@@AllThingsArchitectureCulturally when something is known for a long time and names change. We stick to it because it’s what we think is familiar! My advice as a Chicago area resident, I’d highly recommend you blend in as a local and refer to places by there respective names.
My uncle, Bruce Graham, told me about the cigarette pack concept. He was committed to the optimism of modernism that died with the cynicism of post-modernism.
@@nomad1517 My family mainly lived in Mexico City during most of my childhood and youth. But my fondest memory was when my mom took me to Chicago and we stayed at Bruce’s apartment. He took me on a tour of the John Hancock building, which was still under construction. I think there was a swimming pool on the 95th floor. Uncle Bruce’s kids, our cousins do keep in touch. There are many interesting stories about my uncle Bruce given that our family is distributed throughout Latin America. My uncle Harry lived in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Bruce was visiting him one day when they went out to have drinks. It was late at night, 1 AM, when they went driving through the streets of Guayaquil. Bruce told Harry to stop the car and pointed to what looked like a dilapidated market and said that he knew what it was. It was a Gustaf Eiffel kit used to build many buildings throughout Latin America. Thanks to Bruce’s sharp eye the building was restored in its entirety and is a major tourist attraction in Ecuador today. I think there’s also a twin in Quito. Bruce might have been born in Cali Columbia, since that was one of the many cities my grandmother‘s family lived in. What I loved about the unabashed modernism of Bruce Graham and his inspiration, Mies Van der Rohe, was there social optimism that society overtime would become increasingly equal. This is reflected in the openness and confidence that their buildings project at the street level. Today no significant office building has been built without at least 10 stories of fortress at the street level. It began with the Renaissance Center in Detroit and even our own Bonaventure hotel in Los Angeles. These buildings exude civic hostility and paranoia. By contrast, you can see the elevator doors from the street curbside of Lever house in New York City. Bruce talked about structural honesty in buildings, that the building should be what it is and show what it does. As one who decries the decadence of postmodernism with its whimsy and arbitrary use of decor, I miss the mid-century modernists.
I love Chicago! Being from Nashville, Chicago was our closest big city. My personal favorite skyscraper in Chicago is the John Hancock Center where Chris Farley once lived.
@@samueljackson8020no it’s not. It’s just a city that looks big by building too many skyscrapers within a small area. Their tallest building is still only 617 feet; the Ugly “Batman Building”.
My family visited Chicago back in the mid 1970s. We made it a point to see the Sears Tower. While on the observation deck, I did a hand stand. I wounder if I had been the only one to walk on my hands on the Sears tower obervation deck.
That’s a cool memory. You probably are. I think a lot of people would get vertigo being upside down on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in the world.
I love the Sears tower. My favorite skyscraper. And it is still the tallest building in the USA. Just looking at the buildings themselves the Sears tower is 87 feet taller than the new trade center in NYC. The trade center has a huge 408 foot tower on top. The tower was originally supposed to be a "spire", which for some reason counts when computing height. But they ran out of money and never built a spire. Instead they built a tower, which does not count in computing height. . But I feel that the committee which decides the height of a building caved into sympathy about 911 and probably some political pressure and said that the tower would count as a spire. So, just like that, you have a building that is 1,776 feet tall, when the real height is actually 1,368 feet tall. Not fair at all. And....Now with the skinny super tall condo towers built for billionares in NYC, the trade center is not even the tallest building in NYC. You would think that any fool could look at the new world trade center and realize that it does not look to be over 400 feet taller than the twin towers. But there you have it
I would have left the SEARS on the top . This being on e of the company's that made America.Made it possible for rural Americans to live better. You could buy anything form them. Taka a look at the old catalog.
From someone who lives in the Chicago suburbs for 21 years. No matter what the name is, it will always and will be known as Sears Tower!
Nothing else!
I completely agree, that’s why I didn’t even mention it’s current name in the video, because it’ll always be Sears Tower to me too.
@@AllThingsArchitectureCulturally when something is known for a long time and names change.
We stick to it because it’s what we think is familiar!
