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Looking up through the elevator shaft atrium at 300 E Randolph in Chicago

Photographers take photos of the city of Chicago from the 30th floor of the 300 E Randolph Building

Wonderful light fixtures are everywhere you look at @ChiUnionStation. From the older more detailed lights to these more modern-looking versions.

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.867334, -87.654736

October 20, 2024

 

This was the last church that I visited that afternoon. And it was breathtaking! It was a nice way to finish a very productive day. Even if I did break my trusty tripod. ;-)

 

Other shots of this church

 

Here is the church's web site.

 

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Open House Chicago (their web site) is an annual festival of architecture run by the Chicago Architecture Center. It's an opportunity for me to work on one of my favorite projects... Symmetrical Grand Interiors, usually of churches, but other spaces as well. That also resulted in this group Symmetrical Grand Interiors.

 

I was able to spend the day in downtown Chicago photographing auditoriums, ball rooms, and churches, as well as a few other things. It was a good day, tater.

 

By the way, if you're in the Chicago area, and have an inside contact to a facility like this, please let me know. I'd love to photograph it (and give the pictures to the organization).

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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I love interesting clocks. @ChiUnionStation has these and they just remind me of old-time pieces.

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.867334, -87.654736

October 20, 2024

 

Other shots of this church

 

Here is the church's web site.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024, 2025 by Jim Frazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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By Alexander Calder

 

This is at the Federal plaza with the Dirksen Federal Building in the background.

Chicago, Illinois 41.878810, -87.629670

October 20, 2024

 

This is inspired by a photo posted by Jack Blackstone. I finally had a chance to visit the sculpture while I was in the Loop last weekend.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

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This scene drives me crazy. But whenever I find myself in this part of Chicago, I feel the need to photograph it. You always see someone taking the picture and they probably don't recognize the problem that an OCD, lined up, symmetrical guy like me would notice.

 

I'm not sure who screwed up, but if I had a time machine, this is something that I would get fixed. Dang it!

 

You stand in the middle of the intersection one block north of the Board of Trade building, and shoot. Youse takes yer life in your hands, but anything for the shot, right? So many people do this, I'm surprised they don't set up a little concrete reinforced capsule for photographers to stand in to avoid getting kilt by da traffic.

 

On the left, the en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental and Commercial National Bank building. (Wikipedia)

 

In the center, the Chicago Board of Trade Building (Wikipedia)

 

And on the right is the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago building.

 

Other shots with the same angle, just different intersections: www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/14003895246/, www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/7463948970/

 

Open House Chicago

LaSalle Street

Chicago, Illinois shot from 41.878791, -87.632258

October 20, 2024

 

COPYRIGHT 2024, 2025 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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Near North Side / Magnificent Mile

Chicago, Illinois 41.898992, -87.624465

October 15, 2023

 

An addition to the Symmetrical Grand Interiors Collection

 

openhousechicago.org/

 

Fourth Presbyterian Church - wikipedia

 

HDR using 4 images in Lightroom

 

NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Open House Chicago

Near North Side

Chicago, Illinois 41.894652, -87.626548

October 16, 2023

 

Here's the exterior

 

openhousechicago.org/

 

openhousechicago.org/sites/site/st-james-episcopal-cathed...

 

Album: Symmetrical Grand Interiors

 

Technical: HDR from 5 images using Lightroom

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Wikipedia

 

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.855833, -87.624444

October 20, 2024

 

Here is a reverse view shot from the front of the church

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/54486590812/

 

Here is the first picture in the series - with a lot of additional information.

 

This is part of my Symmetrical Grand Interiors project, usually of churches, but other spaces as well.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.878489, -87.632596

October 20, 2024

 

Here is the first picture in the series - with a lot of additional information.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Near North Side

Chicago, Illinois 41.893900, -87.627100

October 16, 2023

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_House

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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This photo is taken for #FlickrFriday's weekly theme #Arches. Thank you for your visit :) . And many thanks to #ChicagoArchitectureCenter for OHC2019.

