Once again you have exhibited an unfortunate disregard for our city’s architectural heritage as you continue to support developer John Buck in his campaign to destroy the McGraw-Hill Building at 520 N. Michigan Ave.
Although the American Institute of Architects’ Guide to Chicago describes it as an “Art Deco triumph (that) is a classic of its genre,” your Oct. 8 editorial labels it “a tired office building” that is “nondescript.” (The Chicago Tribune Magazine omitted any mention of it in an essay earlier this year.) The proposed “reconstructed facade” as pictured in the Tribune appears to be substantially altered and sadly deserving of your epithet “the McGraw-Hill taxidermy.”
As an architect who decided to move to Chicago nine years ago to live among buildings that people in other cities can only dream about, I urge you to reject the insidious logic of the John Buck Co. as outlined by the Tribune editorial board: We are asked to sacrifice an architectural gem along with “air and sunlight on the street” for the semi-public blandness of a “more pleasing mini-mall.” Chicago is a healthy and vibrant city whose grand public spaces and architecture draw visitors from around the world. Who will visit Chicago after its heritage has been sold off piece by piece in return for an “electronic playground”?
