Quote:
Originally Posted by r18tdi
Agreed, although I haven't seen anyone using the newish pocket park in front of Emme.
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That's not a public space, it's just a landscaped entrance to the luxury apartments. As residential towers go, Exhibit on Wells did a better job, putting the residential entrance on the street side and opening the pocket park up to a retail tenant (Left Coast Juice Bar). The park there feels much more public. For a more corporate example, the pocket park next to 155 N Wacker is also successful although only during 9-5 hours.
To be clear, there is some "open space" in that West Loop area besides parking lots, but all of it horribly designed and forlorn. ABN AMRO has a little pocket park on the site of their proposed second phase, there is plaza space around the Social Security Building, Presidential Towers has a landscaped car turnaround, etc. Clearly nobody has read William H Whyte... My real dream for that area is to pedestrianize Clinton between Lake and Jackson, maybe with a southbound bus lane to keep transit moving.