A daily blog on architecture in Chicago, and other topics cultural, political and mineral.
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Showing posts with label Streeterville Organization of Active Residents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Streeterville Organization of Active Residents. Show all posts
The heliport atop the recently opened Ann and Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 24 stories and 444-feet-high, has been controversial ever since plans for the new hospital on Chicago Avenue were announced. Even after it was approved last fall by the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) mounted a last ditch attempt to have the U.S. Department of Transportation block the heliport based on an anonymous letter from pilots claiming it was unsafe. Lurie's counter campaign cited wind studies by RWDI, "the most comprehensive . . . ever conducted by a hospital heliport applicant in Illinois" and included putting up this video on YouTube.
Before approving the heliport, IDOT also commissioned its own study by Joseph F. Horn and Continuum Dynamics. While calling for reform of regulations, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel expressed his support of the heliport last December.
The hospital is publishing regular reports on heliport usage, and for the first two months after the new facility was opened in June, the total number of flights was 20. The hospital's estimate of the annual number of flights at its former Lincoln Park complex was under 80. You can see an aerial view of 66-by-66 foot square heliport in this ABC7 Chicago report.
The shots you see here were taken this past Thursday. A helicopter coming in for a landing on the roof of a tall building between even taller towers in the sea of skyscrapers along Chicago's lakefront is dramatic enough. When you factor in the factors not only of aviation safety but of knowing the helicopter is transporting either a critically ill child or organs being rushed to a transplant, it pulls back the curtain on the indifferent skyscape of a densely constructed city, and intimates the life-and-death struggles, of both soul and of body, that are often taking place behind the blank facades.
This evening, SOAR, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, is holding a "community meeting regarding the deposition of the former Prentice Women's Hospital," Bertrand Goldberg's striking landmark that isn't that Northwestern is intent on grinding into dust.
If you're looking to avoid that grim scenario and you're a Streeterville resident, now is the time to be heard. You can be sure Northwestern representatives will be out in force. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m., tonight, May 24th, on the 44th floor of the Hancock building, 175 E. Delaware at 7:00 p.m.,. Don't expert to get in unless you've RSVP'd, here: rsvp@soarchicago.org.
And on June 6th, a who's who of preservation groups including AIA Chicago, docomomo, Landmarks Illinois, the National Trust, and Preservation Chicago will be holding a Bowling for Prentice! fundraiser at 10 Pin at another Bertrand Goldberg landmark that isn't a landmark, Marina City. Two hours of bowling with pizza, buffer and refreshments for just $35.00 ($25.00 for students with valid ID's; $35.00 for students with invalid ID's.) More information here.