My advice as a Chicago area resident, I’d highly recommend you blend in as a local and refer to places by there respective names.
ALWAYS!!!
My uncle, Bruce Graham, told me about the cigarette pack concept. He was committed to the optimism of modernism that died with the cynicism of post-modernism.
Holy shit. Your uncle was actually Bruce Graham? Where you close to him? Lot of visits?
@@nomad1517 My family mainly lived in Mexico City during most of my childhood and youth. But my fondest memory was when my mom took me to Chicago and we stayed at Bruce’s apartment. He took me on a tour of the John Hancock building, which was still under construction. I think there was a swimming pool on the 95th floor. Uncle Bruce’s kids, our cousins do keep in touch. There are many interesting stories about my uncle Bruce given that our family is distributed throughout Latin America. My uncle Harry lived in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Bruce was visiting him one day when they went out to have drinks. It was late at night, 1 AM, when they went driving through the streets of Guayaquil. Bruce told Harry to stop the car and pointed to what looked like a dilapidated market and said that he knew what it was. It was a Gustaf Eiffel kit used to build many buildings throughout Latin America. Thanks to Bruce’s sharp eye the building was restored in its entirety and is a major tourist attraction in Ecuador today. I think there’s also a twin in Quito. Bruce might have been born in Cali Columbia, since that was one of the many cities my grandmother‘s family lived in. What I loved about the unabashed modernism of Bruce Graham and his inspiration, Mies Van der Rohe, was there social optimism that society overtime would become increasingly equal. This is reflected in the openness and confidence that their buildings project at the street level. Today no significant office building has been built without at least 10 stories of fortress at the street level. It began with the Renaissance Center in Detroit and even our own Bonaventure hotel in Los Angeles. These buildings exude civic hostility and paranoia. By contrast, you can see the elevator doors from the street curbside of Lever house in New York City. Bruce talked about structural honesty in buildings, that the building should be what it is and show what it does. As one who decries the decadence of postmodernism with its whimsy and arbitrary use of decor, I miss the mid-century modernists.
The Sears Tower is the King Skyscraper of America and must be protected always! Chicago isn’t Chicago without it!
I love Chicago! Being from Nashville, Chicago was our closest big city. My personal favorite skyscraper in Chicago is the John Hancock Center where Chris Farley once lived.
Nashville is already a big city
@@samueljackson8020no it’s not. It’s just a city that looks big by building too many skyscrapers within a small area. Their tallest building is still only 617 feet; the Ugly “Batman Building”.
My family visited Chicago back in the mid 1970s. We made it a point to see the Sears Tower. While on the observation deck, I did a hand stand. I wounder if I had been the only one to walk on my hands on the Sears tower obervation deck.
That’s a cool memory. You probably are. I think a lot of people would get vertigo being upside down on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Finally, a good use for cigarettes.
Our large-scale engineer from Bangladesh has built this building
I love the Sears tower. My favorite skyscraper. And it is still the tallest building in the USA. Just looking at the buildings themselves the Sears tower is 87 feet taller than the new trade center in NYC. The trade center has a huge 408 foot tower on top. The tower was originally supposed to be a "spire", which for some reason counts when computing height. But they ran out of money and never built a spire. Instead they built a tower, which does not count in computing height. . But I feel that the committee which decides the height of a building caved into sympathy about 911 and probably some political pressure and said that the tower would count as a spire. So, just like that, you have a building that is 1,776 feet tall, when the real height is actually 1,368 feet tall.
Not fair at all. And....Now with the skinny super tall condo towers built for billionares in NYC, the trade center is not even the tallest building in NYC.
You would think that any fool could look at the new world trade center and realize that it does not look to be over 400 feet taller than the twin towers. But there you have it
Your analysis sounds spot-on!!!
The tower always looked like a person standing tall. It has shoulders. I've always saw it that way.
Como mola 😊
I would have left the SEARS on the top . This being on e of the company's that made America.Made it possible for rural Americans to live better. You could buy anything form them. Taka a look at the old catalog.