nevada that, when looking out from his living room window, would provide him with the perfect view of the mountain range in the distant desert. Better yet, if it also captured those magical lights from the Vegas strip-that would indeed be perfection.

And he found it! The home had a great expansive unobstructed view of purple mountains majesty and on those clear desert nights the 10,000 lights of the Luxor,Flamingo,Paris,Mirage,Frontier,Bellagio and their sister casinos danced in front of his living room.

Three years later it happened-the unspeakable disaster that his realtor promised would never occur. He remembered with absolute clarity the words she spoke to him-

"This home will provide you with the perfect view you been looking for and it will remain permanently unobstructed!"

It had been announced that a retirement community was going to be built in an area between his home and his perfect view. Hundreds of homes were going to fill up that great expanse of desert in front of him. All was not lost he had told himself-the sight line really would not be compromised-after all ,the house tops were not high enough. So he thought,so he hoped.

Three more years passed. He had been right.The house tops didn't affect his perfect view.

WRONG!!!! The trees planted in and around the retirement community homes grew and grew and grew. Those damn trees did compromise his perfect view. Finally, one day ,his view had all but disappeared.

Then a miracle happened. His view,little by little, seemed to get better. Within another year it was as if he had never lost his perfect view. It had come,however at the expense and great consternation of the retirement community. Something seemed to be eating away at the tree tops. They were disappearing-all of the tree tops in a two mile wide swath. Aborists were called in to fight this uspeakable blight. Nothing could be found.

Well-almost nothing could be found. One night, the police caught our GOOD NEIGHBOR,the man with the perfect view, with saw in hand admist the remaining tree tops. His perfect view will now be three concrete walls and dull black cell bars.

Now what about those perfect permanent unobstructed views your realtor
promised you between the Chicago high rise canyons? Have any building tops disappeared recently?

Perfection

I can barely type -if you are anything like me you'll know what I mean. It has to look, sound and be perfect. Can you really post anything you want?

I mean, how does one stop the chatter in ones head; the voices that tell you-"Are you really going to write something that everyone and anyone in the whole wide world can read??" My mind freezes at the thought. My fingers hesitate and literally tremble as they keystroke the keyboard. PERFECTION. Thank God for spellchecker at least.

This blog is all about perfection. The perfect view, the perfect city view, the perfect city view in Chicago. This is where I get to shift the onus of presenting perfection because you the reader will be the ultimate arbiter of what the perfect view is,where it can be found and when it can be found;all within the context of Chicago's architecture. This about sharing those special places in and about Chicagoland with each other through photographs from the viewpoint of Chicago-the lakefront,Navy Pier,the John Hancock building, Sears Tower, Grant Park, the Buckingham Fountain, etc., etc.... I look forward to the spirited discussions we will create.