Newcity roundabout, Saturday, October 19, 2024/Photo: Ray Pride
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ART
National Museum Of Mexican Art Receives $1 Million McCormick Foundation Grant
The National Museum of Mexican Art announced it has received a $1 million grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation to redevelop a decommissioned fire station in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood into a community center for arts programming. The Yollocalli Fire Stationwill be home to a second location forYollocalli Arts Reach, the award-winning youth initiative of the Museum. The center “will provide enriching leadership, arts, entrepreneurship and media programs at no cost to more than 300 teens and young adults, and space for community programming.” The Museum was selected to receive the grant for “its high-impact strategies to improve the quality of life, increase economic opportunity and steward vibrant networks of community stakeholders.”
Richard Hunt Artworks On Public Art Archive
“Creative West’s Public Art Archive has partnered with the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation to showcase a comprehensive catalog of Richard Hunt’s extensive public art commissions across the United States—and the growing archive is now available.”
Chris Ware On Richard Scarry And The Art Of Children’s Literature
“This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Scarry’s 1974 ‘Cars and Trucks and Things That Go,’ which strikes me as a commemoration worthy of ballyhoo, especially now that, as a dad myself, I’ve spent so much time ferrying my own daughter to and from school and birthday parties in various cars that—well, mostly goed. (I’ve owned five automobiles in my life, all of them cheap, one of which smoked and required the driver’s side door to be kept shut with a bungee cord hooked to the opposite armrest, stretched across both driver and passenger. What can I say? I was a young cartoonist on a cartoonist’s budget.),” ventures Chris Ware in a 4,300-word essay at The Yale Review.
DESIGN
Is Chicago The Model For Office-To-Apartments Projects?
“The first project from an initiative called LaSalle Street Reimagined is near the starting line at 79 West Monroe. It comes as cities throughout the country try to find ways to revitalize downtowns that were hit hard by the onset of COVID in early 2020,” reports Ryan Ori at CoStar. “Development teams involved in a batch of four office-to-residential conversion proposals backed by Mayor Johnson are working with the Chicago officials to take the next spot in line. And new groups have expressed hopes of late of joining the program, potentially widening the longterm scope. Backers of the Chicago initiative said that, despite criticisms of its high cost per unit, it can become a national model as other major real estate markets grapple with what to do with outdated offices at a time of low demand as companies cut costs while keeping remote and hybrid work policies.”
Committee Approves Lowering City Speed Limit But Council Applies Brakes
“A measure to lower the speed limit on many Chicago streets to 25 mph from 30 mph got the green light Monday from a City Council committee… with plans to bring it for [City Council] vote before the end of the year,” reports the Sun-Times. “Lowering speed limits could help the city reach itsVision Zero goal of eliminating pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on the road, supporters said. Chicago’s pandemic-fueled wave of roadway fatalities crested with more than 180 deaths in 2021. At least 115 were reported last year.”
New York City Launches $350 Million Plan To Make 5th Avenue Into A Grand Boulevard
“New York City officials and business leaders plan to expand sidewalks, add seating areas and trees and remove two car lanes to make 5th Avenue more pedestrian-friendly,” reports the New York Times. Gensler’s Chicago office shared a similar vision for Michigan Avenue earlier this year.
Niles Intends To Transform Former Golf Mill Shopping Center
“A decades-old mall will be demolished as the village pins its hopes on a new… mixed-use center with quality restaurants, retail and more,” reports the Sun-Times. The “$440 million redevelopment plan was approved by Niles Mayor George Alpogianis and the Niles Village Board in June, though village officials said it will likely be a billion-dollar investment upon completion.”
DINING & DRINKING
Former Wally’s Proprietor Wally Kozinski Was Ninety-One
Wally Kozinski was the proprietor of Wally’s Lounge at 3017 West Belmont for thirty-five years before the current proprietors took over, successor bar Reeds Local reports on Instagram. “If you ever met him at the bar, you know what a big personality he was! We have wonderful memories of Wally’s Lounge and the man behind it. We are grateful he entrusted us to take over and begin our own journey as Reed’s Local. Let’s celebrate Wally with some shots of Malort. Come in and share your stories with us.”
