Plying the Plaza by CoreyBlack
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Description
This is the view from the plaza running parallel to the Chicago River between Michigan and Wabash Avenues in downtown Chicago. In this shot, from the Michigan Avenue side, you can see the sky-bridge/walkway connecting the two sections of the 1920s-Gothic Wrigley Building. Further west on the Plaza, towards Wabash Avenue is where the old Chicago Sun-Times building stood from 1958 to 2005. Remnants of that building can be glimpsed in the movie Batman Returns with Christian Bale in the title role.
I became intimately familiar with this plaza and the old Sun-Times building in the 9 years that I'd worked for the newspaper. Unfortunately, the Sun-Times building was destroyed and is now replaced by the Trump Tower (seen looming in the background here.) It is nice, however to see that the Wrigley Building looks the same, and that its distinctive, precarious walkway is still intact.
This picture was made on March 14th, 2010.
Comments (12)
parrotdolphin
I always enjoy your photos and the comment you make on them. I learn bit more about Chicago with each photo you post. So thanks!
beachzz
Wow, this is amazing; I'd love to walk across that bridge!!
blinkings
Nice work mate.
Chipka
For as many times as I've walked under that darn thing, I've never stopped to photograph it. I think it's usually because I am always attempting to catch the details of the buildings themselves: they're really richly encrusted with all sorts of Chicago-Gothic visual excitement. This is really spectacular and I love the way Trump's "accomplishment" is looming at a rakish angle. And yeah, I remember seeing the Sun-Times building immortalized in Batman Returns. When the building was torn down, it was like striking a set; I'm sure that all of the movie debris was just chucked into a dumpster along with a bit of Chicago history. This is a great shot. I love the height in it.
whaleman
Gives me the willies just looking up at it! Great shot!
durleybeachbum
It makes me feel quite ill even from this angle! A great compo, though!
Sea_Dog
Very nice - amazing example of the urban environment. I really like this POV.
sandra46
how wonderful! I really love it!!!
flavia49
Marvelous POV!!
KatesFriend
You don't see structures quite like this anymore. The spanning bridge connecting two buildings. I expect that they are deemed too dangerous or too much of an eye sore to the skyline that most cities have stopped allowing them to be constructed. There used to be many spans like this in old industrial Toronto. No doubt put in place to hasten communication and movement of documents between executive offices of separate buildings. The now all but vanished factories and breweries of the waterfront, born in the early 20th Century, they represented a by gone era of the industrial age. On the side though: Ah, the Chicago Sun-Times, one of Conrad Black's old haunts. You know I wouldn't blame you guys if you booted him back to Canada. Though he quite tactlessly renounced his homeland (my homeland) so we really don't want him back.
auntietk
The angle at which you photographed this makes for a dizzying view! Excellent capture. I love seeing bits of Chicago. :)
myrrhluz
Once again I got distracted. It's no wonder I am hopelessly behind in comments. I went looking for a Google street view because I was curious about the triangle at the top left. I guess it is the tower with the clock? This is an interesting building. I wish Leslie and I had walked onto the plaza rather than just around the front when we were in Chicago. In the angle on Google where I could see the walkway, the part of the building on the left looked like it had very little depth and went up to a tower that was thicker. Obviously not the case, but very trippy to look at. This view is trippy too. My stomach did a little flop, which it usually only does when I look doooowwwwn. I like this a lot, not only for the dizzying, flop producing angle, but also for the great detail and contrast. Terrific capture and interesting narrative! (I got distracted again by the date of the Chicago Sun-Times building's demise) According to www.chicagoarchitecture.info the week Leslie and I were there was the week of the "Big Pour" of the Trump Tower. Great image and very interesting post that sent me way off on several detours!