News
Model shop that provided the first draft of many great Chicago buildings closes
6+ hour, 44+ min ago (919+ words) Columbian Model & Exhibit Works Senior Designer Bill Bauman sits next to a model of the condo Museum Park Tower Four, at the company's West Loop workshop. For 35 years, Columbian Model & Exhibit Works has given the city glimpses of the future....
What’s That Building? Former Rainforest Café and Capone’s Chicago
5+ day, 6+ hour ago (1060+ words) The former Rainforest Cafe and Capone's Chicago is located at 605 N. Clark St. in the River North neighborhood. If you roll your eyes when passing the corner of Clark and Ohio streets in River North, you're not the only one. Sneering…...
What’s That Building? Narrow Bridge Arts Club
2+ week, 3+ day ago (679+ words) The Narrow Bridge Arts Club is located at 6028 S. Champlain Ave. in the Woodlawn neighborhood. There's hardly a better example of historical buildings being reused than a 3-story structure built in 1923 near Washington Park in Woodlawn. It was built as a…...
Fannie Mae takes ownership of long-suffering West Side Frank Lloyd Wright home
3+ week, 5+ day ago (655+ words) The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House in Austin The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Walser House, a dilapidated 123-year-old home in Austin that inspired the architect's better-known works has now been acquired by the Federal National Mortgage Association. Fannie Mae received title…...
As the Obama Center nears completion, a long-neglected Jackson Park pavilion finally getting its due
1+ mon, 4+ day ago (742+ words) The Burnham Building, the historic Jackson Park pavilion, will be restored by the Chicago Park District. The Burnham Building, a century-old, temple-like pavilion in Jackson Park that for years has lain in near ruin, appears finally set to receive the…...
Where to see Bruce Goff’s prolific architecture in Chicago
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (678+ words) Architect Bruce Goff was unconventional and modern before the modernist era. Perhaps the best local example is the Ruth Van Sickle Ford and Sam Ford House in Aurora. "Material Worlds," an exhibition currently on view at the Art Institute of…...
From the Obama Center to Google's Chicago HQ, here's what's happening architecturally in 2026 - WBEZ Chicago
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (849+ words) The first sections of new exterior glass were set in place last summer at Google's new Downtown headquarters. The tech giant's renovation of the former James R. Thompson Center is expected to be completed this year. Chicago faces " and braces " for…...
From the Obama Center to Google's Chicago HQ, here's what's happening architecturally in 2026
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (849+ words) The first sections of new exterior glass were set in place last summer at Google's new Downtown headquarters. The tech giant's renovation of the former James R. Thompson Center is expected to be completed this year. Chicago faces " and braces " for…...
As the 60th anniversary of the Chicago Imagists approaches, the artists have never enjoyed more success
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (1315+ words) Gladys Nilsson works on a commissioned mural in the Modern Cafe at the Art Institute earlier in 2025. Nilsson is one of the six members of Hairy Who, the most famous subset of the Imagists. The Chicago Imagists are having a…...
An Obama quote gets installed atop presidential center
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (232+ words) Five-foot-tall letters from a speech by former President Barack Obama are being installed atop the Obama Presidential Center tower. Construction workers at the Obama Presidential Center have begun installing 5-foot letters from a speech the former president delivered in 2015 to…...