WBEZ | Lee Bey

Tumblr site Calumet 412 is a lost-and-found of Chicago's architectural past

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:46:00 -0500

The Tumblr site Calumet 412 allows folks to post all sorts of Chicago images and ephemera. There are video clips, ads, political cartoons and more–all telling a bit of the Chicago story.

Caught on video: Chicago after dark, 65 years ago

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:58:00 -0500

Here's another one of those old MGM Traveltalks movie shorts that surface on YouTube from time to time. This one looks Chicago nightlife in 1947, and features a host of locales and places, many of which are no longer with us.

School of architecture: A look at sprawling Chicago Vocational

Mon, 21 May 2012 01:23:00 -0500

The massive, 72-year-old school is not only the city's second largest high school building but is Chicago's best large-scale example of Art Moderne architecture. The school is slated to re-open this fall as one of the city's five STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) academies.

'Where America shops' needs an architectural makeover

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:09:00 -0500

With two-stories of bricked-over shop windows on two major unadorned elevations, the Sears store on East 79th Street looks like an unfriendly neighbor with shades pulled--not good for a retailer getting its clocked cleaned by the big-box behemoth from Bentonville.

Outside Atlanta, an old-school Arby's finds new life as a retro restaurant

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:41:00 -0500

My daughters and I were in the Atlanta area last weekend when we stumbled on this bit of well-tended midcentury roadside architecture just outside of Decatur, Georgia.

Goodbye, Norma Jean: Marilyn Monroe statue leaves town next week--and good riddance

Wed, 02 May 2012 09:52:00 -0500

The monstrosity is being taken down Monday and shipped to, hopefully, some carnival grounds somewhere.

Faded architectural star of Chicago world's fair now in peril

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:48:00 -0500

The House of Tomorrow, a modernist,12-sided exhibition home built for Chicago's 1933 Century of Progress is among Indiana's 10 most endangered buildings, according to the state's leading preservation group.

Is it the end of the line for Santa Fe Building sign?

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:22:00 -0500

The white-lettered "Santa Fe" sign atop the landmark Santa Fe Building could vanish--refaced with signage touting the building's newest tenant, Motorola, under a permit request being weighed later this week by city officials.

Former West Side hotel, modernist gem in Lake County among state's 'most endangered' buildings

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:06:00 -0500

A modernist house in Lake Bluff, Ill. and a hulking former West Side hotel are among the state's ten most endangered historic places, the preservation group Landmarks Illinois announced today.

Developer seeks second act for Bronzeville's historic Forum Hall

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:01:00 -0500

The 113-year-old structure, which once played a role in labor history, civil rights, jazz and even the advancement of U.S. Communism, came close to being demolished by the city last year. Now a new owner is trying to figure out what to do with the building.