The Guide: Chicago

Samantha Brooks

09/01/2005

Chicago became known as the mother of modern U.S. architecture after the Great Fire of 1871 leveled more than 17,450 wood-framed structures—giving the city a bittersweet opportunity to rebuild from the ground up. A subsequent law that banned any new non-masonry construction within city limits turned Chicago into a sturdy city of steel and stone, spawning advancements in technology that would lead to the birth of the skyscraper in the 1880s. The city remains a buzzing hive of architectural and design activity to this day (a recent 10-year research survey named 17,300 of the city’s buildings landmarks), and architects still flock to the Midwestern hub to follow in the footsteps of Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, David Adler and Daniel Burnham, who helped shape the skyline. What follows is our insider’s guide to Chicago—all of the luxury design and real estate sources you need to make the city your home.

Shedd Aquarium Oceanarium on Lake Michigan, Copyright Hedrich Blessing, Courtesy Goettsch Partners. (Click image to enlarge.)

Layout
Living inside the city of Chicago usually means residing in a skyscraper, the most coveted of which are on North Michigan Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive. Mies van der Rohe’s twin towers on 860 and 880 Lake Shore Drive set the standard for high-rise living when constructed in 1948, and are still one of the most desirable addresses in Chicago. Newer buildings like the Four Seasons tower and the Ritz-Carlton/Water Tower Place (Oprah lives on the top floor) combine residences with five-star hotels and several stories of indoor shopping. The city’s older skyscrapers and hotels in need of rejuvenation are often redeveloped into luxury condominiums (LR Development is one of the city’s most tenacious developers).

The rows of townhouses along Astor Street and North Lake Shore Drive make the Gold Coast (northeast of downtown) a secluded enclave and one of the most exclusive addresses in the city. Lincoln Park (further north) doesn’t quite offer all of the Gold Coast’s charm, but it does boast larger townhouses and more space to build new ones. For those who favor horizontal hedges over vertical views, just north of the city lie the affluent lakefront communities of Lake Forest, Glencoe and Winnetka, which are likened to Greenwich, Ct. with their country clubs and multiple-acre parcels of land.

An aerial view from a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel.  (Click image to enlarge.)

New residential buildings are being thoughtfully designed by top architectural firms eager to stamp the city with tomorrow’s landmarks. There is a good chance that Donald Trump’s eponymous tower will be numbered among them when completed in 2007. Skidmore Owings & Merrill (who also built the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building) is the architecture firm behind the $1,000-per-square-foot Trump residences, which will be completed in 2007, as well as the Prairie Crossing Community—a conservation community north of the city with 359 homes and 36 condominiums that use “green” construction; the EPA has named Chicago one of the nation’s top ten green cities because of its successful city planning that juxtaposes effective public transportation and pedestrian-friendly streets. Lucien LaGrange is currently working on 65 East Goethe Street (an eight-story, 14-unit Parisian-style luxury development). And Booth Hansen’s redevelopment of the historic Palmolive building will convert the 70-year-old, 37-story building into 103 luxury condo-homes (penthouses are priced at over $10 million).


An architectural detail of Marshall Field’s. Photography by Anne Evans, Courtesy Chicago Architecture Foundation. (Click image to enlarge.)

Realtors
Chris Downey of Koenig & Strey GMAC Realty (an affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates) specializes in the suburbs and currently has listings for the former residence of W. Clement Stone, which is listed at $9.75 million, and a Cape Code style home on 4.7 acres with its own boat dock, listed at $4.975 million. Also with Koenig & Strey, Mary Bennet has a Richard Schmidt home from 1896 in Lincoln Park on the market for $11 million. Katherine Chez at Coldwell Banker has a three-bedroom condo with smart-home technology on the top of a North Lake Shore Drive high-rise for $6.25 million. Local company Baird and Warner has been operating in the city since 1855 and has listings for a 21-acre Lake Bluff property with architecture by Benjamin Marshall (who built the Drake Hotel) listed at $25 million, as well as a David Adler home from 1931 in Lake Forest offered at $19.5 million. Another local company, Rubloff, has listings for a three-bedroom penthouse at the Four Seasons offered at $5.7 million, and a historic townhouse from 1910 on the Gold Coast listed at $4.9 million.