Fourth Presbyterian Church

Near North Side / Magnificent Mile

Chicago, Illinois 41.898992, -87.624465

October 15, 2023

 

An addition to the Grand Interiors Collection

 

openhousechicago.org/

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Presbyterian_Church_(Chicago)

 

HDR using 5 images in Lightroom

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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This is a reverse view of this shot

www.flickr.com/photos/jimfrazier/54096288765/

 

Wikipedia about the church

 

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.855833, -87.624444

October 20, 2024

 

This is part of my Symmetrical Grand Interiors project, usually of churches, but other spaces as well.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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A centerpiece of the Pier's original 1916 construction, the 18,000 square foot Grand Ballroom embodies the opulence of the era. It features an 80-foot domed ceiling outlined in 3,000 lights, a balcony, a capacity of 1,400 people, and dramatic views of Lake Michigan. from the OHC website and wikipedia

 

See the previous images for a reverse view and for an exterior view.

 

This was the main shot that I wanted from the Open House this year. It struck me as just the kind of grand interior that I like. And it didn't disappoint when I walked into the room.

 

However, I'm underwhelmed by the photo. Unlike my other pictures of this genre, there's stuff that provide some depth to the picture...pews, seats, lighting, artwork along the walls, pillars, etc. This just a big empty space. And it's round, so you don't even get walls functioning as leading lines.

 

So I like the picture, mostly because I was there. But you folks have permission to not like it.

 

Technical: This was shot on a tripod, on a stage, about as perfectly centered as I could get it. And I used HDR to balance the light coming in from the windows.

 

Navy Pier

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.891828, -87.599620

October 24, 2024

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Fourth Presbyterian Church

Near North Side / Magnificent Mile

Chicago, Illinois 41.898745, -87.624502

October 15, 2023

 

openhousechicago.org/

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Presbyterian_Church_(Chicago)

 

HDR using 5 images in Lightroom

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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Housed in a rare example of a pre-Chicago Fire structure, St. Ignatius College Prep at 1076 W. Roosevelt Rd. celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Since its founding in 1869 by Arnold Damen, S.J., the five-story brick edifice with its carved wooden doors and lion heads has welcomed generations of young men and, since 1979, young women. Among the unique spaces is the 1887-1888 Brunswick Room featuring elaborate cabinets and woodwork installed by the Brunswick Company for the school’s natural history museum, the Foglia Library, the “Chicago gallery” of architectural artifacts in the Driehaus building, and Father Damen’s office. The site was made even more interesting by the large number of alumni – many in maroon and gold stripe ties – assisting with the presentations.

Details, details, details. So many details at @ChiUnionStation. From the older more detailed lights to these more modern-looking versions. I wouldn't want to be the one who has to dust these!

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

Chicago, Illinois 41.890118, -87.627945

October 15, 2023

 

COPYRIGHT 2023, 2025 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.901196, -87.632527

October 20, 2024

 

Technical: I usually like to straighten the verticals - I'm not a big fan of keystoning like this. It happens when you tilt the camera up. BUT I wanted to capture the dome as well as the nave, so needs must.

 

Wikipedia article

 

Page on Open House Chicago site

 

Here is the first picture in the series - with a lot of additional information.

 

This is part of my Symmetrical Grand Interiors project, usually of churches, but other spaces as well.

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Anglo-Catholic* Episcopal Church

 

Open House Chicago

Near North Side

Chicago, Illinois 41.902965, -87.632578

October 15, 2023

 

*When I walked into this church, I was stunned by the presence of a crucifix and the stations of the cross. I typically only see those in Catholic churches. So I learned about the Anglo-Catholic flavor of Anglicanism. TILT!

 

openhousechicago.org/sites/site/church-of-the-ascension-e...

