bKL Architecture 2010 - 2020

Jay Pridmore

bKL Architecture and Steel Bridge Books

The American Bicycle

Engineering & Transportation

Automotive

Motorbooks

There is no better way to see downtown Chicago---a dazzling canyon of glass, metal, masonry, and marble---than by taking the Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise. 
The Chicago River affords one of the best vantage points from which to enjoy this city's remarkable buildings and historic sites. The Foundation's open-air boats provide comfort and an unobstructed view, while its exceptionally knowledgeable and witty docents enrich the tour with commentary on Chicago's history and development, insights on how its world-class buildings came to be constructed, and stories of the visionaries who designed them. To round out this mix of visual euphoria and intellectual edification, there's a brief and fascinating overview of Chicago's dominant stylistic influences: the Chicago School, Art Deco, the International Style, and Postmodernism. The tour is a great way for visitors to learn about the city---and a source of fresh perspectives for those who live there. 
Forty-three stunning Hedrich Blessing photographs convey the splendor and diversity of downtown Chicago's building---all featured attractions of the Foundation's cruise. The text, by longtime Chicago Tribune contributor Jay Pridmore, tells the story of Chicago's early history and reviews the significance of the Chicago River in the development of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 
96 pages. 48 full-color photographs including a map of the Chicago River area. Includes indexes of architects and buildings. Paperbound book, with flaps. Size: 8 x 10."

A View from the River: The Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise (Pomegranate Catalog)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Pomegranate

Marshall Field built the largest department store in the world at the time, and his architect Daniel Burnham, following Field's dictum "dazzle the customer with opulence," created a store unmatched in elegance. 
Influenced by the Florentine palazzi of the Renaissance, Beaux-Arts monumentalism, and the Chicago School, the exterior of Marshal Field's radiated a luxury that only hinted at the elegance inside. An extravagantly beautiful Louis Tiffany tesserae dome poured light onto all who entered; a soaring balcony allowed women to see and be seen. Field's was as close to a temple of commerce as any building has ever come. 
Jay Pridmore is an architectural historian who has written widely about the people and ideas behind the building of Chicago. His 1993 book Chicago Architecture and Design, coauthored with George Larson, is one of the city's most popular books about local architecture.

Marshall Field's (A Building Book)

Chicago Architecture Foundation

Business & Money

The Nation's Largest Retailer wanted the largest headquarters in the nation, and they got it -- in spades. Designed by Skidmore, Owings &amp; Merrill (SOM), the 110-story, anodized aluminum-clad Sears Tower occupies three acres in the West Loop. The bundled-tube construction allowed for more windows and more corner offices per square foot. The total area within the Tower is 4.4 million square feet; the Sky Deck on the 103rd floor offers tremendous views and welcomes more than 1 million visitors yearly.
When SOM realized that their design was only ten stories short of what was supposed to be the record-breaking height of the World Trade Center then under construction (1,368 feet), they broke the record, coming in at 1,454 feet. The move of Sears and Roebuck employees into the Tower was the biggest corporate move in American history. In the late 1980s Sears and Roebuck left the building, but it continues to thrive, a timeless monument to American ingenuity.

Sears Tower: A Building Book from the Chicago Architecture Foundation

History

Americas

Praised in 1888 as the largest and finest office building in the country--all eleven stories--The Rookery featured both masonry load-bearing walls and skeletal frame construction. Architect John Wellborn Root lavished exquisite care on The Rookery, built on the site of the former City Hall and named after its dirty pigeons and corrupt politicians. Frank Lloyd Wright modernized The Rookery in 1905, changing the light fixtures and covering old dark iron surfaces with incised Carrara marble. Today The Rookery stands as a first-class office building. By Jay Pridmore, photographs by Hedrich Blessing. Published with the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

The Rookery: A Building Book from the Chicago Architecture Foundation (Pomegranate Catalog)

Daniel H. Burnham &amp; Co.'s glass-covered Reliance Building, built in 1890-1891 and then extended to fifteen stories in 1895, is a granddaddy of today's skyscrapers. The enormous flat and projecting bay windows invited abundant natural light, and the steel-frame structure, covered with twelve thousand pieces of white terra-cotta decorated with Gothic-style elements, was unique in office building construction. By Jay Pridmore, photographs by Hedrich Blessing. Published with the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

The Reliance Building: A Building Book from the Chicago Architecture Foundation (Pomegranate Catalog)

The Museum of Science and industry in Chicago captivates more than two million visitors a year. Since its founding in 1933, it has sought to bring before the public the full scope of the dramatic technological changes that have created the modern world. This celebratory volume is the first to make the Museum's landmark architecture, rich history, and lively interactive exhibits accessible to readers everywhere.

Museum of Science and Industry Chicago

Example Product Manufacturer

FitzGerald, a century of Chicago architecture, 1919-2019

History Works

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Books by Jay Pridmore