Real Estate
LR Development, 312.595.7400, www.lrrealty.com
Skidmore Owings & Merrill, 312.554.9090, www.som.com
Lucien LaGrange, 312.751.7400, www.llarch.com
Booth Hansen, 312.869.5000, www.boothhansen.com
Koenig & Strey, 312-944-8900, www.ksgmac.com
Coldwell Banker, 312.751.9100, www.coldwellbanker.com
Baird and Warner, 800.644.1855, www.bairdwarner.com
Rubloff, 312.368.5300,  www.rubloff.com

The Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters, designed by Lohan Caprile Goettsch. Copyright Steinkamp/Ballogg Photography, Courtesy Goettsch Partners. (Click image to enlarge.)

Architects
In a city where temperatures are below freezing for several months of the year, function tends to beat out form, even among modernists—a lesson Mies van der Rohe learned when his unhappy client (and supposed lover) Edith Farnsworth ranted to House Beautiful, “less is not more, it is simply less,” in reaction to the all-glass weekend house Mies had built her outside of the city. Thus, typical Chicago homes tend to be on the sturdier side, often made from limestone or brick.

A 1896 Lincoln Park home (for sale through Mary Bennet). (Click image to enlarge.)

Contemporary modernists like David Hovey (winner of our 2005 “Best of the Best” Architect category), who trained at the Illinois Institute of Technology, continue to push the envelope of innovation. Since founding Optima in 1978, Hovey has acted as architect and realtor, creating projects like the Old Orchard Woods Condominiums, a large-scale development about 15 miles north of the city made from glass and steel, overlooking an oak forest. Another modernist influenced by the city’s framework, Douglas Ross (winner of the 2001 AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award) takes an environmentally conscious approach to his projects—oftentimes incorporating a site’s natural landscape into the architecture to create homes that seek to redefine the suburban landscape. Marvin Herman, who lives in a historic George Maher building, is well-versed in a variety of styles, from Art Deco to contemporary. His firm has been operating in the city for more than 20 years, and has completed projects throughout Chicago, including historic renovations on the Gold Coast and new structures in the suburbs. Regardless of style, his projects always include detailed millwork, stonework and architectural elements specific to their surroundings. Joan Craig of Lichten Craig trained early on at Sotheby’s, where she was able to study fine and decorative arts, finishes and materials. Before establishing Lichten Craig in 1996 in New York, Craig worked at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, one of the nation’s largest firms. Since opening its Chicago office in 2004, the firm has worked on several architectural restorations, as well as sophisticated interiors, which comprise nearly one-third of their commissions.

A David Adler home in Lake Forest from 1931. (Click image to enlarge.)

Interior Designers
Interior Designer Suzanne Lovell has been working as a designer for 20 years. She trained as an architect and worked for SOM after studying with Olivio Ferrari, a Bauhaus-trained, Swiss-German architect. With a client list that includes the city’s most prominent families, Lovell’s work extends from modern penthouses on North Lake Shore to clients’ vacation homes throughout the U.S. and abroad. Established over 30 years ago by Bruce Gregga, the firm of Gregga Jordan Smieszny creates clean, modern interior spaces for homes, yachts and offices. The firm is now managed by Alex Jordan, known for combining fine art and antiques with contemporary furnishings, and Dan Smieszny, whose background in landscape architecture facilitates collaborations with landscape designers that merge indoor spaces with the outdoors. Merilee Elliott’s eclectic, transitional style incorporates materials like stainless steel, stone and silk (which she has used to upholster 30-foot long ceilings to help conceal high-tech wiring). Her offices at the Merchandise Mart mean that she’s among the first to see the newest home furnishings from the city’s top designer outlets. Van Tullis has studied furniture design, sculpture, ceramics and drawing and is an active member of various artistic foundations, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Architecture Foundation. His interiors are most often defined by neutral color palates.

A Four Seasons residence by Merilee Elliott.  (Click image to enlarge.)