 

Album: Symmetrical Grand Interiors

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Ascension%2C_Chicago

 

Technical: HDR from 6 images using Lightroom

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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Amtrak building - @ChiUnionStation

 

The curved metal is from the park behind @320SouthCanal by @goettschpartners

The main entrance to Chicago's Union Station.

 

You could spend hours just hanging around this location in the morning when the sun is coming up.

I wanted an exterior shot to give the next pictures of the interior some context. And if you're wondering why the building looks so weird, that's a function of straightening out the keystone effect and that it's shot at 14mm.

 

Navy Pier Grand Ballroom

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.891498, -87.598592

October 20, 2024

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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Rossi's

Near North Side

Chicago, Illinois 41.889724, -87.627908

October 15, 2023

 

After taking this picture, I went to get something to slake my thirst. Alas the bar was full (the Bears were playing - badly).

 

They have a pretty nice web site for such a divey place rossischicago.com/

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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The scale of skyscrapers over the decades. Models made to scale.

Our Lady of Sorrows was raised to a basilica in 1956 for its artistic value and the work of Mother Novena. Dedicated in 1902, construction began in 1890 at 3121 W. Jackson Blvd. The barrel-vaulted ceiling consists of more than 1,100 separate gold-leafed panels. The high altar is built entirely of white carrara marble. It is one of three basilicas in Chicago.

 

Photographs from Open House Chicago 2018, one of my District Coordinator sites. This is one of the most impressive sites during this and all Open House weekends.

H. H. Richardson's last surviving work in Chicago was commissioned by John and Frances Glessner. The Glessner House’s radical design perplexed neighbors but was quickly embraced by architects for its innovative floor plan. With principal rooms facing inward toward a light-filled private courtyard, it helped create a new American style of residential architecture. Its collection of original furnishings features pieces representing the Aesthetic, Modern Gothic and Arts and Crafts movements of England and the United States. The residence at 1800 S. Prairie Ave. was saved from demolition in 1966, thanks to efforts that resulted in the creation of both Glessner House and the Chicago Architecture Center.

 

Photograph at Chicago Architecture Center Open House Chicago 2021.

 

St. Mary of the Lake was established in 1901, at a time when only six Catholic families lived in the Buena Park area. Construction on the current church building at 4200 N. Sheridan Rd., designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks in the Italian Renaissance style, began in 1913. The church was dedicated in 1917, but work continued for years on the lavish interior containing Carrara marble sculpted in Italy, stained-glass made in Germany and a ceiling painted in gilded gold.

 

Photograph at Chicago Architecture Center Open House Chicago 2019.

 

Our Lady of Sorrows was raised to a basilica in 1956 for its artistic value and the work of Mother Novena. Dedicated in 1902, construction began in 1890 at 3121 W. Jackson Blvd. The barrel-vaulted ceiling consists of more than 1,100 separate gold-leafed panels. The high altar is built entirely of white carrara marble. It is one of three basilicas in Chicago.

 

Photographs from Open House Chicago 2018, one of my District Coordinator sites. This is one of the most impressive sites during this and all Open House weekends.

St. James Cathedral - exterior

Open House Chicago

Near North Side

Chicago, Illinois 41.894652, -87.626548

October 16, 2023

 

Technical: This looks a little over-processed. It is. It took much perspective correction and a lot of masking, dodging, and burning. Here's the original picture

 

Here is the interior

 

openhousechicago.org/

 

openhousechicago.org/sites/site/st-james-episcopal-cathed...

 

COPYRIGHT 2023 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

  

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St. Ita Parish was founded in Edgewater in 1900. The current French Gothic church, which opened at 5500 N. Broadway in 1927, was the highlight of architect Henry Schlacks’ distinguished career as a church architect. The open tower contains 1,800 tons of Bedford limestone and rises to 120 feet in height. Elaborate Gothic detailing marks the altar, but the medallion windows containing more than 200,000 pieces of stained glass, designed by Schlacks, highlight the interior. The sanctuary seats 700.

 

Photograph at Chicago Architecture Center Open House Chicago 2021.

