Robert Darrow, @properties

Archive for the ‘Photographs’ Category

I couldn’t resist a second post today. 

The photography is not in question in this shag-a-delic living room.  It’s the remarkable decor!

Not only is the futon perfectly matched to the carpeting – how in the world does that happen?  But the Futon is displayed in its full open glory.  Amazing.

It’s never welcome in the conversation when I mention that Chicago has only 18 weeks of summer – between Memorial Day and Labor day, at least.  And it’s only worse now that we’re into our first full weekend of August.  There’s only a few more left!  This weekend promises to be a big one.  If you can’t find something to do this weekend, you might want to call the coroner?

Northalsted Market Days

Join Joan Jett and a crowd of more than 40,000 on Halsted Street to celebrate the annual Northalsted Market Days®. This event is the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest and lives up to its reputation as one of the country’s finest festivals!

The event spans six city blocks, has 17 entrance gates and features three music stages with more than 40 musical acts performing. Many of these artists are top-name, national headliners, giving Northalsted Market Days® a reputation for some of the best live music in Chicago.

www.northalsted.com

All day on Saturday and Sunday.  Halsted Street between Belmont and Addison.

Lollapalooza

At this point, if you don’t have your tickets to Lollapalooza, you’re not going.  But at least you’ll know to avoid Grant Park, Columbus Drive, and the whole south end of the Museum Campus.

Big names at Lollapalooza this year include Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga,  The Strokes, Blues Traveler, Erykah Badu, and a whole bunch more. 

www.lollapalooza.com

Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday in Grant Park.

Retro on Roscoe

Retro features Chicago’s top talent and entertainment on 3 main stages. Artisans, antique vendors, and cool merchants will provide a shopping experience that is second to none. Local restaurants fill the venue with summertime samplings and tasty treats. All this and more liven up this tree-lined street for an enjoyable two-day festival that brings back great memories while providing an excellent entertainment for the entire family.

Retro On Roscoe is the primary fund raising event that enables Roscoe Village Neighbors to sponsor so many community improvements. Proceeds from Retro On Roscoe provide funds for major projects such as the recent streetscape project, and projects that have improved local parks.

http://www.roscoevillage.org/Retro_On_Roscoe 

Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 10:00 pm.

Your Guide realizes it’s been two weeks since I’ve posted.  I’ve been both lazy and busy.  I have grand plans with an update on the latest market conditions and real estate new.  Notwithstanding the grand plans, I could not resist posting this Bad Real Estate Photo today.  This home is currently for sale in Wicker Park/Bucktown, and this is the best the listing agent could do.

Ummm… Where’s the house?

My local chapter of the Insane Deuces sent out a low level tagger this week. I’m thinking they should have sent out a better speller? The Insane Dences just doesn’t strike the correct tone of intimidation or fear, no?

Your Guide has a friend whose office overlooks the “Giant Spire Hole” located just off Lake Shore Drive on the Chicago River.  Let’s call my friend “TL.”  TL sent me this link to a story out of New York where an artist proposes encasing stalled developments in giant icebergs.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100621/REAL_ESTATE/100629980 

An international design firm with offices on four continents has come up with a cool fix for the plethora of unsightly stalled building sites that dot the city’s landscape.

Woods Bagot New York is proposing filling each with an "iceberg," 100% recyclable structures that would serve as sort of architectural placeholders while developers struggle to regroup and restart their projects. The angular bright-white structures—which resemble the one that did in the HMS Titanic—are designed for quick and easy assembly and disassembly, once the real estate market revives. The iceberg interiors are seen as ideal for either retail or entertainment use.

According to Woods Bagot New York Principal Jeff Holmes, the inspiration for turning eyesores into something attractive came about from seeing so many stalled sites during his daily commute from Penn Station to the firm’s former office in the Garment District.

My friend TL suggests something just as creative for the “Spire Hole”

The Giant Navy Pier Trampoline!  Can you just imagine the crowds and the delight brought to the hordes of tourists at Navy Pier? 

Heck, if the giant helium balloon can become such a popular attraction, who know the potential for the Giant Spire Bounce (I really should Trademark this!)

Photos from Pride Sundays in the past:

Your Guide couldn’t resist popping into Midsommarfest on Sunday.  The weather was awful all weekend long with northern winds battling warm air from the south springing random thunderstorms all weekend long.  No good for boating.  But not bad for a couple hours at a festival in Andersonville.

Festival season spools into full frantic mode this weekend with something happening in every neighborhood in Chicago.  The Red Line is your friend.  Driving:  Not So Much.

Right Now: Blackhawks Championship Parade

Starting at 10:30 am on Friday, throngs of Blackhawks fans join the Stanley Cup Champions along the parade route ending in a rally at the corner of Michigan Ave. & Wacker Drive. 

The photo was taken just after sunrise around 6am, with thousands of fans crowding the location where the Blackhawks are expected to take the stage along with the Stanley Cup.

The route:  From Washington at Wacker – east to Michigan Avenue.  Then north on Michigan Ave. north to Wacker again.  All roads are closed already.  Fun, no?  The festivities are scheduled to end at Noon.  Don’t expect traffic to let up anytime before sunset in the Loop.

Sidenote: World Cup at Daley Plaza

At Daley Plaza on Washington, a celebration heralding the opening of the World Cup Soccer Championship was planned long ago.  Scheduled for the afternoon hours, this promises to add to the mêlée in the Loop today.

Cross Town Classic

Hosted at Wrigley Field this weekend (and on the South Side next weekend) the Cubs host the White Sox in the Cross Town Classic.

