CHICAGO | NEMA Chicago | 896 FT | 81 FLOORS

[left of center]

^ I remember that design, but I think that's for OGP (NEMA).

The Pappageorge proposal only had a boxy outline placeholder for 2GP.

[left of center]

Found it:


Source: emporis.com


Which, by the way, thank god this rendition of OGP (NEMA) never got built. A bit too tacky for a Grant Park fronting skyscraper. Maybe it would work in River North?

[Notyrview]

Oh lord haven't seen that monstrosity in a while. Thank goddess we were spared.

[Steely Dan]

bullet dodged.

[donnie]

I like the twin but would like if 2GP was reversed from the current tower going up!

I can dream can't i?

[RedCorsair87]

I'm down with the twin as long as a few extra floors are tacked on so we cross the supertall threshold.

[Domer2019]

Originally Posted by left of center

Found it:

Which, by the way, thank god this rendition of OGP (NEMA) never got built. A bit too tacky for a Grant Park fronting skyscraper. Maybe it would work in River North?

"I'm taking my talents to the South Wall."

Said OGP v1.0 as it formed the "Dr. Suess 3" and promising "Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven" consecutive years of being fully leased.

...

I actually like One Museum Park, but OGP would have been the tipping point. Nouveau OGP brings things back to Earth.

[KWillChicago]

I know I'm on my own island here but I would love to see GP3 somewhere in chicago. Probably would fit best in gold coast or Riverline..

[10023]

Originally Posted by KWillChicago

I know I'm on my own island here but I would love to see GP3 somewhere in chicago. Probably would fit best in gold coast or Riverline..

It absolutely would not fit in the Gold Coast. Maybe Riverline and possibly the Finkl site or Cabrini-Green when the rest of this is redeveloped.

[Le Baron]

[the urban politician]

Great pics. Despite all of Grant Park’s shortcomings, I think that just creating the enclosure of it from the south will go a long way toward making it a more appealing place to visit and spend time.

Mr D I’m sure has some shadow studies lying around, but being that there aren’t that many huge trees here, the shadows from the skyscrapers could actually be a good thing by providing shade for the area

[ardecila]

^ Especially in city cores, people seek out places to get some sun. Why do you think Exelon Plaza is so jam-packed with people eating lunch every day? I don't know why this idea is so controversial on this forum. Great cities have great public spaces.

I'm not saying NEMA should be shorter, but I do think the south part of Grant Park is pretty lightly used right now and, with more and more of it cast in shadow, it is likely to stay that way. TBH I'm not even sure we should invest millions in decking the tracks for open space, this corner of the park might be a better spot for a museum or school or some such which could cap the tracks. The usual ban on buildings does not apply once you get past 1130S, so there is a (legal) site for a building where the historic Central Station used to be.

High-quality open space for the neighborhood would either be in Grant Park east of the tracks, or pocket parks in Central Station further south.

[gebs]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm not saying NEMA should be shorter, but I do think the south part of Grant Park is pretty lightly used right now and, with more and more of it cast in shadow, it is likely to stay that way.

I don't know man, that part of town is usually flush with LARPers and Quidditch games.

I'm being 100% serious about that. It's awesome.

[left of center]

I think the lack of use of south Grant Park has less to do with shadows, and more to do with that its a relatively quieter section of the park, with fewer amenities and landmarks than the rest of Grant Park (Maggie Daley, Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion, the Art Institute, Buckingham Fountain, etc. are all located in the northern or central parts of the park. The south end has a skate park, some ball fields, and The Agora installation, which aren't as popular as the other park attractions), as well as the fact that that its a bit further south than the most active area of downtown with the most people/tourists/office workers/pedestrians.

It also doesn't help that the tracks that bisect the park are at their widest south of Balbo.

I think as development of the South Loop continues and more people move in the area as more residential projects are completed you will see more people in that part of the park. Decking over the tracks would also most likely help boost park attendance, but that's a bit of a long shot in the near term.

[rgolch]

So I'm sure most won't agree with me, but so far this building is kind of a big yawn. Admittedly, the renderings and models look really good. I guess it's going to be a bit before this starts looking like the all the renderings.

[ardecila]

^ But everything on the north end of the park is flooded with sunlight, in the summertime until about 6 or 7.

I mean, obviously if you built Millennium Park 2 at the south corner, people would use it. But I think you'd be better off spending that park money elsewhere, maybe on a rail cap east of One Museum Park or a park built over the Metra Electric yards at 1500S, where you would have a more pleasant mix of sun and shade throughout the day and across the seasons, instead of all shade all the time. The southwest corner seems like a good site for a building.

It's too bad the actual Central Station was torn down in the 70s, it would have been an amazing historic "foothill" to the wall along Roosevelt and an anchor for the development.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ But everything on the north end of the park is flooded with sunlight, in the summertime until about 6 or 7.

I mean, obviously if you built Millennium Park 2 at the south corner, people would use it. But I think you'd be better off spending that park money elsewhere, maybe on a rail cap east of One Museum Park or a park built over the Metra Electric yards at 1500S, where you would have a more pleasant mix of sun and shade throughout the day and across the seasons, instead of all shade all the time. The southwest corner seems like a good site for a building.

It's too bad the actual Central Station was torn down in the 70s, it would have been an amazing historic "foothill" to the wall along Roosevelt and an anchor for the development.

I think Millennium Park's placement had less to do with abundant sunshine than with the fact that it would be closer to the center of the Loop, rather than being placed on the south end of the Park. If the nexus of Chicago was a few blocks from Michigan and Roosevelt, then you can be sure thats probably where Millennium Park would have gone, despite shadows from skyscrapers.
While sunshine is nice, I don't believe it makes or breaks a great public space.

I fully agree on the loss of Central Station, as well as all the other demolished big Chicago rail terminals, Grand Central and the old Northwestern Station.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by left of center

I think Millennium Park's placement had less to do with abundant sunshine than with the fact that it would be closer to the center of the Loop, rather than being placed on the south end of the Park. If the nexus of Chicago was a few blocks from Michigan and Roosevelt, then you can be sure thats probably where Millennium Park would have gone, despite shadows from skyscrapers.
While sunshine is nice, I don't believe it makes or breaks a great public space.

I fully agree on the loss of Central Station, as well as all the other demolished big Chicago rail terminals, Grand Central and the old Northwestern Station.

Yeah i agree. It’s just a bad idea to use money to cap tracks south of roosevelt bc of sunlight. cap the tracks north of roosevelt so we can have one very large contiguous park that keeps centralizing development and foot traffic.

[RedCorsair87]

^Yes!

[left of center]

Originally Posted by Notyrview

Yeah i agree. It’s just a bad idea to use money to cap tracks south of roosevelt bc of sunlight. cap the tracks north of roosevelt so we can have one very large contiguous park that keeps centralizing development and foot traffic.

And close some streets while you're at it!