Classic Photo of Calder’s Flamingo in Downtown Chicago Illinois

Calder’s Flamingo

Friedman Fine Art presents historical and contemporary photographs of Chicago. The Calder’s Flamingo, located in the Federal Plaza in front of the Kluczynski Federal Building in Chicago, has a curved shape and vivid color that contrasts drastically with the glass and angular steel in the buildings surrounding it. The Flamingo weighs 50 tons and stands 53 feet tall, composed of steel stabile, a material pioneered by its designer American artist Alexander Calder. Calder gave the stabile its unique color, which has been called “Calder red.” Despite its appearance, the structure is stationary, as opposed to a mobile structure.

Flamingo was the first work of art commissioned by the General Services Administration under the federal Percent for Art program, which sets a percentage of its budget to public art. The plaza, surrounded by rectangular modern buildings, needed an arching art form with dynamic surfaces. Calder was commissioned to design the structure and he revealed the model for Flamingo on April 23, 1973 at the Art Institute of Chicago. The sculpture was presented to the public on October 25, 1974.

For the past 38 years, the Flamingo has occupied a civic space known for serious debates.

Chicago’s Federal Plaza is known as the site of mass demonstrations against anything from the war in Afghanistan to Obamacare, the Flamingo presiding over all the protests.

Despite its large size, the open design allows people to walk under and through the sculpture, leading one to perceive it to human scale. The structure is open to the public daily.

Currently, the General Services Administration is implementing a four-week restoration of the sculpture. The treatment includes coating the metal with a zinc-rich primer for extra durability, and applying a topcoat of “Calder Red” paint to prevent corrosion. To purchase visit our Chicago Photographs contact form.

The Baseball Palace of the World: Comiskey Park Vintage Chicago Photograph

The original Comiskey Park, “The Baseball Palace of the World” is in the hearts of many Chicago White Sox fans to this day. Built in 1910 and turned into a parking lot of U.S. Cellular Field (formerly “New Comiskey Park”) in 1990, at the time of its demise it was the oldest park in Major League Baseball. It will always have iconic status as one of the ballparks during baseball’s glory days of the 1950s and 1960s, which saw the White Sox finish second for so many years behind the hated Yankees. The park was always recognizable with its unique Roman arches visible in the background of thousands of photos of major leaguers in the 20th century.

Comiskey Park was named after owner Charles Comiskey, who, while being a great ballplayer and instrumental force in early Major League Baseball, unfortunately was also a stingily owner who had his own player rebel against him in 1919 when the “Black Sox” threw the World Series, allegedly opting to accept more money from gamblers than they would have received as champions.

Other highlights of Comiskey Park include the first All-Star Game in 1933 and the 50th All-Star Game in 1950.

Unfortunately the White Sox didn’t have much success during the park’s lifespan. They won the World Series in 1917, and made it back in 1959, only to lose to the Dodgers.

At least White Sox fans who were patient another 15 years got to see the White Sox break their 88-year drought with a World Series Championship in 2005.

The Chicago River Locks Photograph on Lake Michigan Skyline

Picture of the Building of the Chicago River Locks 1937

The Chicago River was awarded in 1999, by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a ‘Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium’. This man-made waterflow system was out of necessity as extreme weather of 1885 threatened the city’s water supply.

The source of the main water stem is from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River. These waters are maintained through various locks that are on the basin of the lake to the Mississippi river.

Other contributors to the water flow of the city are the many bridges and fountains that memorialize the founders and revolutionary visionaries that have made Chicago a remarkable city.

Although there have been periods of slight flooding and different pollutants that have interrupted the river flow, the city has recovered and have celebrated this engineering accomplishment with many celebrations on the Chicago River including “Mayor Daley’s Chicago River Fishing Festival” and also the dying of the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day.

To buy photographs of historic Chicago.

