@chigeek.bsky.social
Architecture geek who also happens to be Louis Sullivan’s number one fan (he’s my dead architect boyfriend).
https://chicagolandarchitecture.substack.com/
https://chicagolandarchitecture.substack.com/
Labeling Renee Good and Alex Pretti as “domestic terrorists” is not only reprehensible but also equates them with actual homegrown domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh. Ironically, McVeigh might have been involved with ICE if he were still alive (he was only a year older than Bovino).
January 25, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Labeling Renee Good and Alex Pretti as “domestic terrorists” is not only reprehensible but also equates them with actual homegrown domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh. Ironically, McVeigh might have been involved with ICE if he were still alive (he was only a year older than Bovino).
If I accomplish anything in the next 6 weeks it’ll be convincing my aunt-who votes in every election-*NOT* to vote for Raja. He claims he wants to abolish ICE yet accepted $90,000 from ICE contractor Shyam Sankar. And don’t forget he voted to “express gratitude” to ICE for “protecting the homeland.”
In Illinois we have a primary to replace Durbin in six weeks and no one is talking about it. This week one of the tipsheets here was focused on the mayoral being a year away. Shit is real broken.
January 24, 2026 at 4:40 PM
If I accomplish anything in the next 6 weeks it’ll be convincing my aunt-who votes in every election-*NOT* to vote for Raja. He claims he wants to abolish ICE yet accepted $90,000 from ICE contractor Shyam Sankar. And don’t forget he voted to “express gratitude” to ICE for “protecting the homeland.”
Taken exactly 3 yrs ago, looking north as a bicyclist heads down Astor Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast. The snow & cold weather did not stop them!
January 24, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Taken exactly 3 yrs ago, looking north as a bicyclist heads down Astor Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast. The snow & cold weather did not stop them!
As someone who personally experienced a burst pipe in a 125-year-old building designed by Adler & Sullivan, this is your reminder to drip your faucets!!!
January 22, 2026 at 11:51 PM
As someone who personally experienced a burst pipe in a 125-year-old building designed by Adler & Sullivan, this is your reminder to drip your faucets!!!
This is the kind of energy I want for my own headstone photo.
(Taken at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois)
(Taken at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois)
January 22, 2026 at 6:42 PM
This is the kind of energy I want for my own headstone photo.
(Taken at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois)
(Taken at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois)
You know one of Tr*mp’s favorite subjects is groceries, so maybe he was actually referring to the British supermarket chain Iceland?
January 21, 2026 at 7:41 PM
You know one of Tr*mp’s favorite subjects is groceries, so maybe he was actually referring to the British supermarket chain Iceland?
Designed by my boy, George Grant Elmslie, Louis Sullivan’s *true* right hand man (sorry, Frank) for 20 yrs.
January 21, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Designed by my boy, George Grant Elmslie, Louis Sullivan’s *true* right hand man (sorry, Frank) for 20 yrs.
When your dog’s co-owner, who winters in Phoenix, tells you that it has been so “cold” (we’re talking lower 60s) that people are wearing jackets. *sigh*
January 20, 2026 at 5:47 PM
When your dog’s co-owner, who winters in Phoenix, tells you that it has been so “cold” (we’re talking lower 60s) that people are wearing jackets. *sigh*
It looks like Liam, aka Young Sheldon, will be back on Jeopardy today for the Tournament of Champions. I’ll be rooting for you (again), kid!
The winner of Jeopardy today, who is originally from Barrington, is an undergrad student at University of Chicago. When he answered the final question correctly I was, like, “Way to go, kid!” Seriously he looks 12.
January 19, 2026 at 8:56 PM
It looks like Liam, aka Young Sheldon, will be back on Jeopardy today for the Tournament of Champions. I’ll be rooting for you (again), kid!
In honor of Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday today, here are some screenshots from the 1992 film Straight Talk, set in Chicago. Harry Weese Church! Sun-Times Building! Wabash Bridge!
January 19, 2026 at 4:14 PM
In honor of Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday today, here are some screenshots from the 1992 film Straight Talk, set in Chicago. Harry Weese Church! Sun-Times Building! Wabash Bridge!
Sorry guys I had just finished watching the Mr. Scorsese documentary and put on the last few minutes. It’s all my fault. Papa Bear Halas, please forgive me for I have sinned.
January 19, 2026 at 3:09 AM
Sorry guys I had just finished watching the Mr. Scorsese documentary and put on the last few minutes. It’s all my fault. Papa Bear Halas, please forgive me for I have sinned.
So, ya know, this winter’s been kind of all over the place. It’s cold out there, ya know. Aw geez. So Mrs. Mohra said why don’t you get a new winter coat? I wasn’t gonna sit there and debate so I did. You see, it was on sale at Sierra. $80 off. Real good. A deal's a deal. End o' story.
January 18, 2026 at 8:23 PM
So, ya know, this winter’s been kind of all over the place. It’s cold out there, ya know. Aw geez. So Mrs. Mohra said why don’t you get a new winter coat? I wasn’t gonna sit there and debate so I did. You see, it was on sale at Sierra. $80 off. Real good. A deal's a deal. End o' story.
