New tours, hands-on activities and neighborhood gems

APRIL 23, 2020 • ISSUE 04

A Message of Thanks

From her favorite place, the Chicago City Model Experience, CAC President and CEO Lynn Osmond shares a few words of appreciation for all of you across Chicago and beyond who’ve been with us through four weeks and counting of CAC@Home.

WATCH

CAC LIVE

An Energy Revolution to Spark Chicago’s Post-COVID Recovery
Friday, May 8 at noon

Join architect and urban planner Doug Farr as he introduces Carbon Free Chicago, a 30-year campaign to equitably decarbonize our region’s economy. Farr is also a lead curator for the CAC’s upcoming exhibition, “ENERGY REVOLUTION: Creating Our Carbon-Free Future.”

“City on a Hill” Book Talk
Monday, April 27 at 11am

Register today to learn how the quest for Utopia shaped American cities with author, professor and urban planner Alex Krieger. Originally scheduled as a Daytime Talk in our Gand Lecture Hall at the CAC, we’re pleased to bring Krieger and his in-depth research to you at home via CAC Live.

A Tale of Two Fairs
Wednesday, April 29 at 7pm
Wednesday, May 20 at 7pm

Chicago invited the entire world to its lakefront twice, 40 years apart. Join CAC docent Ellen Shubart as she compares and contrasts the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Century of Progress International Exposition held in 1933.

CAC LIVE: VIRTUAL TOURS

Beaux-Arts
Tuesday, April 28 at 5:30pm
Sunday, May 3 at 1pm

Get out while you stay in! Design-themed walks led by CAC docent Mike McMains continue with the exploration of Beaux-Arts style—an eclectic form of Neoclassicism that originated in Paris and remained in vogue throughout most of the 19th century.

CAC FOR THE FAMILY

NEIGHBORHOOD STROLLERS

Knowing which clues to look for helps us take educated guesses about the ages and styles of all types of buildings. This week, CAC Manager of School and Family Programs Rebecca Boland gives us some tips for identifying houses from the Victorian era.

WATCH

All CAC docents and staff practice safe spatial distancing while taking walks in their own neighborhoods. Please do the same!

IT’S CLAY TIME

This week’s episode of CAC For the Family: Architecture Essentials is all about a special kind of earthenware called terra cotta. Usually seen on the outside “skin” of a building, architects used terra cotta to help fireproof some of Chicago’s earliest skyscrapers.

WATCH

Previously on “Storytime with the CAC,” Senior Manager of Education and Experience Angela Esposito—and her little helper—brought you “Sofia Valdez, Future Prez.” This Friday, April 24 at 12:30pm Central Time, tune into the CAC's Facebook page to read “Iggy Peck, Architect” with CAC Interim Education Coordinator Mizael Robledo.

CURIOUS KENWOOD

From an early example of residential Modernism to the beginnings of a global cosmetics empire, there’s a lot to discover in this neighborhood on Chicago’s lakefront. First, CAC docents Maria Corpuz and John Hug share some fun facts centered on a Kenwood home built during World War II…

…And spotlight additional Kenwood sites with connections to famous athletes and sports entrepreneurs.

Kenwood's homes of famous sports players

CAC RECOMMENDS

EARTH DAY AT 50

One of the most successful and enduring legacies of 1960s environmental activism, Earth Day began as a campaign to raise public awareness about pollution. This week’s CAC Recommends includes ways you can read, listen and take action to mark its 50th anniversary.

ONE MORE THING

National Volunteer Week continues through this Saturday, April 25 and is one of the most important times of the year at the CAC. Volunteerism has been a core part of our DNA since our founding in 1966. In 2019 alone, 4,061 volunteers donated 49,040 total volunteer hours. The importance to the CAC of these generous individuals can’t be overstated—thank you all!

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

Could you find all nine differences we hid in last week’s photos taken from 330 North Wabash, Mies van der Rohe’s last and second-tallest skyscraper? We changed the color of the roof of the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park and removed the sign from the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront. We moved “Pru Two” to the wrong side of the Aon Center, took the satellite dishes off the roof of our neighbor at Illinois Center, added a red window to 73 East Lake and put a green roof on 70 East Lake. Look for three birds in the sky, a flag on the Jewelers Building and a sailboat on Lake Michigan. If you found them all: Great work!

THE LATEST

The CAC is committed to providing a safe experience for its entire community of members, staff, visitors, volunteers and tour attendees. Visit our COVID-19 information page for the latest updates.

Your support today is crucial to the stability of the CAC through this crisis. We hope we can count on you to make a gift—at any level that is comfortable for you—to help us weather this storm. Please consider supporting the CAC today with a tax-deductible donation, online at architecture.org/donate.

DONATE

Consider renewing early to help support the CAC and add another year to your membership’s expiration date. We appreciate our community of members and can’t wait to welcome you back to the Center and our many tours. Renew today!

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