Ghost Towers

click images for larger view

From the Balcony, Dusk

click images for larger view

 

 

 

Towers, Skylines and Clouds on a Brisk Fall Day

click images for larger view

Cloudy Day Chicago Skyline

click images for larger view (recommended)

 

 

 

Issac Haze descends on Shaft(s)

click image for larger view

"The Cartridge" Snaps into the Chicago Skyline

 

click images for larger view

It's already the most distinctive addition to the Chicago Skyline since Trump Tower: VOA's new baby-blue, LEED-green, 479-foot-tall dorm building for Roosevelt University.  It's scheduled to be completed in time for the winter semester in January of next year, and if that seems kind of close for comfort, keep in mind it didn't even begin to rise from the ground until last November.

It didn't reach the height of the next-door Adler & Sullivan Auditorium tower until this March.  In May, it was here, but as late as the beginning of June, it still looked like this.

After watching it go up, I finally realize what it's wafer-thin, notched profile reminds me of: one of those ink-jet cartridges - the magenta one, to be specific - that snaps into your personal printer.  Hence the nickname, "The Cartridge" for the way it snaps into the skyline between the fire-engine red CNA Building and the limestone tower of the Auditorium. 

The view from the north, as it rises behind the landmark Michigan Avenue streetwall, grabs red checkmarks from the reflections of the CNA into the windows of its tall bustle like a grid-like study of color and form.

To the south, we now have a year-round, patriotic red, white and blue trifecta, if not in that order, in which the upward punch of the proud Auditorium tower more than holds its own.

Chicago Streetscene: Snowglobe Skyline Sunset

click for larger view (recommended)

Transfigured Night: Randolph Street Skyline honors Fallen Police Officers

click image for larger view (highly recommended)

They compose one of the world's largest Lite-Brite sets, using the pixels of their windows to spell out the names of Chicago sport teams to celebrate a championship season.

Tuesday night, the lights along Randolph took on a more somber meaning, as they became part of the annual remembrance of Chicago police officers killed in the line of duty.  At the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park, on the east side of Soldier Field, a new bronze statue was unveiled to honor the sacrifice of officers who have suffered catastrophic injuries.  Candles were lit to symbolize the grief suffered by the families.  A picture of each of the 550 fallen officers was held by a police cadet, while their names were read aloud.

Along Randolph, as you can see in the spectacular photograph at the top of this taken by our correspondent Bob Johnson, both the Prudential and Aon buildings bore the initials, "CPD", while the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building carried two numbers, badge numbers: 14767, belonging to Officer Thor Soderberg, shot and killed in an apparent robbery attempt on July 7th, and 13970, belonging to Officer Michael R. Bailey, who was shot and killed July 18th, a month from retirement,  attempting to stop a robbery in front of his home.

The blazing lights of the city, it's true, can drown out the stars.  Yet, on an evening like this, they are the beacon that refutes the black void of night.