The Bank by Chipka
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Description
It looms on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, not far from the rust and scraggle of elevated tracks long past their glory. Flakes of paint (leaded? unleaded?) crunch underfoot, though city workers sweep regularly. The paint flakes, like dandruff, are a normal ingredient in the neighborhood’s odd flavor.
In another age, the intersection saw different traffic. There was no Starbucks, no Borders Books (and Music.) No small bar that caters to the jazz-and-poetry set. In another age, the bank-anchored intersection wore a cloudy glamour of skid-row elegance as junkies and pushers defined whatever odd economies sheltered in the aged and crumbling buildings. There were rats (and there still are) and furniture stores. There were greasy spoons, and kids with dirty hands, cement-scratched knees, and wild, unruly hair.
Now, there are book stores and coffee houses and two grand theaters: one in disuse and the other standing beneath the Sword of Damocles—or perhaps it is the Sword of Daley: an equally dangerous threat, subject to mayoral whims. The city’s mayor has not yet determined that a prefab condo-complex or shopping mall should overshadow the intersection of Broadway and Lawrence. But give him time, he’ll surely correct his lack of vision and destroy what unprotected landmarks stand here. It is the way of this city, a function of the political machine.
But for now, a bank looms over an intersection; it occupies an old building. There are many old buildings in this area and some of them are famous. None have fallen to the wrecking ball yet—though one stands precariously on that brink. It is an empty place now—the Uptown Theater—and if wrecking crews do not claim it, then its mere disuse will see that it crumbles.
* * *
I took this picture not too long ago. As usual I was with Corey. We’d done something mundane and were on the way back to his apartment for dinner and DVDs. When I first returned to Chicago from Prague, I scoured the Uptown neighborhood for photographic subjects. At the time, I found very little, though one of the first posts I’d made in Chicago featured the crumbling elevated train supports and flaked and flaking paint. As I returned with Corey to his apartment for a night of “that photographer’s stuff” I snapped this picture of a building I’d always passed on my way to work. It was odd seeing it in the diminishing twilight, and I wondered—as I do now—if it will remain as such a prominent anchor to a neighborhood that has changed continually, and in subtle ways for more than a decade.
There are no junkies in the neighborhood--at least not in the northern edges of it--but on occasion, if you're (un)lucky, you might pass an extravagantly drunk woman yielding to a bit of urinary necessity in a fairly visible doorway.
Comments (29)
randommariel
Great image!
bclaytonphoto
This is magnificent
alessimarco
I love these angular buildings. This is a great shot!
watapki66
Marvelous building!
KatesFriend
This brings to mind the Exchange District of Winnipeg (when I lived in Manitoba over 20 years ago). Many old antique and neglected buildings that were once the pride of a great prarie city. When I was there, buildings such as this were the host of many a fringe festival while their ultimate fate was determined by the city council. Some councilers eager to knock the whole place down and be rid of the supposedly unseemly district and its people (the theory was that the 'bad' people would disappear somehow), sell the many city blocks to some ambitious developer who would endevour to delete the history and dream of increased municipal taxes. By the way, the fringe festivals in those days were wonderful and the best part of going to Winnipeg. The malls were dreadful. And now I must go and listen to the Spice Girls.
MrsLubner
My dear, I do love these new techniques you have been using. The pov has altered slightly, the postwork has changed... It all comes together in a symphony for the senses.
zulaan
Excellent POV, and great postwork & tones. Beautiful artwork !!!
mbz2662
The atmosphere/mood of this image is perfect and a very apt color for The Bank :)
Crabbycabby
Stunning. Works on all levels. Atmospheric, architecture, the high contrast gives the whole image such a punch, and the narrative draws you right into it. Fantastic.
kgb224
Outstanding work my friend.
whaleman
It would be wrong to lose this building to the wrecker's ball!
helanker
It is a fantastic capture of this amazing building. I like what you did to it too. Powerful and soft at the same time. Awesome.
knupps
The postwork on this image is great. Love it a lot. I think I have been on that place..
beachzz
So many of these old beauties are lost. This one brings to mind old gangster movies for some reason, it just has that kind of look!!
Eresther
Superbe!
MrsRatbag
Fantastically imposing; well done!
auntietk
It makes me wonder if any of the famous gangsters of the 30s ever robbed that particular bank. The dramatic postwork (which I love love love!!!) takes my mind down dark and plot-infested pathways, and I see the classic lines of deco-styled vehicles, hear machine-gun fire and the screech of tires, and see artsy camera angles.
durleybeachbum
Fabulous image! I love the postwork, and, of course, your narrative!
flavia49
superlative work!!
sandra46
SUPERLATIVE IMAGE!!! I'M FASCIANTED BY THE DREAMLIKE QUALITY OF THIS SHOT AND WRITING
bmac62
Oh, no Chip...I had written you a mini-masterpiece here and without thinking, refreshed it and away went my comment! Won't do that again. OK, a quick rerun of what I can remember:) I don't know what manner of hocus-pocus you did to postwork your image above but I love the result. Not B&W, but a wonderful mixture of hues, tones and light...a bit other-worldly. Neat. Chicago must be unlike most any other city in the country in 2010. As a visitor to Chicago I can almost feel the presence of machine polotics. It probably helps the grass-roots loyalists but there may be a large number of citizens who feel at the mercy of City Hall. My adopted home of Kansas City was like that until the authorities finally got "the boss", Tom Pendergast, in about 1941 and stuck him in the Big House here in Leavenworth for tax evasion. Isn't that how Al Capone was finally brought down? Anyway, I love your description of the neighborhood...it is gritty, decaying, smells in places of urine and an eventual target for "development"...which means a lot of money for those in power. Another very good read:)
Alex_Antonov
Remarkable work!
prutzworks
the iron ;)
blondeblurr
In Sydney you will find a 'Corner building' (where two streets meet, amalgamate and then kiss each other) similar to this, but with an even sharper edge to it, right smack-bang in the middle of the city... I always imagined and admired those architects of long ago, who must have had a field day, trying to work out the different mathematics/constructions, compared to other, much plainer looking buildings...wouldn't be a big deal nowadays anymore; that's progress! Old world charm still rules... BB
anmes
Great building and great capture. A few years ago I did a course on architecture and learnt there that Chicargo has very fine legacy of buildings..other RRians(!) have posted others similar images. Thanks for your comments om my recent Prague uploads. there's more to come..not all in the snow!
Djavad
Impression : puissance et évocation
marybelgium
wonderful postwork !
myrrhluz
I read this, looked at the image, and went to work the kinks out of my knees by pulling the clothes out of the dryer. After discovering I had done all except for turning the dryer on I came back and saw your image in a new way. My laptop was tilted back, the top and the bottom of the image were off screen, and I saw it from across the room. The building leaped in orange flame from a black background. It looked wonderful that way too and reinforced some impressions I had already had when I looked at the image before. The postwork caused a fleeting series of impressions to run through my brain, which culminated in an impression that the building what not totally part of the landscape. It looked like it had been pulled out of the similarly colored heavens as a communication point of some kind. Perhaps it exist in another universe as well and this is the point of connection. This is a marvelous image! I love the effects of the postwork! Your narrative brings a pocket of Chicago into sharp focus. It reminds me of the ever changing nature of cities and makes me thing of the fashion mannequin in the shop window in the movie "Time Machine" Excellent image and narrative!
AndreyKiyko
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