Big Bill (Thompson) of Chicago
January 18, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Big Bill (Thompson) of Chicago
Wow it’s been a year since David Lynch died. Whenever someone says they don’t “get” his work or that it doesn’t make any sense, you know what? Life itself doesn’t make sense. It’s surreal, mundane, strange, and kind of meaningless. Respect to him for capturing the horrors of this thing called life.
January 16, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Wow it’s been a year since David Lynch died. Whenever someone says they don’t “get” his work or that it doesn’t make any sense, you know what? Life itself doesn’t make sense. It’s surreal, mundane, strange, and kind of meaningless. Respect to him for capturing the horrors of this thing called life.
Richard Nickel took this photo of the Congress Street Expressway going over the Chicago River sometime around 1969, which is when Grand Central Station closed for good. It was entirely demolished by the railroad in 1971. The 6.5 acre lot between Harrison & Polk remained vacant for nearly 50 yrs.
January 16, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Richard Nickel took this photo of the Congress Street Expressway going over the Chicago River sometime around 1969, which is when Grand Central Station closed for good. It was entirely demolished by the railroad in 1971. The 6.5 acre lot between Harrison & Polk remained vacant for nearly 50 yrs.
It has been ten years since David Bowie died, and apparently, it was six years ago that I saw Michael Shannon & Sons of the Silent Age perform David Bowie songs at Chicago’s Metro, my last concert before the world shut down.
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 AM
It has been ten years since David Bowie died, and apparently, it was six years ago that I saw Michael Shannon & Sons of the Silent Age perform David Bowie songs at Chicago’s Metro, my last concert before the world shut down.
This architecture geek was so happy to see Walter Burley Griffin’s name on Jeopardy just now. Take that, Frank!
January 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM
This architecture geek was so happy to see Walter Burley Griffin’s name on Jeopardy just now. Take that, Frank!
My 81-yr-old aunt: “I think the movie was called 1955. There was a lot of back & forth. It was confusing but cute. Michael J. Fox was in it.”
Me: “Are you talking about Back to the Future?”
Aunt: “Is that what it’s called? Have you ever seen it?”
Me: “Many times. The *whole world* has seen it.”
Me: “Are you talking about Back to the Future?”
Aunt: “Is that what it’s called? Have you ever seen it?”
Me: “Many times. The *whole world* has seen it.”
January 12, 2026 at 6:16 PM
My 81-yr-old aunt: “I think the movie was called 1955. There was a lot of back & forth. It was confusing but cute. Michael J. Fox was in it.”
Me: “Are you talking about Back to the Future?”
Aunt: “Is that what it’s called? Have you ever seen it?”
Me: “Many times. The *whole world* has seen it.”
Me: “Are you talking about Back to the Future?”
Aunt: “Is that what it’s called? Have you ever seen it?”
Me: “Many times. The *whole world* has seen it.”
Digging thru my archives and here’s one of my photos from February of 2021 - University of Chicago Law School's Laird Bell Quadrangle designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s.
January 12, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Digging thru my archives and here’s one of my photos from February of 2021 - University of Chicago Law School's Laird Bell Quadrangle designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s.
STELLAN! I’m not into reality shows, but I would watch a reality show about the Skarsgårds.
January 12, 2026 at 1:25 AM
STELLAN! I’m not into reality shows, but I would watch a reality show about the Skarsgårds.
I took these photos during a visit to historic Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis back in 2009.
January 10, 2026 at 3:11 AM
I took these photos during a visit to historic Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis back in 2009.
When a male stranger calls a woman “a bitch,” it says more about his character than hers.
January 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
When a male stranger calls a woman “a bitch,” it says more about his character than hers.
Here’s a photo I took in January 2022 of the three-flat at 1542 North Wood Street in Chicago’s Wicker Park. It was originally built in 1889 by local architect Henry T. Kelly who lived nearby on North Avenue and did a lot of buildings in the area, including a couple of beauties on Hoyne.
January 8, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Here’s a photo I took in January 2022 of the three-flat at 1542 North Wood Street in Chicago’s Wicker Park. It was originally built in 1889 by local architect Henry T. Kelly who lived nearby on North Avenue and did a lot of buildings in the area, including a couple of beauties on Hoyne.
You know your architecture geekiness has reached its ultimate peak when you are excited to look through a book about double houses. I bet you didn’t know Evanston has so many. Now you do!
January 8, 2026 at 12:09 AM
You know your architecture geekiness has reached its ultimate peak when you are excited to look through a book about double houses. I bet you didn’t know Evanston has so many. Now you do!
Guys, please step outside if you can and enjoy this sunny 40 degree day. Less doomscrolling and more fresh air & touching grass in 2026.
January 7, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Guys, please step outside if you can and enjoy this sunny 40 degree day. Less doomscrolling and more fresh air & touching grass in 2026.