AIA Guide to Chicago

NOTE FROM THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

xiii This guide should clarify our vision of Chicago. For the past two years, Alice Sinkevitch has sent into our neighborhoods a dedicated troop of scouts who have trained themselves to see the city with open minds and keen eyes. There were a few practicing architects among them, but the majority were amateurs in the most loving sense of the word. Many are docents for the Chicago Architecture Foundation and have had a critical part in creating a political and educational environment in which preservation is possible. Others are dedicated preservationists who have worked within the city government and cultural institutions. Their greatest accomplishment, however, was not only to have cataloged the city’s famous buildings but also to have captured the rich diversity of the built environment. There is a gritty integrity to Chicago’s neighborhoods. Their buildings remind us that until quite recently, architecture was a craft handed down through the generations. This guide is a monument to the breadth of our scouts’ interests and to the clarity of their observations. It will help us to see Chicago as a whole and to recognize in it a much richer architectural culture than many of us might have expected. Now that we have the book, let’s go out and look at the city. It’s all here— the vain efforts to scratch out a place in architectural history, the confident works of genius, and the spontaneous outpourings of decorative invention that sometimes result from the simple task of laying brick. —jack hartray, faia, 1993 note fRom the PRefACe to the fIRst eDItIon In order to view this proof accurately, the Overprint Preview Option must be checked in Acrobat Professional or Adobe Reader. Please contact your Customer Service Representative if you have questions about finding the option. Job Name: -- /359560t In order to view this proof accurately, the Overprint Preview Option must be checked in Acrobat Professional or Adobe Reader. Please contact your Customer Service Representative if you have questions about finding the option. Job Name: -- /359560t ...