Chicago-Based McDonald’s Approved Photo Op, But Isn’t Endorsing A Presidential Candidate
McDonald’s Corp. agreed to host the former president “at a Pennsylvania store over the weekend but said it isn’t endorsing a candidate in the U.S. presidential race,” reports the Tribune. “Upon learning of the former president’s request, we approached it through the [perspective] of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone,” the company told Associated Press. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next president. We are not red or blue—we are golden.”
Garrett Popcorn-Branded Toys Spotted In Tokyo Capsule Vending Machine
Garrett popcorn-branded toys were spotted by a Chicago traveler in a Harajuku vending machine. Twitter link here.
FILM & TELEVISION
Andersonville Residents Feature “The Bear” Halloween Decorations As Their Viral Bid This Year
A display saluting “The Bear” “sits in front of NBC producer Rich Moy and former copywriter Miranda Blunt’s family home in Andersonville near Gethsemane Garden Center,” reports Block Club. “It’s been Blunt’s mission to put up a themed showcase every October and this year, ‘The Bear’ is on the menu.” (Viral? Yes.)
IND/EX Returns In Two Years
Art House Convergence and Film Festival Alliance have announced the return of their IND/EX conference in 2026, after a successful confab in Chicago in June. Both AHC and FFA will host in-person events in 2025, including a joint event in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
LIT
Midwest Mystery Conference Returns
Midwest Mystery Conference 2024, Chicago’s only crime fiction conference, will continue as “a single-panel track, allowing attendees to see all programming rather than having to choose between authors. Readers, librarians and aspiring writers, including young authors, are all welcome participants.” The event, formerly “Murder And Mayhem In Chicago,” returns to the Roosevelt University campus for the seventh edition. More here.
MEDIA
Writer Underwrites Writer: How Trib Architecture Critic Chair Came To Be
“The Tribune, which had been reducing staff and budgets for years before Alden Global Capital accelerated the process with its May 2021 purchase of Tribune Publishing, did not replace [Blair Kamin when his architecture column ended in January 2021], just as it did not replace several other culture writers who left the paper. So the retired critic took matters into his own hands,” reports Mark Caro for the Local News Initiative. “On August 11, the first column by architecture writer Edward Keegan appeared in the Tribune’s Sunday Opinion section along with the Editor’s Note: ‘This new Sunday architecture column is generously supported by a grant from former Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin that is administered by Journalism Funding Partners, a nonprofit group that partners with newsrooms and funders. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content. Keegan’s work will appear biweekly in the Opinion section.'”
Says Kamin, “Either somebody was going to do something, or nothing would get done.” Caro: “Kamin’s action may be the most dramatic gesture yet among those who wish to boost cultural coverage at financially strapped local news outlets—even for-profit news organizations like the hedge fund-owned Tribune Publishing. As has been documented by the Medill State of Local News Report, the newspaper industry has lost seventy-three percent of its jobs since 2005.”
FTC Bans Fake Online Reviews
The Federal Trade Commission, reports AP, “issued the rule in August banning the sale or purchase of online reviews. The rule, which went into effect Monday, allows the agency to seek civil penalties against those who knowingly violate it.”
Los Angeles Times Owner Removes Presidential Endorsement?
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, perhaps best-known locally for his role in catapulting the Chicago Tribune to its present owners and still earning millions, has removed the presidential endorsement in his current property, the Los Angeles Times, reports Semafor. “Executive editor Terry Tang told editorial board staff earlier this month that the paper would not be endorsing a candidate in the presidential election this cycle, a decision that came from the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry.
“It wouldn’t be the first time since he bought the paper in 2018 that owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong had overruled the wishes of the paper’s editorial board. In 2020, the paper met with Democratic candidates for president for interviews with the intention of making a pick in the race. But after deciding to endorse Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic presidential primary, at the last minute Soon-Shiong overruled its leadership and said there would be no endorsement in the primary race (the paper endorsed Joe Biden in the general election).”
MUSIC
Guitarist Jules Reidy Signs To Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey announces the signing of “luminary guitarist and innovative composer Jules Reidy. Reidy is a driver of Berlin’s fertile contemporary music scene, a respected polymath whose prolific output and worldwide touring has led to performances and collaborations with many lauded artists. A wide-eyed imagination combined with technical mastery guide each work in Reidy’s extensive catalog, from solo guitar albums and collaborations with innovative peers, including recent works withclaire rousay,Oren Ambarchi,Andrea BelfiandSam Dunscombeto major commissions fromJACK QuartetandZinc & Copper. Thrill Jockey will be releasing new music from Jules Reidy in early 2025.” More here.