Contractors
Even the sturdiest of the city’s historical homes need updates from time to time—having the right kind of contractor is essential to both preserving and restoring important architecture, as well as to building new homes that will complement the vintage. Blackmore Construction has won several AIA awards and frequently collaborates with architects like Booth Hansen and Marvin Herman. The family-owned company specializes in millwork and sculptural ornamentation, which require an immense amount of detail and architectural knowledge. Harold O. Shulz, a three-generation contracting firm, has done low-rise and high-rise condominium projects with big architectural firms like Wheeler Kearns as well as high-end residences from Lake Forest to Lincoln Park. Their past awards include the Winnetka Preservation Award for New Construction and the AIA Chicago Interior Architecture Honor Award.

A Marvin Herman–designed townhouse on the Gold Coast. (Click image to enlarge.)

Design
David Hovey, 847.835.8400, www.optimaweb.com
Ross Architecture, 847.498.4848, www.rossarchitecture.com
Marvin Herman, 312.787.0347
Lichten Craig, 312.321.7400, www.lichtencraig.com
Suzanne Lovell, 312.595.1980, www.suzannelovellinc.com
Gregga Jordan Smieszny, 312.787.0017, www.gjsinc.com
Merilee Elliott, 312.222.1313, www.merilee.com
Van Tullis, 773.278.2113, www.vantullis.com
Blackmore Construction, 708.535.1000, www.blackmoreconstruction.com
Harold O. Schulz, 847.869.4949, www.hoschulz.com

A vignette at the Golden Triangle. Photography by Amie Hana. (Click image to enlarge.)

Shop
North Michigan Ave. (and its cross-streets like East Oak and East Delaware) is known as Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, which is home to most of the city’s best shopping—from Barneys and Marshall Field’s to Frette and Gucci. The Merchandise Mart is the world’s largest collection of luxury boutiques for the home and is where you will find large showrooms like Holly Hunt and Baker Knapp & Tubbs. But it is the city’s numerous galleries and boutiques—dealing in one-of-a kind antiques and collectibles—that lend Chicago’s residences their panache. Material Possessions has the city’s most nteresting items for the tabletop, in styles that range from old-world to contemporary. Elements is defined by functional beauty; specializing in everything from throw pillows and vases to handmade jewelry, the store is an especially good source for hostess gifts. Antiques stores like Rita Bucheit, which has an astounding collection of Biedermeier and Art Deco furnishings, and Douglas Rosin, which carries collectibles gathered from across the world from 1890 to 1970, are the best places to find historical accents to complement the newer pieces you may pick out at Thomas Job, whose showroom includes furnishings from Nancy Corzine and rugs from Christopher Farr, and Troscan, whose to-the-trade-only home furnishings collections (available at Holly Hunt) are influenced by a wide spectrum of design, from ancient China to the Weiner Werkstätte.

A table setting  from Le Magasin. (Click image to enlarge.)

Andrew Hollingsworth quit his job as a CFO to open up his eponymous showroom that exhibits an array of Nordic and contemporary furnishings from the 20th and 21st centuries. Wright is a national leader in the auctioning of modern art and design collectibles from designers like Mies van der Rohe and George Nakashima (those not patient enough for auctions can also browse their “Wright Now” section for pieces such as an Hermès clock-and-barometer set from the 1960s and a Pierre Cardin floor lamp from the 1970s). Designers often head to the Golden Triangle for Asian antiques like armoires and chests that add variety to modern interiors. Also specializing in imports, Le Magasin’s Didier Milleriot visits France several times a year to bring back the best fine linens, furniture and soaps from his homeland’s boutique workshops; close to 85 percent of his wares are not available anywhere else in the city. Chicago’s climate is not conducive to year-round outdoor living, but the antique garden accessories at Kimball & Bean will at least inspire you to spend more time looking at your garden; the collection ranges from fountains to hooks and knobs, all displayed throughout a 19th-century historic barn just outside the city. New Metal Crafts has the kind of elegant lighting fixtures that make your jaw drop, but do not let their name fool you—their chandeliers can date back to the 19th century (among the collection is an elaborate Baccarat crystal chandelier in the Louis XV style from around 1880). Finally, Architectural Artifacts, which salvages everything from stained glass windows to fireplace mantels that would have otherwise been destroyed during routine demolitions, is a must-visit. The enormous collection is displayed in the company’s 80,000-square-foot showroom and 15,000-square-foot museum, which exhibits artifacts from Frank Lloyd Wright, George Elmslie and Louis Sullivan.

