UNION STATION.Facade

A remarkable building is easy to photograph. These images almost "took themselves." My only regret about the building (other than deferred maintenance) is that it doesn't have the height it deserves. But maybe there is a future. (See the mar/apr issue of Chicago Architect, page.27).

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Above: The coffered ceiling of the East Colonnade

Below: The West Facade
Below: Sidewalk view at the West Facade

I was in the first class to graduate from the University of Cincinnati that did not have to render Ionic, Doric and Corinthian column capitals in watercolor wash - something I now consider my loss. We were taught, however, that every good piece of architecture considered Balance, Rhythm, Unity, Mass, Proportion and Scale. And regardless of style or vocabulary, I believe those considerations can contribute to good architecture. And that some components of Peirce Anderson's solution for Union Station's facade are very good architecture, indeed.

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CHICAGO PHOTOGRAPHS are available for purchase at www.ImagesintheLoop.com

UNION STATION. Can wait.

Chicago winters are long. And so, when the temperature hits 70 degrees in March, all bets are off. Plans are thrown to the wind. Even the ones that aren't so small. And architecture takes a back seat to the weather. A light breeze touched the night. People spoke, slowly. The stars were never brighter.

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We'll get back to Union Station. Tomorrow. But tonight, its all about the London Guarantee.

UNION STATION Survives

The concourse has been destroyed. The baggage and cab tunnels have been barracaded. The women's waiting room is closed. And the lunch room. Symmetrical axes are broken. Ticket desks relocated. Below are the small and altered remains of the train sheds.
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And, still, the Waiting Room soars. Above is the skylight at dusk. The "Tippecanoe" is boarding at Gate 5.

UNION STATION. BRASS

Union Station appears to be a large, but simple building. It is not.
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Designed by an electrical engineer, with a reputation for water colors, holding a certificate from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, it originally consisted of a Concourse and train sheds that were primarily structure and skylight with Classic Elements, and a Waiting Room that is primarily Classical with a structural skylight. The appearance is stability. It is surrounded by motion. The space is vast. The detail is spectacular. "Aesthetics" was seemingly given the upper hand. But its multi-level concept and function clearly came before form.

The Building is best understood slowly. At varying times of the day and season. When light filters into the vast Waiting Room and discovers detail. My first impression of this building is the astonishing care of detail held in sunlight and shadow.

Above are details from Brass Lamps and Sconces in the Waiting Room. Clearly, the City had arrived.

MARSHALL FIELD 1907

The phased construction undertaken by Marshall Field & Company between 1902 and 1907 was both enormous and consistent. The State Street Facade and the grand first floor Arcade are almost seamless. Two large, stacked interior spaces, built in 1907, The Walnut Room and a 6 story space topped with a Tiffany favrile mosaic, perfectly balance the 13 story skylit atrium near Randolph Street built in 1902. Who can say which space is most loved? Below is the Walnut Room, whose Circassian paneling and Austrian chandeliers overcome extensive modifications through the years - including ductwork for an unforeseen invention - air conditioning.

Above: A view of the Walnut Room from the 8th floor.

Below: A view to the Walnut Room fountain. This space was "practice" for Peirce Anderson, who went on to give us more fine public spaces. The Field Museum and Union Station are among many to his credit.

How does architecture become an icon?

MARSHALL FIELD COLUMNS!

The Columns flanking Marshall Field & Company's State Street Entrance are 50 foot tall granite monoliths rivalled in size only by the columns at Egypt's Temple of Karnak. Daniel Burnham made no little plans.

Peirce Anderson left the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1899 with a thoroughly classical education. After a year's travel in Europe he joined D. H. Burnham. He chose Ionic columns for the State Street Entrance, the top floor Loggia, and the North Atrium, and Corinthian Columns for the Grand Arcade that connects Randolph Street to State Street. The "Ecole" would soon make itself felt throughout the Loop.

Above: A column base at the Entry monoliths.

Above: An Ionic capital at the top floor Loggia.

Above: An Ionic capital at the North Atrium

Above: The Corinthian Columns of the Grand Arcade.

Marshall Field died in 1906. Although he lived to see the State Street Entrance and the North Atrium, he never saw the completed State Street South section which includes the Walnut Room and the Tiffany Dome.

A Small Preface---------------------------------------------

It seems always possible to ignore, to overlook, or become distracted. To forget. Or underestimate. But Chicago can bring you back. With small wonders and large. With dreams of the past. And clear visions of the future. The focus of this site will be the Architecture of downtown Chicago. Because it is remarkable. Because it is home.