CHICAGO | General Discussions - Page 157

left of center · #1 Posted **Jun 20, 2022, 1:19 AM**

True, it was removed from the National Register of Historic Places, due to the addition of the modern seating bowl. However, that doesn't mean that the stadium is no longer historic in its own right. The construction of the bowl affected the interior of the stadium, while the exterior still boasts the original 1920's limestone facade and the monumental Doric columns/colonnades.

While the modern addition has been decried as awful and badly clashing with the stadium's neoclassical design, the original seating was pretty bad. The angle of the seating was too low, and you were too far from the field from most vantages. The fan experience has definitely improved with the addition, despite its odd "UFO landed in the Parthenon" look from the outside. Not adding a dome was probably the biggest mistake of the addition, although they honestly should have looked to build a completely new stadium somewhere else in the city instead of pushing for this poorly thought out expansion.

Regardless, at the end of the day the Bears moving won't diminish the stadium's use all that much. It hosts many other activities, including a Major League Soccer franchise which hosts more than twice the home games than the Bears do, so its far from being a white elephant. Let the Bears move to the boonies.

nomarandlee · #2 Posted **Jun 20, 2022, 2:50 PM**

My ideal for Soldier Field would be if they took out the 400 level on the west side and perhaps the 200 level on the north side or the stadium. This would allow for the Colonades to be in view again and also give sightlines to the Field Museum from inside the stadium in many cases. Those would be pretty sweet vantage points for a stadium anywhere in the country. That said that would cost many 10's millions of dollars no doubt, and without a compelling reason to shrink the stadium, I'm guessing the city/PD will leave it as is.

SIGSEGV · #3 Posted **Jun 21, 2022, 3:50 PM**

Downtown rents at record highs and occupancy at 95% (so it's not just "inflation made everything more expensive!): https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...it-record-high

Bring on the obsolete office building conversions?

Randomguy34 · #4 Posted **Jun 21, 2022, 10:20 PM**

An estimate from a Northwestern professor suggests if 20% of the city's office stock was converted to residential, it could net 60,000 units. I assume most of which will likely be in the Loop and Streeterville: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opin...rdable-housing

left of center · #5 Posted **Jun 21, 2022, 10:41 PM**

I hope the Loop retains as much office space as possible. The city's rail infrastructure is literally built to move the city's population in and out of the Loop. CTA and Metra work best with the Loop remaining a big employment center.

Streeterville is not nearly as easy to get to, especially from the suburbs. I would wager a larger percentage of workers drive to their offices there vs. the Loop. It would probably be better from a city planning standpoint to have older offices there converted to residential than east Loop office buildings, for instance.

SIGSEGV · #6 Posted **Jun 21, 2022, 10:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by left of center

I hope the Loop retains as much office space as possible. The city's rail infrastructure is literally built to move the city's population in and out of the Loop. CTA and Metra work best with the Loop remaining a big employment center.

Streeterville is not nearly as easy to get to, especially from the suburbs. I would wager a larger percentage of workers drive to their offices there vs. the Loop. It would probably be better from a city planning standpoint to have older offices there converted to residential than east Loop office buildings, for instance.

You're not wrong, but obsolete historic office buildings don't have many good choices. And the east loop is not particularly easy to get to from the suburbs except from the South and Indiana.

Rizzo · #7 Posted **Jun 24, 2022, 11:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

You're not wrong, but obsolete historic office buildings don't have many good choices. And the east loop is not particularly easy to get to from the suburbs except from the South and Indiana.

Plus these historic office buildings have botched commercial renovations, and awful drop ceilings with bulkheads covering up a third of the windows. Modernizing them to current office tastes with high ceilings and open floorplans requires an insane amount of mechanical alterations. Some buildings have beautiful original inter-communicating stairs of stone and marble just walled off because some small firm that moved in didn’t need it or was a code issue. A conversion to hotel or residential is the only way these buildings will be restored to their original grandeur

I remember when it was thought the London guarantee building couldn’t be renovated into a hotel. It lacked continuous exit stairs and was reliant on exterior fire escapes. The floorplans were non-conducive to anything but office. Well they made it happen and now it’s probably one of the best hotels to stay at in downtown Chicago.

