Do you have nicknames for the buildings in your neighborhood? Many Chicago apartment buildings have formal names, and some have nicknames that enjoy broad usage. (“The Toaster” in Hyde Park, an early, ugly, I.M. Pei design, formally known as University Park Condominium, is one instance.) Other nicknames are probably more obscure. I’ve heard this formidable-looking…
A closet’s surprise
When we got back from our outing the other day, Mr C said, I think we have a tripod around here. And he was right. In the closet of the old place in Michigan, an old tripod has been hiding, unbeknownst to me, for many years. It was very exciting to find such a thing!
The quick and the dead
A secluded oak savannah in the dunes pulses with two seasons’ energy. Dried twigs and grasses are still blazing with the colors of autumn. The fire-blasted remains of a tree still writhe, while the trunks of those living glow with the greeny auguries of spring.
Between lake and sky
It’s where Chicago works toward transcendence. Only from afar can we see the magnitude of all we’ve accomplished yet appreciate the trivialities that distract us every day. May Chicago rediscover the resources and inspiration that made her great, and that are needed, now more than ever, to avert her decline.
A library’s sinister vibe
It’s supposed to be the owl of wisdom dramatically bestowing books, and hence learning, upon humanity. Instead, the decoration atop the Harold Washington Public Library Center is simply scary. Squint, and you’ll see a scaly, beady-eyed creature presiding over the scene, keeping a watchful eye out for miscreants and deterring any Chicagoan with a foolish…
This morning
Beneath the Corn Cobs, the tables were all set up at Smith and Wollensky, for all those lucky souls intent on steak dinners tonight. An organized slumberer occupied a bus shelter on North LaSalle. What’s next, indeed. A driver awaited his party outside a sleek office building. Snow had been sequestered at one end of…
One moment in Chicago’s long life
The city is always building, leading to the complex vista that Celia, commuting, sees daily: the buildings, bridges, and balustrades rimming the River, offering a pleasing spectacle to the passing trains. Cars, trains, boats, and pedestrians pass distractedly through a landscape that’s the work of many decades and thousands upon thousands of laborers’ hands. The…
Holding together
On this, the first day of spring, bitter cold grips Chicago. The sun shines through a fierce wind, giving a false impression of a jaunty scene. In truth, we are barely holding together, much like the Hancock, which, to Celia’s wind-raked eyes, looks surprisingly flimsy, its sloping faces held together with a web, too carelessly…
Chicago River, with hangover
In the wake of St. Patrick’s Day, the Chicago River is still quite green about the gills.
Reward for going to the dentist
Who likes going to the dentist, right? My dentist has moved his office from a dismal space in McClurg Court to Michigan Avenue, right across from the Intercontinental Chicago Hotel. From his windows, you can see the Intercontinental’s facade, which is almost impossible to see from the street. What an odd and beautiful building! One…
Beefsteak begonia
Have you ever been nostalgic for a particular moment in the life of a plant? Before I met my husband, I lived by myself in a flat with all my old family furniture and not much else. I did, however, have a few houseplants, including this beefsteak begonia that my mother gave me. The beefsteak…
What to eat
One sister seeks the answer to hunger.