1937 Chicago Photo – Tall Ships Grace Chicago’s Navy Pier

Old Photo of The Guinness Sailing Ship at Anchor by Navy Pier 1937

Navy Pier has been host to many ships over the years as it was a naval training base as well as one of the greatest inland ports in the world. Although known today as a place of entertainment, the pier has been home to many a venue. Built in 1914, architect Charles Sumner Frost and Daniel Burnham had a vision to make this a recreational and shipping dock that would be near the mouth of the Chicago River

Through World War I and II the pier was a barracks for soldiers, Red Cross and Home Defense. The pier has also had its own streetcar line, theater, restaurants and an emergency hospital. In 1995, the pier had a complete makeover and re-opened to the public with a big mix of food and entertainment including the Guiness World Record Ferris Wheel.

Since 1998, the Pier has hosted the Tall Ships Exhibit where people can board maritime vessels including some that at once graced the docks of the original pier. This year, Pepsi is once again sponsoring the Tall Ships Exhibit August 7-11.

To purchase photographs of the Historic Places of Chicago go here.

Historic Randolph Street Market Photograph in Chicago Illinois

Downtown Chicago Randolph Street Market 1890s

Today the Randolph Street Market is a monthly event that features antiques, art, fashion, food and music. But in the early days of Chicago, the Randolph Street Market was a way for immigrants to earn money.

Unfortunately, the Market became a place of horror on the night of May 4, 1886, when a bomb was thrown into the crowd of an anarchist meeting, killing several and injuring several more. The controversy was over the organizations of labor at the local factories including the McCormick Reaper Plant where a few days earlier a strike had erupted there where two were killed.

Although the Randolph Street Market happened to be the meeting place for the violence, the market still thrives today bringing in many visitors once a month. The market is now an indoor/outdoor market with nicely paved walkways outdoors and terrazzo floors inside. Many local vendors sell everything from food to clothing, but the most popular is the antique market. Click here to view and purchase early photos of Chicago.

Photographs of Fishing in Lake Michigan, Chicago Illinois

Vintage Lakefront Fishing Photograph from the 1940s

Just as it was back in the day, fishing is still great in Chicago. Beginning in the 1830s commercial fisherman reeled in many different species of fish off the shores and off-shores of Lake Michigan. Over the years, the pollution and non-native fish species have had the best of the lake.

Throughout history fishing has been a means of survival and an outlet for leisure and relaxation. And that tradition has moved all over the globe. Including Chicago and the suburbs. By 1917, The Chicago River was lined with industry and the rivers turned into streams that has led out to the Cook County Forest Preserves.

Fisherman of all ages and abilities still choose to cast out on Navy Pier, the Chicago Harbor and many other harbors and ports that line Lake Michigan today. Although fishing is not as much a survival necessity, there is still a need for relaxation and challenge of catching a world-class bass or a perch or salmon from the waters that inhabit Chicago. To purchase pictures of the History of Chicago go here

Vintage Chicago Photograph – Dearborn Street Station

Historic Dearborn Station 1910 in Chicago

Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-photographs.com are pleased to present this magnificent historical Black and White photograph of Chicago.

Once referred to as Polk Street station, the historic Chicago landmark Dearborn Street Station was one of six local Chicago train stations in 1883. Designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz, Dearborn Station located on the corner of Dearborn and Polk opened May 8^th 1885. The building is comprised of pink granite and pressed red brick forming a three story structure with a gargantuan twelve-story clock tower with train platforms that were once located behind it. Constructed at an estimated cost between $400,000 and $500,000, Dearborn station hosted 25 rail lines with 122 trains and serviced approximately 17,000 passengers daily.

On May 2, 1971 the station was closed to consolidate all of Chicago’s stations at the nearby Union Station. As a part of the city’s urban renewal efforts, the area surrounding Dearborn Station (train tracks and shed) was transformed into housing and the Printers Row district while the Station now operates as a series of retail spaces and restaurants and business offices. Pictured is a vintage image of the original Dearborn Station with its classic Romanesque Revival styled pitched roof.

