Am I the only one who can't wait for this building to be imploded? (Chicago: homes, club)

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Did you get your talking points from 1956?

Actually, if you want to be accurate, it was the talking points to which he was responding that sounded like they were from 1956.

[sfcambridge]

Originally Posted by rparz

The building is in generally good repair, and NW has plenty of cash and a fantastic site 3x the size a block away. They could even put in a few floors of parking garage and do everyone a favor.
.

Actually, that empty lot already has a construction plan. It's slated for building a new Rehabilitation Hospital for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The original plan was to build a new hospital for inpatients, and will keep the current building for research/outpatient. For some reason the construction seems to be stalled. But this is a completely independent project from the plan for the controversial building.

It is definitely important for them to build a link from these "distant" sites to the main hospital complex underground. Many faculty/docs have offices in distant buildings on the East side, and go back and forth among the hospitals during the day. It becomes problematic during winter/bad weather, as it doesn't work well carrying coats/boots when you are going in and out of patient's rooms on rounds etc... Dirty... contaminating... Also patients need to be transported from the Rehab hospital(s) to the Northwestern hospitals for tests all the time. When the tunnels occasionally are closed for construction, patients have to be transported by ambulance just to go 1 or 2 blocks.

I love the old Cook County building. Honestly, I'd rather preserve that! Down with the prison....

[linicx]

I don't live in Chicago, but I do have an interest in preserving history if at all possible. The fact this thread generated so many replies made me very curious.

I have a lot of questions that I have not seen answered.
1. When was it built and why is it considered a historical landmark?
2. Is it financially feasible to retrofit it? HVAC, electrical and plumbing, and possibly windows
3. What is its structural condition? Would it stand, say, for another 50 years?
4. What it is cost difference between repurposing the building vs demolition and cleanup, legal costs, architectural costs, HVAC, General contractor labor, machine, and material costs, for the purpose of erecting a turn key building without over run costs, furnishings, floorings, draperies, wall covering, or medical and research equipment?

I think #2 and #3 will seal a deal. Not tearing it down will certainly keep a massive quantity out of the landfill which begs the question, if old concrete roads can be torn up and repurposed for new roads, can the same be said for old and new buildings?

I've done a fair amount of remodeling old houses. With a building that size is it feasible to strip copper wire, HVAC and vents, plumbing lines, sinks, toilets, windows and doors to sell or donate before demolition? At the very least it is labor intensive.

Where's Tom?

[ChiNaan]

A Gem Cast Off Chicago's Architectural Crown : NPR

This story does a good job giving both sides of the argument, IMO.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by j_cat

What I'm concerned about is avoiding the frightening intolerance of demanding that something be DESTROYED just because you don't like it. I mean what could be more "arrogant" than that?

I think it's the building's owners that demand it be destroyed, not the participants in this thread. For the owners not to like it is within their rights. As far as intolerance goes I'm willing to tolerate the destruction of the building.

[linicx]

The article and picture gave me a different prospective. The comments made me chuckle. Maybe the real problem is "old Prentice" is Chicago's Edsel and the denizens of the city never did much care for it.

From my POV, which has no bearing, it doesn't look or feel Chicago. I reminds me a building that would be better placed in LA or Vegas.

I had a neighbor who built a brick house that did not have a square corner inside or out. It is very unusual, but at the same time it is in a wooded area with no close neighbors. It never did draw much attention because it is not aesthetically offensive.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

A Gem Cast Off Chicago's Architectural Crown : NPR

This story does a good job giving both sides of the argument, IMO.

[C. Maurio]

Originally Posted by Drover

Prentice Women's Hospital gets a temporary reprieve - chicagotribune.com

I'm sorry but the building is fugly. Yes, it's "architecturally significant" ... it's an architecturally significant eyesore. If you just must look at a similarly ugly "architecturally significant" eyesore, River City is only a couple miles away.

If it were practical to retrofit this place into the kind of state-of-the-art medical facility that would replace it, I might be a bit sympathetic to the preservationists' concerns. Otherwise... take pictures for posterity and then blow the place up.

I agree. The thing looks like a Soviet era gulag!

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by C. Maurio

I agree. The thing looks like a Soviet era gulag!

While I realize not everyone has the opportunity to travel to Eastern Europe, there is really no excuse for not going to your library and reading a book or two, or even doing a google search. This building doesn't even remotely look like Soviet architecture, let alone a gulag camp, which didn't tend to involve permanent structures at all. If you're going to use hyperbole, at least pick something that fits.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

While I realize not everyone has the opportunity to travel to Eastern Europe, there is really no excuse for not going to your library and reading a book or two, or even doing a google search. This building doesn't even remotely look like Soviet architecture, let alone a gulag camp, which didn't tend to involve permanent structures at all. If you're going to use hyperbole, at least pick something that fits.

Yeah, but I know just what Maurio meant, so did you.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Yeah, but I know just what Maurio meant, so did you.

You do? If he meant something other than "Waahhh, I know nothing about architecture or anything else, but I don't like this!" then I have no idea what it was.