9/29/17

Tomorrow's House of Tomorrow, October 24

Latest Updates on 1933 House of Tomorrow Rehab
When: Tuesday, October 24, 2017; 4:30 p.m. reception, illustrated talk at 5:00 p.m.; dinner from 6:00 -7:00 p.m.
What:  The preservation effort for the House of Tomorrow is getting underway.  The 1933 World's Fair ideal house pavilion was designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck.   In addition to rehab, a relevant question is this: What will Tomorrow's House of Tomorrow be?
Lead architect, Charles Hasbrouck, FAIA, of bKL Architecture has assembled a team under the supervision of Indiana Landmarks, with project manager Todd Zeiger. This group includes Edward Torres, preservation expert at Bauer Latoza Studio, Helen Kessler, on sustainability, Michael Ford, structural engineering, Jose Rodriguez, engineering services, of Willoughby Engineering.

The national treasure is currently on view and is undergoing preservation work in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park in Indiana. In the early 1930s, as America was in the grips of the Great Depression, the twelve-sided International Style “House of Tomorrow” showed millions of World’s Fair attendees in Chicago (and people all over the world) a gleaming, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be like in the future. Learn also about the challenges of preserving a Modernist icon, what time has done to the house, and what can be done to help restore it to its former glory. Please join us for this interesting presentation!
Cost: No charge for members, non-member guests. 
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special dinner by Chef Victor; validated parking after 4:00 p.m., $14.00 at the Adams-Wabash garage, SW corner, get parking card from night manager at the Cliff Dwellers).
RSVP: Reservations are required for the talk: To sign up, please contact Judy Freeman by email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited. Optional dinner, details above.

9/17/17

Chagall murals, Sept. 28; House of Tomorrow, Oct. 24, Wright around the World, Nov. 16

 “The Gift”, a film about Marc Chagall’s Four Seasons murals in Chicago
When: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, 4:30 p.m. reception, with film showing from 5:15-6:20 p.m., dinner at 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago, IL. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special Chef Victor French dinner). Validated parking, details as at left.
What: A viewing of “The Gift: Four Seasons Mosaic of Marc Chagall”, directed by Chuck Olin, a 1974 re-digitized documentary film on the creation and installation of the mural. It will be introduced by Sandy Collins, granddaughter of William Wood Prince, whose Prince Charitable Trust donated the mural to the City of Chicago. The mural was installed at the east edge of the First National Bank (now Chase Tower) Plaza on Sept. 27, 1974. Composed of thousands of inlaid chips in over 250 colors, Marc Chagall’s mosaic artwork The Four Seasons portrays six scenes of Chicago. It features images informed by the artist’s Russian-Jewish heritage and found in his Surrealist paintings, such as birds, fish, flowers, suns and pairs of lovers. Chagall maintained, “The seasons represent human life, both physical and spiritual, at its different ages.” The design for this mosaic was created in Chagall’s studio in France, transferred onto full-scale panels and installed in Chicago with the help of a skilled mosaicist. Chagall continued to modify his design after its arrival in Chicago, bringing up-to-date the areas containing the city’s skyline (last seen by the artist 30 years before installation) and adding pieces of native Chicago brick. The Chagall mosaic was restored in 1994. Thanks to Sandy Collins for graciously sharing this film!
Cost: Admission is free for CCSAH members and guests.
RSVP: Reservations are required for the film. To reserve a spot, please contact Judy Freeman by email:jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited.

Todd Zeiger on architect George Fred Keck’s House of Tomorrow of 1933
When: Tuesday, October 24, 2017; 4:30 p.m. reception, illustrated talk at 5:30 p.m.; dinner from 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special dinner by Chef Victor; validated parking after 4:00 p.m., $14.00 at the Adams-Wabash garage, SW corner, get parking card from night manager at the Cliff Dwellers).
What: A talk by Todd Zeiger, Director of the Northern Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks. The office of Indiana Landmarks, along with a team from the National Trust and from the National Park Service, is directing the preservation effort aimed at saving the House of Tomorrow, the 1933 Worlds Fair ideal house pavilion designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck (1895-1980), one of several modern houses at the fair. The national treasure is currently on view and is undergoing preservation work in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park in Indiana. In the early 1930s, as America was in the grips of the Great Depression, the twelve-sided International Style “House of Tomorrow” showed millions of World’s Fair attendees in Chicago (and people all over the world) a gleaming, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be like in the future. Learn also about the challenges of preserving a Modernist icon, what time has done to the house, and what can be done to help restore it to its former glory. Please join us for this interesting presentation!
Cost: No charge for members, non-member guests.
RSVP: Reservations are required for the talk: To sign up, please contact Judy Freeman by email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited. Optional dinner, details above.

Making History - Frank Lloyd Wright at the Global Crossroads: Chicago/Tokyo/NYC/LA
CAB_Logo_Primary_Black copy - CopyKen Tadashi Oshima, president of the Society of Architectural Historians and Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington, discusses with Chicago Architecture Biennial Artistic Directors Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee the global design practice of Frank Lloyd Wright in "making history" in the contemporary context. Building on new findings from the 2017 Museum of Modern Art exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive, the discussion with Johnston and Lee will focus on precedents and parallels with the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.