 

St. Mary of the Lake was established in 1901, at a time when only six Catholic families lived in the Buena Park area. Construction on the current church building at 4200 N. Sheridan Rd., designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks in the Italian Renaissance style, began in 1913. The church was dedicated in 1917, but work continued for years on the lavish interior containing Carrara marble sculpted in Italy, stained-glass made in Germany and a ceiling painted in gilded gold.

 

Photograph at Chicago Architecture Center Open House Chicago 2019.

 

If you've never popped into @ChiUnionStation you really should.

 

It's iconic and gorgeous and there is something to notice and see at every glance.

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

Driehaus Museum

Open House Chicago

Chicago, Illinois 41.894168, -87.626249

October 20, 2024

 

Here is the first picture in the series - with a lot of additional information.

 

Located at 50 East Erie, the six-story, 32,193-square-foot French Renaissance-style building, purchased by the Driehaus Museum in 2022, was built between 1923 and 1926 by the American College of Surgeons. Designed by noted Chicago architects Benjamin Marshall and Charles E. Fox of Marshall and Fox, the Murphy was used originally to host meetings and serve as a center for education in surgery. Its iconic exterior is Marshall’s interpretation of the double-columned, two-story façade and flanking entry staircase of the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Consolation (1900) in Paris. (from press release)

 

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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@320SouthCanal reflected in @300SouthRiverside

 

I took only my 100mm lens to Union Station and the surrounding area.

Limiting? Yes.

Frustrating at times? Yes.

Made it work? Yes.

Views from the 42-floor deck of the Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett and Dart condominium at 2650 N. Lakeview Ave. We lived down the street at 2500 N. Lakeview Ave. for 22 years.

 

Photograph from Open House Chicago 2018.

From the stage looking to the back of the house

 

From the 2016 Open House Chicago

 

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Civic Opera Building

Chicago, Illinois 41.88259,-87.63781

October 15, 2016

 

While adding a previous picture to the Civic Opera Building

album, I noticed that I didn't have this shot. Even though I remember photographing the interior. Luckily, I save ALL of my pictures and pried this one up from the dusty archives. I don't think I used it at the time because it wasn't very good...too dark, noisy, etc. But I gave it another shot. Still not great, but not bad either.

 

COPYRIGHT 2016, 2025 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

 

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The ceiling in the Great Hall at @ChiUnionStation is looking fantastic after having been recently refurbished.

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

A quick post from an outing yesterday.

 

I took only my 100mm lens to Union Station.

Limiting? Yes.

Frustrating at times? Yes.

Made it work? Yes.

Lots of intriguing angles, shapes and reflections at @jll property @550westadams

 

I think another day spent in and around Union Station is necessary.

Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is the first African-American congregation in Chicago. Formed in 1844 as a seven-person prayer group, the congregation worshipped in several different locations around downtown Chicago. With many abolitionists among their ranks, the church became a station on the Underground Railroad, offering food, supplies and safe haven for fugitive slaves. The congregants purchased the current property at S. Wabash Avenue and E. 24th Street in 1890 and hired architect Henry F. Starbuck to design this rusticated limestone and brick building with Romanesque massing and Gothic details. The building houses community and administrative services on the first floor, with a sanctuary at the second story. The original wood doors and windows survive, as have most of the fixed art-glass lights at the sanctuary level.

 

Photograph at Chicago Architecture Center Open House Chicago 2021. Because of time constraints and the having attended a Landmarks Illinois presentation three years ago (at which I recommended Quinn Chapel become an Open House Chicago site), I did not take today’s excellent tour.

 

Around Union Station Reflections Lauri Novak

There are so many incredible details in @ChiUnionStation I could spend days wandering around with my camera finding them.

 

I highly recommend the @chiarchitecture tour. Very informative with access to a couple of rooms you never get to see.

 

This next series of mine will be focused on details. Considering I only had my @CanonUSA 100mm lens with me.

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