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This is fundamentally an architectural guidebook, to be used during or as a souvenir from the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise, which explores the built environment’s (locks, piers, buildings, bridges, fountains, etc.) symbiotic relationship with the three branches (Main, North, and South) of the Chicago River. While the pictures are superior, the explanatory text and commentary come up short, and do neither the buildings themselves nor the book’s thesis much justice.
Thus, as an architectural guidebook, A View from the River is only so-so. No doubt the CAF River Cruise, on which this book is based, is spectacular. It is. And the book’s photos by Hedrich Blessing Photographers are equally so. But the explanatory and analytical text and commentary by Jennifer Marjorie Bosch are, more often than not, weak and superficial. Again, I realize this is a guidebook, and it’s really the pictures that matter; but still, some information and analysis would make this a far more worthwhile purchase. However, if you love Chicago, like I do, get the book for the pictures and the spotting map (which includes buildings not pictured and/or discussed, pgs. 94-95).
Via a systematic architectural tour, A View from the River explores a core set of linkages and relationships in architectural, historical, and economic context, the most important being the ones between (a) the City of Chicago, (b) the city’s built environment and architecture, and (c) the city’s essential natural feature, the Chicago River. The masterpieces of design featured in the book, created by some of the most famous architects, engineers, and industrialists, reflect several important phenomena:
· The transition and transformation of Chicago’s economy from manufacturing and commerce to service and recreation. The industrial city becomes the postindustrial city.
· The influence of not just architects and engineers, but of activists and social science innovators, on urban planning.
· Modernism and postmodernism.
· The symbiotic relationship between the built environment and the natural environment.
· The use of public space.
While the explanatory comments, as I have mentioned, are almost universally weak, one clear strength is that they do occasionally make some interesting, useful, and insightful connections between one building and its immediate neighbors. See, for example, how NBC Tower takes cues from and pays homage to its architectural neighbors, most prominently the Tribune Tower (pgs. 30-31).
Again, the photographs and images are superb. My favorite pictures (but not necessarily my favorite buildings) include: Lake Point Tower (pgs. 16-17); the Blue Cross Blue Shield Building (pgs. 20-21); the Michigan Avenue Bridge (pgs. 32-33); the LaSalle-Wacker Building (pg. 50); the Merchandise Mart (pgs. 52-53); the Great Lakes Building/191 North Wacker (pgs. 72-73); the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center (pgs. 78-79); and the Sears Tower/311 South Wacker (pgs. 82-83).
By my quick count, of the 63 total buildings photographed and/or discussed, 39 (almost 62%) have been built in my lifetime, i.e., post-1969. This surprised me a bit, since the older buildings, it seems to me, have more historical resonance.
A few other things that I found interesting:
· Embedded around the exterior base of the Tribune Tower (pgs. 36-37) are more than 150 fragments from monumental and historically significant architecture and other sites across the globe, including the Alamo, the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the Hagia Sophia, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, and the World Trade Center. To get a close-up view of some of the fragments, see the Chicago Architecture Blog, which has a “Chicago Brick of the Day” feature.
· The dome atop 35 East Wacker Drive (pgs. 40-41) once housed the Stratosphere Lounge, the legendary speakeasy and favorite hangout of Al Capone. Today it is a presentation gallery for the architectural firm of Helmut Jahn.
· Finally, I can’t help but wax nostalgia and point out the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center building (pgs. 78-79). This is the building I worked in from 1991-1994. The Law Offices of Altheimer & Gray (now disbanded) were on the 35th-40th floors of 10 South Wacker Drive (the north tower). Also, the CME has merged with the Chicago Board of Trade, and as of mid-2008 no longer uses the trading floor space between the two towers.
In the end, however satisfying the photographs, nothing truly surpasses a first-hand viewing of these magnificent buildings.
Thus, as an architectural guidebook, A View from the River is only so-so. No doubt the CAF River Cruise, on which this book is based, is spectacular. It is. And the book’s photos by Hedrich Blessing Photographers are equally so. But the explanatory and analytical text and commentary by Jennifer Marjorie Bosch are, more often than not, weak and superficial. Again, I realize this is a guidebook, and it’s really the pictures that matter; but still, some information and analysis would make this a far more worthwhile purchase. However, if you love Chicago, like I do, get the book for the pictures and the spotting map (which includes buildings not pictured and/or discussed, pgs. 94-95).
Via a systematic architectural tour, A View from the River explores a core set of linkages and relationships in architectural, historical, and economic context, the most important being the ones between (a) the City of Chicago, (b) the city’s built environment and architecture, and (c) the city’s essential natural feature, the Chicago River. The masterpieces of design featured in the book, created by some of the most famous architects, engineers, and industrialists, reflect several important phenomena:
· The transition and transformation of Chicago’s economy from manufacturing and commerce to service and recreation. The industrial city becomes the postindustrial city.
· The influence of not just architects and engineers, but of activists and social science innovators, on urban planning.
· Modernism and postmodernism.
· The symbiotic relationship between the built environment and the natural environment.
· The use of public space.
While the explanatory comments, as I have mentioned, are almost universally weak, one clear strength is that they do occasionally make some interesting, useful, and insightful connections between one building and its immediate neighbors. See, for example, how NBC Tower takes cues from and pays homage to its architectural neighbors, most prominently the Tribune Tower (pgs. 30-31).
Again, the photographs and images are superb. My favorite pictures (but not necessarily my favorite buildings) include: Lake Point Tower (pgs. 16-17); the Blue Cross Blue Shield Building (pgs. 20-21); the Michigan Avenue Bridge (pgs. 32-33); the LaSalle-Wacker Building (pg. 50); the Merchandise Mart (pgs. 52-53); the Great Lakes Building/191 North Wacker (pgs. 72-73); the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center (pgs. 78-79); and the Sears Tower/311 South Wacker (pgs. 82-83).
By my quick count, of the 63 total buildings photographed and/or discussed, 39 (almost 62%) have been built in my lifetime, i.e., post-1969. This surprised me a bit, since the older buildings, it seems to me, have more historical resonance.
A few other things that I found interesting:
· Embedded around the exterior base of the Tribune Tower (pgs. 36-37) are more than 150 fragments from monumental and historically significant architecture and other sites across the globe, including the Alamo, the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, the Hagia Sophia, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, and the World Trade Center. To get a close-up view of some of the fragments, see the Chicago Architecture Blog, which has a “Chicago Brick of the Day” feature.
· The dome atop 35 East Wacker Drive (pgs. 40-41) once housed the Stratosphere Lounge, the legendary speakeasy and favorite hangout of Al Capone. Today it is a presentation gallery for the architectural firm of Helmut Jahn.
· Finally, I can’t help but wax nostalgia and point out the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center building (pgs. 78-79). This is the building I worked in from 1991-1994. The Law Offices of Altheimer & Gray (now disbanded) were on the 35th-40th floors of 10 South Wacker Drive (the north tower). Also, the CME has merged with the Chicago Board of Trade, and as of mid-2008 no longer uses the trading floor space between the two towers.
In the end, however satisfying the photographs, nothing truly surpasses a first-hand viewing of these magnificent buildings.