If you would like to purchase or view other contemporary or historical photographs of Chicago please follow this link Historical Chicago Photos.

Marvelous Chicago River Photos for Sale

Historical Frank L. Wright 1908-1909 Avery Coonley House Picture Copyright 2005 David R. Phillips

Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-photographs.com are pleased to present this beautiful historical photo of Chicago.

“In breadth, length, height and weight, these buildings belonged to the prairie just as the human being himself belonged to it with his gift of speed. The term ‘streamlined’ as my own expression was then and there born. As a result, the new buildings were rational: low, swift, and clean, and were studiously adapted to machine methods.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright. from Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and Gerald Nordland, ed. Frank Lloyd Wright: In the Realm of Ideas. p35 via http://www.greatbuildings.com/.

Like most of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings, the Coonley house was influenced by nature and art. In collaboration with George Mann Niedecken the house was built in the classic Midwestern Prairie style architecture and ornamented with Niedecken’s decorative arts such as murals and textiles. Prairie style is characterized lots of flat surfaces and roofs and horizontal straight lines. Built in 1908, the home has a wood frame with stucco and emphasized with raised gardens. By the 1950’s the Coonley home was divided into three separate residences and sold with restorations later made in 2007. The homes are located in Riverside, Illinois, a suburb outside of Chicago.

If you would like to purchase or view other contemporary or historical photographs of Chicago please follow this link to Marvelous Chicago Photographs.

1934 Tribune Tower Chicago Photographs

1934 Tribune Tower

Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-photographs.com are pleased to present this unique historical black and white photograph of Chicago.

In 1874 the Tribune was founded, however, it wasn’t until 1869 that it had its first building. Standing at four stories high, the Tribune was originally located off of Dearborn and Madison. Two years later, the historic building (along with most of Chicago) was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. After a short period of two days, the Tribune ‘emerged with an editorial piece saying “Chicago shall rise again.”

In 1922, the company hosted a design competition with a prize of $100,000. Out of nearly 260 submissions, the winners were two architects from New York, John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood for their neo-Gothic design far different from the runner-up’s modernist form.

Although the Tribune Tower is known for its paper and WGN radio broadcasting, it is more famous for its relics. Outside the Tribune Tower are pieces of famous buildings and structures from around the world on display such as bricks from the: Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the White House and the Berlin Wall.

This photo is a vintage aerial view of the Tribune Tower in Chicago. The tower now stands on the northern end of the Mag Mile at 435 N Michigan Avenue standing at 462 feet tall and 36 floors high.

If you would like to purchase or view other contemporary or historical photographs of Chicago please follow this link Chicago Photography and Chicago Photographs.

Wacker and LaSalle Streets After Chicago Fire 1871

Picture of Wacker and LaSalle Streets After Chicago Fire in 1871

Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-photographs.com are pleased to present this unique historical photograph of Chicago.

Typically characterized as the mishap of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, the Great Chicago Fire was a devastating calamity for the small up and coming town in 1871. From the evening of October 8th to the early afternoon of October 10th, the fire burned bright and brawny destroying everything in its path. Chicago known then as “white city” for all of the white wood used for the construction of the entire town, coupled with a dry summer drought, aided the flames and fueled the destruction.

Due to the fire burning at an uncontrollable rate for three long days and a damaged water system, the fire fighters were exhausted and were eventually forced to let the fire die out on its own terms. At the end of the fire’s reign, about two to three million books in a private collection had been burned, one-third of the city’s population was homeless and 300 lives had been taken.

Following the Great Chicago Fire was the Great Rebuilding where fire laws were enacted and required that all buildings be made of rock like materials such as marble and other various stones with terra cotta (a mixture of sand and clay) taking the top spot as the most popular material. During the reconstruction of the Palmer House Hilton, the building was remade with Terra Cotta dubbing itself as the “Worlds Only Fire Proof Hotel”

If you would like to purchase or view other contemporary or historical photographs of Chicago please follow this link Chicago Photography and Chicago Photographs.