Friday: 1:20 game time

Saturday: 3:10 game time

Sunday: 7:00 pm game time

South Side: 26th Annual Printers Row Lit Fest

Sponsored by the Chicago Tribune, this year’s Lit Fest affirms the Trib’s commitment to the written word in all its forms.  The fest is in full swing on Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm along Dearborn between Congress and Polk. 

Authors perform readings for adults and children.  Cooking demonstrations on stage.  Poetry workshops in the Hotel Blake.  Plus the rows of book sellers selling new and used books of every genre.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/printers-row/printers-row-lit-fest.html 

Downtown: Chicago Blues Festival

The Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and remains the largest of Chicago’s Music Festivals. During three days on five stages, more than 640,000 blues fans prove that Chicago is the "Blues Capital of the World." Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and the late Koko Taylor.  

Blues Fest kicks off in Grant Park on Friday at 11:30 am.

Saturday from 11:30 am to 10:00 pm

Sunday from 11:30 am to 10:00 pm

www.chicagobluesfestival.org/

Near North: Old Town Art Fair & Wells Street Art Festival

Wells Street Art Festival take place in Old Town along Wells Street between Division and North Avenues.  And the Old Town Art Fair offers exhibits and activities on some of Old Town’s side streets just off Wells Street running west, and north of North Ave and along N. Lincoln.

The Wells Street Art Festival is recognized as one of Chicago’s most prestigious art fairs, attracting exhibitors and prospective buyers from all over the nation. The show features a wide variety of fine art – everything from glass and ceramics, to pencil drawings and oil paintings – plus a silent auction and children’s area. Musicians performing along Wells Street will make you forget you’re at an outdoor festival!

The Old Town Art Fair – pretty much the same.  Your Guide does not know why these events are not simply combined into one large event as for all practical purposes, event goers treat both as the same.

Friday from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Far North: Andersonville Midsommarfest

Midsommarfest is Andersonville’s annual summer street festival, now entering its 45th year. Each year, nearly 50,000 people throng Clark Street from Foster to Catalpa for two days of music, dancing, kids’ entertainment, and delicious food. Vendors from around the region sell their wares to passers-by, while ethnic dance troupes and cutting-edge bands keep the party going.

Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

It’s been a long winter for Chicagoans, and finally the season of weekend festivals is upon us.  There are only 18 weekends in Chicago Official Summer – the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day.  And Chicagoans want to make the most of every single one of them. 

Chicago’s Memorial Day Parade

The annual Chicago Memorial Day Parade honors veterans, active duty military personnel, and those who have given their lives in service of their country. It draws about 10,000 spectators every year and is considered one of the largest parades of its kind in the country.

http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/event_landing/events/mose/memorial_day_parade.html

Lakeview’s Woogms Parade

Following the huge turnout and success of its last parade, the Wellington-Oakdale Old Glory Marching Society (WOOGMS) continues the celebration with its 40th annual Labor Day Parade on Monday, Sept. 1. Chicago’s oldest do-it-yourself parade group steps off from the corner of Pine Grove Ave. and Wellington St. at 11 a.m. All are invited to join this favorite neighborhood event that attracts patriotic participants of all ages. Enthusiastic marchers will uphold the WOOGMS motto: Everybody marches, nobody (just) watches.

http://www.insideonline.com/site/epage/12214_162.htm 

IML and Bear Pride Weekend

You might think that this event caters to a rather – ahem – specific clientele.  But this year’s IML (International Mr. Leather) event will draw a few thousand visitors from 80 countries worldwide.  The event actually fills the entire Hyatt Regency downtown!  A full weekend of events includes a leather market, circuit parties and bar crawls on the north-side.

In conjunction with IMRL, this weekend also hosts Bear Pride 16 at the Crown Plaza-Metro hotel at 733 W. Madison, with a full weekend of events starting Friday evening.

From Time Out Chicago:

The only thing sweeter than honey is this 16th annual tribute to the furry and fabulous. BP16 offers a full weekend of grub-’n'-growls, BEAR-B-Ques, dance parties and more. Many events are by registration only, so bust on down to the Crowne Plaza to get in on the action

See www.bearpride.org for a full schedule.

Chicago’s Memorials

Let’s not forget to pay our respects this weekend.  Some of Chicago’s best Memorials are also its best kept secrets.  Check these out and take a picnic.  You’ll be glad you did.

Graceland Cemetery in Lakeview

Stop by and pay your respects to some of the founding fathers of the City of Chicago, great patrons of the arts, and other notable Chicagoans.

Many of the cemetery’s tombs are of great architectural or artistic interest, including the Getty Tomb, the Martin Ryerson mausoleum (both designed by architect Louis Sullivan, who is also buried here), and the Schoenhofen Pyramid Mausoleum. The industrialist George Pullman was buried at night, in a lead-lined coffin within an elaborately reinforced steel-and-concrete vault, to prevent his body from being exhumed and desecrated by labor activists.

Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Plaza

This memorial to fallen heroes from the Viet Nam War can be found along the north bank of the Chicago River between State Street and Wabash.

The memorial features the names of more than 2,900 Illinois servicemen killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War; an engraved timeline of significant battles, operations and world events during the Vietnam War years; a waterwall and fountain; and informational plaques.

Stock Yards Firefighter Memorial

Located on the South Side at the entrance to the old Stock Yards at Exchange & Peoria is where you’ll find the Stock Yards Firefighter Memorial.

On December 22, 1910 a fire occurred at the Chicago Stock Yards which killed 21 Chicago Firefighters. A memorial was held on Monday, December 22, 2008 to commemorate these fallen Firefighters. Chicago Fire Department personnel, Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner José Santiago, Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 President Thomas Ryan and Alderman James Balcer saluted the members of the Chicago Fire Department, and laid a wreath at the site in memory of all who have died in the line of duty.

Seen in a Friend’s home.