CHICAGO | General Discussions

[Mr Downtown]

Toronto (like Vancouver) is still seeing strong immigration flows, and some brain drain from the Hamilton-Niagara industrial corridor.

In Chicago, Latino immigration for several decades blinded us to the loss of African-Americans. That flow of migrants slowed to a trickle during the Great Recession.

When we look at downtown construction cranes and Brown Line crowding and shiny residential highrises and people like us, it keeps us from noticing the lights quietly going out, one after another after another, in traditional small factories and warehouses all through the South Side and older suburbs.

[bnk]

Anyway, Question back to capping the Kennedy ala like the plans to cap the Ike in Oak Park years ago, is this even feasible here at sometime in the future.

IMO out of all three capping's I would cap the Metra electric lines south of the Art Institute as far south as you could go with Government grants and private concerns.

To those that think any one of these can happen or not please tell me why or why not any of these will happen and if they do happen which will happen first?

I personally think it would be much harder to cap the Kennedy here vs Grant Park that has no exits or entrances for vehicle traffic. Capping Grant Park south one would think the 3-4 towers alone could almost do it for at least till there stretch. Think how easy it would be and not even interfere with the Metra lines. Bare bones Columns and beams holding much less mass that Millennium Park for example. All they need is a truss, columns, a cap and a nice light patch of grass.

IMO this is certainly doable but I haven't heard anything talking about this for years unless I'm not following it close enough.

Currently it is ugly and embarrassing crossing bridges to get to the east end of Grant Park or over to the Field Museum and Solder Field by walking.

To me its a total eyesore and a gut shot that is past time to fix.


Remember the Pit of what was below Millennium Park before it was decked over at a high cost? That area also was a worse embarrassment for the city.

We can do this much more cheaply and not have to worry about holding

"Bean because of its shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons)."

ton structures or parking above or below it. A soccer pitch or other green fields would be all that is needed to beatify the area and make access to Grant Park easy as pie.

[10023]

^ and if they put sports fields above the tracks, then they can replace the existing ones to the east with (heavier) trees. But frankly Grant Park already has too many ball fields and not enough more scenic gardens.

And for god's sake, narrow Columbus Drive to at most 2 lanes in each direction!! That's the easiest and most important improvement that could be made to Grant Park. Because frankly, Grant Park is not an impressive urban park at the moment. It's mostly concrete.

Originally Posted by Bombardier

VE in 5...4...3...2...1!

Probably.

It's a shame because high quality glass, in particular, would make or break this tower. That and the multiple angles at play, which surely add to fabrication costs.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by 10023

^ and if they put sports fields above the tracks, then they can replace the existing ones to the east with (heavier) trees. But frankly Grant Park already has too many ball fields and not enough more scenic gardens.

Sports fields are ideal for a railroad cap because they don't require any soil depth. With artificial turf, it's basically just a 5-inch layer cake of different materials on top of the concrete bridge deck.

The east half of Grant Park is more formal (inspired by the Tuileries in Paris) but if you wanted a formal garden on top of the cap with trees, you'd have to stack up the soil much deeper, and deal with that immense soil weight or use a lightweight GeoFoam type system instead of soil. Even as sports fields, I don't see a way to truly make the cap lightweight/cheap, though. Grant Park is a gathering spot, so any open spaces will eventually be jammed wall-to-wall with crowds that weigh a lot, the cap would have to support the weight of all those people. Emergency services would also require that ambulances and police vehicles be able to drive on top of the cap.

What I would do is just put down pavers over the railroad cap from Jackson to 9th, and move Taste of Chicago there. With a large (pedestrianized) festival promenade, Columbus Drive could be narrowed to a minor park road and the adjacent green spaces expanded.

[10023]

^ Everyone who has lived in or is from Chicago has had that conversation with people.

I just tell Londoners that they're as likely to visit crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago as they are to visit somewhere like Croydon. There are some fairly sketchy places on the West Side that you might go to for great Mexican food, but you'd have no reason to be in most of the city's worst areas literally ever.

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by 10023

^ Everyone who has lived in or is from Chicago has had that conversation with people.

I just tell Londoners that they're as likely to visit crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago as they are to visit somewhere like Croydon. There are some fairly sketchy places on the West Side that you might go to for great Mexican food, but you'd have no reason to be in most of the city's worst areas literally ever.

I used to have a job that took me to Gary, Indiana from time to time. This was in the mid-2000's. I even did some volunteer work once on the weekend, cleaning up the sidewalks. Locals were very nice to me, said hello in that particular Midwestern way. They knew I wasn't from Gary. It's a privilege to be a 6 foot tall white male in many ways. I never felt anything but incredibly safe in Chicago for the seven years I lived there. It helps to have company when you're out and about, especially if you are going out to the bars and clubs at night. Otherwise, 80-90% of the city is completely safe.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

It's a privilege to be a 6 foot tall white male in many ways.

Lol ya think?

[Halsted & Villagio]

I posted this in the Chicago Eco forum a few weeks ago. In light of the current discussion, I am going to repost it here. In short, if we are ATTRACTIVE enough to garner this much tourism, surely (despite what the media tells us) there is something about Chicago that intrigues people. And if people are this intrigued by our city, we can't be that far away from getting them to stay as residents. I mean, I travel a lot for work. Everywhere I go I hear the same questions everyone is pointing out about Chicago - weather, crime, etc. But you know what else I hear... I hear stories about how when they visited, how they fell in love with Chicago. This is something we should be building upon.

