Monday, September 05, 2011

for Labor Day: The Architecture of Chicago's Unionville

(from 2010): Chicago has always been a strong union town. The story's told that it was a wildcat bricklayer's strike that sent William Le Baron Jenney home so early one day that his shocked wife absent-mindedly parked the heavy book she was reading atop a birdcage. The major saw the weighty volume supported on that minimal skeleton of thin metal, and - voila! - the idea of the steel frame skyscraper was born. (When the legend becomes fact, print the legend . . . )

In the early decades of the last century, a section of the West side north of Jackson and on either side of Ashland became home to a large number of union . . . (read the rest and see all the photo's, here.)

4 comments:

The Public Square Bear said...

your jump page does not exist

Lynn Becker said...

it does now. thanks for the correction.

Connaught Hotel said...

Great story on Labor Day..

Jorja Fallon said...

It really shows that bricklaying helps a lot. Most especially to build houses and buildings. Nice story but learn more about bricklayer in http://www.bricklayer-perth.net.au. Check it out!