Randomguy34 · #8 Posted **Jul 2, 2022, 6:05 PM**

I keep seeing more and more license plates on the South Side from Florida and Georgia. Either we're all running into the exact same person (galleryfox is that you?), or more people from down south are moving to the city

galleyfox · #9 Posted **Jul 2, 2022, 9:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I keep seeing more and more license plates on the South Side from Florida and Georgia. Either we're all running into the exact same person (galleryfox is that you?), or more people from down south are moving to the city

Haha, my car is collecting cobwebs in the garage, so not me.

But I definitely think Chicagoans underestimate the potential for migration from the Southern states, especially as their housing markets have become much more expensive compared to wages.

tjp · #10 Posted **Jul 3, 2022, 12:36 PM**

It's probably people who moved south coming back to visit family in the summer? Agreed about the potential for migration from the south, though.

CaptainJilliams · #11 Posted **Jul 3, 2022, 12:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjp

It's probably people who moved south coming back to visit family in the summer? Agreed about the potential for migration from the south, though.

It's definitely a good theory, but given the distance to drive and more importantly the cost of gas, I would think more people would lean towards flying.

marothisu · #12 Posted **Jul 4, 2022, 9:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I keep seeing more and more license plates on the South Side from Florida and Georgia. Either we're all running into the exact same person (galleryfox is that you?), or more people from down south are moving to the city

LOL. Well on the north side I've seen at times like 5 of them go thru a few stop lights from FL alone. It's a noticeable amount- people are definitely moving here of late from all over the place. Whether they moved from Chicago to those areas and now back is another story. No idea.

galleyfox · #13 Posted **Jul 7, 2022, 1:30 AM**

Enjoy auto racing for the next few years.

Quote:

“Chicago is incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve as host of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 NASCAR Chicago Street Course events, and we stand ready to welcome NASCAR fans to our world class city,” the letter states. “This would be a historic partnership for NASCAR and the city of Chicago, and our department is committed to collaborating and supporting NASCAR to execute the events in a safe and secure manner.”

No contract is officially signed between NASCAR and the city, but an announcement is tentatively planned for July 19, sources confirmed to The Athletic. While something could scuttle NASCAR racing in the third-largest media market, the deal is expected to be finalized.

The letter from the city is addressed to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy and great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and signed by Erin Harkey, commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, City of Chicago.

https://theathletic.com/news/chicago.../5vZTrBugWvxE/

twister244 · #14 Posted **Jul 7, 2022, 2:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Enjoy auto racing for the next few years.

https://theathletic.com/news/chicago.../5vZTrBugWvxE/

I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I'm kinda excited to see how this will unfold.

CaptainJilliams · #15 Posted **Jul 7, 2022, 5:51 PM**

While I hate the event draws attention to the fact our streets are wide enough for racing, I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of interested in watching this event.

On the positive side, having these races would be a nice economic boost, akin to having a large convention in town several consecutive years.

F1 Tommy · #16 Posted **Jul 7, 2022, 6:27 PM**

Looks like it might happen...

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/07...e-report-says/

moorhosj1 · #17 Posted **Jul 21, 2022, 7:09 PM**

Great article that goes into the changing city from 2000 to 2021.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opin...ulation-growth

Quote:

The citywide poverty rate—20% in 2000—rose to 24% in 2012, and has since fallen to 16%.

Vlajos · #18 Posted **Jul 12, 2022, 4:26 PM**

A bit fun, but silly news

Chicago is officially the 2nd best city in the world

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news...e-world-071222

marothisu · #19 Posted **Jul 15, 2022, 1:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlajos

A bit fun, but silly news

Chicago is officially the 2nd best city in the world

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news...e-world-071222

I feel like it's weird to rank these things. I don't have a problem with top 50 or top 100 lists but just leave it at that and list cities without a ranking.

Handro · #20 Posted **Jul 18, 2022, 4:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by marothisu

I feel like it's weird to rank these things. I don't have a problem with top 50 or top 100 lists but just leave it at that and list cities without a ranking.

Yea that makes way more sense and would be much more realistic.