[alex1]

Originally Posted by chiphile

I think for an out-of-towner (I am assuming you are), the renderings make for a skewed perception.

The skyline in the back, for example the Sears Tower, is still about two and a half miles away (three and half miles in case of the Hancock). The Sears Tower's two white antennae are around 280 feet tall, this museum is about HALF their size.

So the classical architecture you refer to is not "in the area," this is a large park space that is away from most of the skyline. Furthermore, this would only be visible for maybe less than a half mile on lakeshore drive, and won't be visible from the vast majority of downtown, let alone the city. If the museum was in the middle of a downtown block on Michigan ave, yes, totally out of place, but this is pure parkland with the lake to the east.

I assume that poster if talking about the neoclassical designs from the Field, Shedd, Adler and Soldier field. The counterargument is that there have been modern additions to all these structures minus the Field.