Chess Records Tribute Channel Launches
Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess, along with his son Jamar and partner Richard Ganter, have launched an outlet for vintage video music clips for genres ranging from blues, soul and jazz, to rock ‘n’ roll and gospel with the rollout of the Chess Records Tribute Channel on YouTube here. “The Chess Records Tribute Channel on YouTube is a deep excursion into the vast Chess Records history, featuring hundreds of rare videos, personal stories and experiences with constant content additions,” says Chess. “There is a podcast section, too, where I play Chess music with added comments. If you love the blues, you have got to check out The Chess Records Tribute YouTube channel.” (Dave Hoekstra wrote about a memorable recording session with Fleetwood Mac for Newcity last year here.)
STAGE
Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow: Downturn In Shakespeare Productions
“The American theater’s relationship to the Bard might be fraying,” claims artistic producer Drew Lichtenberg of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington in a New York Times piece. He sees “Shakespeare theaters producing less Shakespeare. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival—among the nation’s biggest and oldest classical companies—offered only two plays by Shakespeare out of ten productions in 2024… The Chicago Shakespeare Theater is self-producing only one play by Shakespeare out of nine… Over the past five years, Shakespeare’s presence on American stages has fallen a staggering fifty-eight percent… Over the past ten years, as American politics and culture have grown more contentious, Shakespeare has become increasingly politicized.”
ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.
It’s A Decade Of Chicago As Orkin, LLC’s “Rattiest” City
“For the tenth straight year, Chicago has secured the top spot on Orkin’s Top Fifty Rattiest Cities List, maintaining its reign since the list’s inception,” pest control concern Orkin announces in a press release. “This decade-long dominance highlights the city’s ongoing battle with rodents, as well as the efforts taken to treat their presence, which has been driven largely by the [city’s] infrastructure and environment. Chicago’s abundance of alleys provides rodents with hidden havens, offering plenty of space to hide while feasting on trash. Rodents also love to burrow, finding shelter beneath subway tracks or around underground pipes. In these hidden spots, the rodent population can grow if left unchecked.”
State Launches Outreach To Distracted Drivers
“The campaign by the Secretary of State’s Office will target teens and assist law enforcement supporting existing traffic laws,” reports the Sun-Times.
Six Visual And Teaching Artists Receive 3Arts $50,000 Next Level Awards
3Arts, the Chicago-based nonprofit grantmaking organization, announced the recipients of the 3Arts Next Level Awards—$50,000 unrestricted awards given to past 3Arts awardees. While 3Arts has in the past distributed five Next Level Awards, the roster this year was expanded to include one additional award for teaching artists; at $50,000, this is the largest no-strings-attached award for teaching artists in the world. Honoring the powerful work of local artists and their ripple effects in neighborhoods across Chicago, the 2024 Next Level awardees are teaching artists William Estrada, Emily Hooper Lansana and Andy Slater, and visual artists Rozalinda Borcila, Bethany Collins and Riva Lehrer. More 3Arts here.
Gregarious South Side Barber Lou Byrd Was Ninety-Three
Lou Byrd’s shop was an institution on South Shore’s 71st Street business corridor for nearly half-a-century, chronicles the Sun-Times. “Thousands of people in South Shore knew this: You better know what you’re talking about before you go into Lou Byrd’s Barber & Beauty Salon and open your mouth. ‘He liked to debate; it was sport for him,’ said his daughter, Judy Byrd. ‘If you believe something, you better be able to back it up. That was true at the shop and the dinner table.'”
Monster Northern Pike Caught, Released Near “Playpen”
“Captain Ernesto Amparan caught and released a monster northern pike while scouting for smallmouth bass,” reports the Sun-Times. “‘I was casting a three-eighths-ounce smokey pearl jig plastic tube and started around 5:30am along the northwest wall… On my fourth cast, the jig was crushed. Using twelve-pound fluorocarbon, I quickly loosened the drag to avoid a break-off. My buddy David managed to net this monster.’ … The forty-three-inch pike had an unofficial weight just heavier than twenty pounds.”
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