Here is my post:
Speaking of inferiority complexes.... I have long been a believer that Chicago has lost a bit of its swagger... in fact, I posted that in this forum more than a few times. There is a night and day difference between the Chicago confidence/bravado that I knew as a child versus what I hear and see now. The media has really done a number on us... and I do mean to include myself in that. Why? Well, I had a revelation THIS WEEK....

Upon hearing our new numbers for tourism for our fair city - over 55 Million - a new high for Chicago - I decided to check the Nationwide numbers for tourism. To my surprise Chicago RANKED 2ND IN TOURISM throughout the United States by most reputable sources. I was floored! That is when I knew that I had been infected... by the media.

When I went to check the nationwide tourism numbers I expected to see Chicago at somewhere around 5, or 7, or possibly even 10... or even higher ....based upon the constant bashing of Chicago that we hear. And yes, there were a couple of outliers (haters) out there in the media that put us way down the list... but you could see their obvious bias/agenda. But to see that most reputable sources had us at 2 was astounding to me. At 2 over LA. At 2 over Hollywood. At 2 over DC. At 2 over Miami. At 2 over Las Vegas. At 2 over those Sunbelt cities. At 2 over any city in the South. Simply amazing when you juxtapose that with what the media tells us every day.

And the last kicker - Chicago only had 5 million less visitors than the leader in tourism, NYC - which had like 60 Million. Based upon what the media tells us everyday you would think that gap would be 10/15 million or more. Nope, not the case.

I know this is off topic but I just had to bring this up. It helped put things in perspective for me and I thought I was always one of the positive ones.While we race for Amazon and while negativity abounds, I hope this puts things in little bit better perspective for you too. Chicago is NOT what the media tells us we are. We may or may not get Amazon but Chicago has a legit shot and will be fine with or without Amazon.

[KWillChicago]

Grant Park would be the most logical in both feasibility and economically I would believe. But it would still take alot of private money via people and companies. Our city and state has way bigger problems to fix that federal grants would be used for. Even though I personally would put the grant park cap at top of the list.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by KWillChicago

Grant Park would be the most logical in both feasibility and economically I would believe. But it would still take alot of private money via people and companies. Our city and state has way bigger problems to fix that federal grants would be used for. Even though I personally would put the grant park cap at top of the list.

Closing Columbus Drive would be so cheap. Tear up the concrete, throw some grass seeds on there, and turn on some sprinklers. Done.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Closing Columbus Drive would be so cheap. Tear up the concrete, throw some grass seeds on there, and turn on some sprinklers. Done.

+1 like a beautiful promenade with fountains and white oaks lining it (if those can grow well in chicago)

[moorhosj]

The talk about population gain/loss is forgetting one simple point, Chicago was a Rust Belt town. Look at Milwaukee, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland and St Louis, you will find population increase during the great migration then huge losses after 1980, high violent crime rates and massive de-industrialization. Chicago was buoyed somewhat by immigration that these cities didn’t see, but is still more demographically similar to these cities. Minneapolis and Toronto are growing faster because of their economies and demographics. Chicago is undergoing a massive shift in workforce to focus on the jobs of tomorrow.

[the urban politician]

^ Good analysis.

This goes to show you how much the political and cultural climate has far more to do with how cities shape up than mere population trends.

Think how different many American cities like Chicago would look if large SFH and car ownership weren't the norm.

[maru2501]

we are becoming a boutique business city that will have more in common with SF

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by KWillChicago

Harry you answered my question before I asked. I wad wondering if that wall on the south side was going to come down for lower washington access but since its a bridge ramp support plus city property I assume its no touchy, and just build up beside it.

That, and there's an old tunnel that goes under the river at Washington Street.

https://chicagology.com/prefire/prefire087/

[harryc]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

That, and there's an old tunnel that goes under the river at Washington Street.

https://chicagology.com/prefire/prefire087/

WOW - that's a new one on me - ty.

[F1 Tommy]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

That, and there's an old tunnel that goes under the river at Washington Street.

https://chicagology.com/prefire/prefire087/

Very cool. They should try to use it again during the summer atleast.

[maru2501]

ok, I did not know that

[left of center]

There are tunnels under Van Buren and LaSalle too, and they were all used for street cars back in the day IIRC. The LaSalle and Washington tunnels were older through, and were used for horse drawn carriages and pedestrians before the advent of the streetcar.

The LaSalle St tunnel was filled in and blocked off by the blue line under Lake St, but I believe that the Washington and Van Buren tunnels still remain, with their entrances sealed up. Would be neat if they could find a use for them again.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

That, and there's an old tunnel that goes under the river at Washington Street.

https://chicagology.com/prefire/prefire087/

Originally Posted by left of center

There are tunnels under Van Buren and LaSalle too, and they were all used for street cars back in the day IIRC. The LaSalle and Washington tunnels were older through, and were used for horse drawn carriages and pedestrians before the advent of the streetcar.

The LaSalle St tunnel was filled in and blocked off by the blue line under Lake St, but I believe that the Washington and Van Buren tunnels still remain, with their entrances sealed up. Would be neat if they could find a use for them again.

Damn this city is so cool. I agree it would be neat to put the tunnels back to use somehow.