A Biedermeier table from Rita Bucheit. (Click image to enlarge.)

Shopping
The Merchandise Mart, The Merchandise Mart, Suite 470, Chicago, 800.677.6278, www.merchandisemart.com/mmart
Material Possessions, 704 North Wabash, Chicago, 312.280.4885, www.materialpossessions.com
Elements, 102 E. Oak St., Chicago, 312.664.5222
Rita Bucheit, 449 N. Wells St., Chicago, 312.527.4080, www.ritabucheit.com
Douglas Rosin, 730 N. Wells St., Chicago, 312.337.6556, www.douglasrosin.com
Thomas Job, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, 312.822.9944
Troscan, 320 N. Damen Ave., Suite D300, Chicago, 312.733.0158, www.troscandesign.com
Andrew Hollingsworth, 222 W. Huron St., Chicago, 312.440.9554, www.andrewhollingsworth.com
Wright, 1140 W Fulton, Chicago,312.563.0020, www.wright20.com
The Golden Triangle, 72 W. Hubbard St.,Chicago, 312.755.1266, www.goldentriangle.biz
Le Magasin, 408 N. Clark St., Chicago, 312.396.0030
Kimball & Bean, 3606 S. Country Club Rd.,Woodstock, 815.444.9000, www.kimballandbean.com
New Metal Crafts, 812 N. Wells St., Chicago, 312.787.6991, www.newmetalcrafts.com
Architectural Artifacts, 4325 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, 773.348.6118, www.architecturalartifacts.com

1930s Prohibition flasks at Douglas Rosin. (Click image to enlarge.)

Service
Some interiors require more than what can be gleaned from a showroom floor. The 24 artisans at Armand Lee use museum-recognized techniques to handcraft custom fine art frames (often using exotic lacquered finishes or bronze leaf over carved wood) and restore antique furnishings, frames and accessories. They are particularly adroit in reworking the style of a frame when clients move from a traditional country home in Winnetka to a modern downtown high-rise. Also doing custom crafts, Great Lakes Art Studio specializes in metal work with bronze, steel, aluminum and iron as well as materials like wood, ceramics and plaster. In addition to new work, they also handle the restoration of furniture and architectural details. Whether you cook or order in, you will want a de Giulio kitchen—locals boast about them the same way they do their collections of fine art. The kitchen design firm does projects across the country, but is based in Chicago. One of their three showrooms in the city is located in the Merchandise Mart.

A salvaged screen from Architectural Artifacts. (Click image to enlarge.)

Service
Armand Lee, 312.455.1200, www.armandlee.com
Great Lakes Art Studio, 847.869.5850, www.greatlakesartstudio.com
De Giulio, 847.256.8833, www.degiulio.org

The lobby of the Peninsula hotel. (Click image to enlarge.)

Stay
In the late 19th century, Chicago’s hotels were so lavish and inclusive that they were often called “cities within cities.” The Auditorium, which once stood on Michigan Ave., housed offices, a 400-room hotel and an acoustically-perfect theater, the world’s largest at the time of its debut in 1889. Today, the city’s finest hotels are traditionally formal and grand, oftentimes part of larger towering buildings that envelop everything from luxury condominiums to world-class shopping. One of the city’s oldest and most iconic hotels, the Drake  was built in 1920 and still stands as a testament to the city’s elegance. It may no longer have the best rooms in the city, but it is still worth stopping in for coffee or a drink. The only hotels in the city worth booking are the Four Seasons and the Peninsula. The former is continually recognized for its outstanding service and intuitive staff, which has been winning awards since the hotel opened in 1989. The decor may be in slight need of a makeover, (which it is getting, come early 2006) but the bird’s-eye views of the lake simply cannot be beat. The newest luxury hotel to charm the city, the Peninsula, which opened in 2001, has enough high-tech in-room gadgetry and remote controls to impress even the most jaded of travelers and boasts the city’s only preplanned hotel spa (other hotels added on later), which occupies its top two floors.

