I am writing regarding the article by Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin titled “Tuning Sullivan’s `color symphony'” (Arts & Entertainment, May 28), about the most famous architect of the Chicago School, Louis Sullivan. I recently graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in historic preservation, and chose to go into the preservation field mainly because of the loss of great monuments of the Chicago School, primarily those by Louis Sullivan.
As an undergraduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a near lifetime resident of Oak Park, I had been exposed to his innovative and magical architecture from a very young age.
Much of my work at the Art Institute focused on Sullivan and architecture in general, which led me to decide to go into the field of historic preservation. Kamin’s article is uplifting to someone who feels very attached to a man she never knew. He was a genius in the field of architecture who was unappreciated as a master for a long period of time. Tragically, as Kamin points out, many of Sullivan’s buildings in Chicago have been lost, and many are still (although all in the Loop are local landmarks) threatened.
There used to be something like 20 Sullivan buildings in the Loop area alone. It is refreshing to hear that preservation and restoration action is finally being taken to restore and protect these treasures of late 19th and early 20th Century skyscrapers. May Sullivan look down on the city with pride knowing that his work means so much to so many people.
