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Look, I think everyone in the neighborhood realizes the area has morphed into a sloshy entertainment district and theres no sense in trying to turn that around (although despite your claims it wasnt always this way, at least not the way it is now..if anything it was borderline slummy all through the 70s and 80s). But it remains true as well that neighbors should certainly have a say in their quality of life. And for a team that has profited so handily off the image and reality of being a neighborhood and urban ballpark, saying the surrounding area dosent deserve a voice is disingenuous. Now if the owners want to bastardize the park and the building's heritage thats their choice, but I dont think its out of line for city residents to demand a higher standard. |
I understand your point. Just to play devil's advocate though, would that differ from a neighborhood persons input that demands a reduction in a proposed buildings height or for a project to include more parking? Many times I feel neighborhood residents are selfish with their "ideas" for improvements, and will often neglect what the rest of the city wants or needs for an area.
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And I can't see how you can not see much wrong with the plans for the park. Have you seen the garish faux-historical town square with LED fixtures in the planned plaza and the Disney clock tower? Its all just so dumbed down and frankly not befitting of one of the biggest tourist attractions the city has to offer. It really does seem to be a mix of Vegas meets Disney on a massive scale. The jumbotron is more of an issue for the fans then it is for the neighborhood IMO (except the rooftoppers). I guess I've found myself to be in the minority but I find looking out into the urban neighborhood, the lake, and sky above Chicago to be so much endlessly beautiful and intriguing then blaring jumbotrons and kiss cams will be. I've been to other parks (Coors, Miller, Yankee, The Cell) and stadiums and I honestly feel like I'm deprived of nothing by not having one. And I think when you put up used car signs and jumbo trons you will take away a lot of what some people find unique and awesome about Wrigley which is kind of a serene and old time feel. LED's and jumbtrons isn't what makes a stadium modern. I fear that Wrigley will now have the worst negatives of old school stadiums (cramped, obstructed views) while having the worst of the new school stadiums (over commercialized, trite diversions, faux-history etc.) The Ricketts I think are attempting to be both modern while paying lip service to Wrigleys classical nature and in the end will do neither well. As a result the park will suffer more from mediocrity then a great blend of new and old. Its all such a shame because I really think that the Ricketts in their short sightedness are cutting off Wrigleys nose despite its face. By disregarding and I dare say disrespecting what most makes Wrigley unique to many people they ultimately are killing its attraction and by extension in the long term diminishing their product and brand all for a few extra million per year. Millions that I think they will lose anyway when tourist and the non hardcore fans will stop coming in the lean years because they don't regard Wrigley as that special or unique anymore. I'm all for modernizing the ballpark but I'm for making REAL substantial upgrades. Unobstructed views. Raising the upper deck. More skyboxes above the upper second level. A new transparent roof (or even solar roof) like in some new European soccer stadiums. A glass curtain ringing the exterior of the park instead of some cheap link fencing or iron. Some ideas with real creative design and architectural panache. Heck, I wouldn't mind a whole foul pole to foul pole tear down (I think keeping the outfield intact would be wise however) with maybe a Target Field (Twins new stadium) modernity with a PNC Park (Pittsburgh) intimacy. I just see little else here other then missed opportunities at best and defacing schlock at worst. |
In new news......
Seems like the Ricketts just can't deal with getting only 99% of what they ask for and so have to keep pushing until they get another victory. Quote:
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http://chicagoist.com/attachments/ch..._sheffield.jpg from Chicagoist
I hadn't seen this rendering for the redesign of the Captain Morgan building; it looks stunning. At least this building is a little nugget of goodness that will come out of the Wrigley renovations... |
The design of the development across the street seems to get uglier with time:
http://imageshack.us/a/img706/3521/5anl.png http://imageshack.us/a/img13/2531/w8ib.png http://imageshack.us/a/img703/7841/62ko.png |
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WHAT THE GODDAMN HELL?
They can't buy Sportsworld so they decide to copy its design out of spite or something? Gray, unfinished concrete block makes for a gorgeous veneer! :rolleyes: |
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Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with using raw concrete as a material, there is something wrong with building bunkers out of raw concrete and calling them "buildings". This building has all the grace of the most poorly executed brutalist buildings of the 1970's. The problem with designs like this is that, once they age and age poorly at that, they will be so hated that people will lump in excellent buildings of this style/era with them and call for wholesale demolition. We see this time and again in every generation of architecture. It's happening right now everyone sees a horrendous piece of brutalist crap and goes "That building is awful, therefore all bulky buildings made of concrete are ugly and should be demolished". It's idiot reasoning, but it's how people think. So we are losing gems like Prentice because we allowed a good deal of shitty buildings like the AT&T exchange tower or Social Security Administration building in the same style to be built. Speaking of brutalist preservation, someone needs to get UIC tower landmarked and repaired before UIC decides they are going to try to raze it. We can't afford to lose a building that is that awesome. Also, is Weese's 17th Church landmarked? We better do that before some neanderthal like BNK comes along and tries to do away with that masterpiece as well. |
^^Yuck.
Major downgrade on that redesign. I used to be a supporter of that development south of Addison and now its just devolved into a garbage design. This is the type of crap that makes people fight against neighborhood developments, el cheapo developer sells the neighborhood a bill of goods and then decide to churn out a ugly, characterless "building" that will be a visual downgrade of the streetscape. I hope the Rickets just buy that neighboring project outright and start over with the design at this point. |
So season is over. How quickly do we expect them to start on any renovations?
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,5060221.story |
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Another Day, Another Utterly Frivelous NIMBY Lawsuit
Crain's reporting today that an apartment landlord Wrigley neighbor is filed a lawsuit to 'overturn' approval of the Ricketts hotel development. Not at all a fan of the design of course, but that's pretty irrelevant, as there certainly appears to be utterly no merit behind this suit.....let's hope this one gets dismissed quickly.....
I wish the city would aggressively go after the frivelous NIMBY lawsuit plaintiffs, through every single legal channel available (yes, I am foremost thinking additionally of Riverbend Condos, but there are certainly others....) |
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I saw this guy at Plan Commission, what a joke. He admitted to buying his adjacent rental property in the 1980's, which means he is just printing money at this point as buildings near Wrigley Field sold for next to nothing back then. I only wonder what he charges for rent now compared to the mid 80's? The fact the he admitted to the neighborhood being a better and more valuable place now proves that Wrigley Field and Clark St nightlife has NOT had a diminutive effect on property value. The most hilarious part of the lawsuit, this joker wants $6 million in damages paid to him. Nothing has even happened yet on this project. :haha: |
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BX21AeTCEAEzdm3.jpg
Cubs Erect Mock-Up of Right Field Sign, Say It Doesn't Block Views Quote:
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Ughh. The Ricketts just show they are void of any taste every step of the way.
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:yuck:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-528eb0c0/t...y-20131121/573 Advertising arch across Clark unveiled as part of Wrigley Field renovation http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/p...,5756216.story |
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