Stay
The Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place, Chicago, 312.787.2200, www.thedrakehotel.com
Four Seasons Hotel, 120 E. Delaware Place, Chicago, 312.280.8800, www.fourseasons.com
The Peninsula, 108 E. Superior Street, Chicago, 312.337.2888, www.chicago.peninsula.com 
 

A modern kitchen from de Giulio. Photography by Paul Schlismann. (Click image to enlarge.)

Festivals and Sites
Chicago’s best weather occurs in September, when the average temperature is 75 degrees, but the city’s most popular festivals are in July and August, when temperatures approach the mid to high 80s (January through March are the coldest months). The Chicago Blues Festival lasts for four days in Grant Park during the second weekend in June. The park also hosts the Chicago Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend as well as The Taste of Chicago, which is held during the 10 days preceding Independence Day and includes over 100 booths from the city’s best restaurants, as well as outdoor concerts (this year it attracted such artists as Clint Black, Santana, Donna Summer and Lauryn Hill). Millennium Park, located on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets, is hard to miss. Its 24.5-acre mass was conceived as an addition to Grant Park. It offers ice-skating in the winter, but the summer months are the perfect time to enjoy the landscaping and outdoor concert venue, which was  designed by Frank Gehry, who also built the BP Bridge linking the two parks together. NeoCon, the largest trade show of its kind in North America, has been taking over the Merchandise Mart every June for the past 35 years. Nearly 40,000 people come to get a first look at the latest in designs and technologies for the home. If you like design but not big crowds, then take one of the many architectural tours offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Among the tours that vary each season are the Architectural River Cruise down the Chicago River that hits 50 sites around the Chicago Loop and a walking tour of the city’s culture and commerce, which includes buildings by Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham and ends at Millennium Park.

The Glen Club’s $10 million clubhouse and Tom Fazio–designed fairway. Photography by Miller Brown Marketing. (Click image to enlarge.)

Other monuments not to be missed are the Shedd Aquarium, (the largest indoor version in the world), the Adler Planetarium (the oldest in the Western Hemisphere) and the Art Institute of Chicago (both a museum and a school, its collection includes George Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte, Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and 33 paintings by Claude Monet).

The Adler Planetarium, where Lohan Caprile Goettsch added a
64,000-square-foot Sky Pavilion to the original building, built in 1930. Copyright Steinkamp/Ballogg Photography, Courtesy Goettsch Partners. (Click image to enlarge.)

Clubs
About 40 minutes east of the city is the highly-ranked Medinah Country Club. Its course was designed by Tom Bendelow in 1924 and will host the 2012 Ryder Cup. Built in 1920, the private Indian Hill Golf Club in Winnetka is a traditional course with tree-lined fairways in one of the city’s most exclusive suburbs. The public Glen Club is located on the former Glenview Naval Air Base and boasts a $10 million, 48,000-square-foot clubhouse that rivals most private facilities. The 195-acre course designed by Tom Fazio is no slouch, either (it cost around $18 million). Most high-rises offer their own health clubs, but it is hard to top the East Bank Club. The 23-year-old health Mecca is generally noted as the country’s first large-scale fitness center, where the gym craze all began. With over 450,000 square feet, the club offers everything from swimming pools and gym equipment to a restaurant and spa.

Do
Chicago City Events, 2111 West Lexington, Chicago, 312.744.5000, www.cityofchicago.org/specialevents,
Millennium Park, 312.742.1168, www.millenniumpark.org
NeoCon, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, 312.527.7999, www.merchandisemart.com/neocon
Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, 312.922.3432, www.architecture.org
Shedd Aquarium, 1200 South Lake Shore Dr., 312.692.3274, www.sheddaquarium.com
Adler Planetarium, 1300 South Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, 312.922.7827, www.adlerplanetarium.org
Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 312.443.3600, www.artic.edu
Medinah, 6N001 Medinah Rd., Medinah, 630.773.1700
Indian Hill Golf Club, 1 Indian Hill Rd., Winnetka, 847.256.0800
The Glen Club, 2901 W. Lake Avenue, Glenview, 847.724.7272, www.theglenclub.com
East Bank Club, 500 N. Kingsbury St., Chicago, 312.527.5800, www.eastbankclub.com