Doors & Limestone detail

Today I was finally able to take a walk around the neighborhood without the fear of snow, ice, torrential rain or high winds. Like it or not, winter in Chicago offers a little something for eveyone. Enjoy these shots of limestone details on buildings around the 6700 blocks of Artesian, Campbell and Maplewood.

Holiday lights and confused robins

If only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, who goes out in 20 below temps at 7:00am on a Sunday? That would be me, on my way to work this morning. I made a quick detour off of my regular route to swing by Carter and Donna's place on the 5800 block of N. Washtenaw in hopes of getting a good shot of the fab illuminated peace sign they've suspended in a tree in front of their house. Look closely and you'll see it hanging over the car, drive by at night for the full effect.

After exiting the parking garage at Soldier Field I spotted the first robins of...winter?


And once inside, the warm glow of more holiday lights in a magnificent Chicago 1920s landmark building. Definitely worth the trip.

Teco or no?

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Silvia, the daughter of architect Edward P. Steinberg. Mr. Steinberg designed one of my favorite buildings on Devon Avenue shown in the photo above. This structure was built in 1929-30 for a man by the name of Tilensky and features some wonderful terra cotta details including charming owls perched over the entrance. Check it out next time you're on Devon, it's at the corner of Claremont.

The Steinberg family lived in this building that Edward designed and built on Winchester in Rogers Park. It's currently on the market, you can see a virtual tour here. That's Larry in the photo, he's another Steinberg relative that I met in the fall. Larry & Silvia are both so nice and each told me some great stories about growing up in Rogers Park.

So, what about the Teco, you ask? Well, when I met with Silvia, she had this big urn in her front hallway serving as an umbrella stand. When we were talking about the old place in Rogers Park, Silvia told us that this piece, along with its mate in storage in her basement were originally at the entrance of the family home. Look at the photo of the building and you can just imagine them there.

Silvia has always wondered if these are Teco pottery. We managed roll this one over to look at the bottom, no easy feat as it weighs about 50 lbs. There are no marks on the bottom, just a drainage hole. So, you Teco experts out there, what do you think?

Bungalow of shame

The Ravenswood home of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Nice house. Despicable behavior. Normally I try to keep politics out of this blog, but today's news is just too disgusting to ignore.

All I can say is thank you, Patrick Fitzgerald. Keep working your way down that list.

2008 Driehaus Award Winners

Vist the Sun-Times for for information about the rest of the winners.

The Chicagoan: A Lost Magazine of the Jazz Age

Date: Wed. December 10, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Harold Washington Library Center

Cindy Pritzker Auditorium

400 S. State Street 60605

The Chicago Public Library welcomes Neil Harris in discussion of his soon-to-be-released book The Chicagoan: A Lost Magazine of the Jazz Age.