I had gone to the Rookery a few weeks ago and taken a shot of the lobby, but today was the day of the Architectural Foundation tour which gave me access to the second floor, spiral staircase, and the Burnham library where they planned the Chicago Exposition (have you read Devil in the White City?). It was awesome!! If you are ever in Chicago, this is a great tour! This is the spiral staircase that served as access to the 12 floors of the building as well as a fire escape (rather than have one destroy the aesthetics on the exterior. The Rookery was the site of Chicago's first City Hall and first public library, filled will books sent by Queen Elizabeth after the Chicago fire. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the renovation of the interior in the early 1900s. All in all, an exciting building historically and architecturally.
Get pushed image: http://365project.org/taffy/the-also-ran-ph/2014-03-27
I visited The Rookery a few years ago! Beautiful! We were staying nearby this week at the Palmer House Hotel. Great capture of the staircase. Love the pov.
@777margo Thanks, Margo! They would only let us go up one flight, unfortunately, but it was still exciting to be able to be on it, photograph it. It was first built in the 1880s, so it was amazing to think about who had walked up and down them, including the planners of Chicago.
@elaine55 Thanks Elaine. Actually, we were only allowed to go up one level, so we are, in fact, looking up, not down. I wish we could have gone to the top and looked down it as well. Thought I had to sit down to take this as I was getting dizzy!
@cailts Oh gosh, I can't believe you were at the Palmer House this week. So were my nephews (and one nephew's wife)! I hope you had a good weekend here -- at least it was pretty clear even if a little cold.
Instant Fav Taffy! This is such a stunning image with a real WOW factor! Such an interesting building - how wonderful that you could do a tour and were allowed access! I knew this was your shot straight away!
Gorgeous Taffy!! Love staircase shots, and you did such an amazing job with this one! At first it was a little disorienting as it was hard to tell whether you were looking up or down, but that is also why it is so wonderful like an Escher sketch.
What a great find and wonderful capture, hope you didn't have to walk up them all. I love these sort of shot, I wonder what it would look like in B&W. We went to chi cargo very briefly a few years bag, never knew about this little gem though. Thanks for the additional info on the building, nice shot.
Another twofold FAV, one for the building itself (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT) and one for your keen eye for architecture. Super cooll POV.
I wish they had offered the tour when we were in Chgo!!!!!
@cjphoto@kiwiflora@annied@mara19500@paulaw@soboy5@elaine55@busylady
Thanks Judith, Elaine, Paula, Danny, Mara, Annie, Francoise, and Chris! Being at the top with a shot of my city feels wonderful!! I appreciate your leaving a comment on this today -- what a great way to start the weekend!
Fantastic capture, Taffy! This remind me of a shot I took at a hotel in Paris. Only yours is MUCH better! Instant fav. I don't know how I missed this. Congrats on the TT!
Great capture.
Fav
I wish they had offered the tour when we were in Chgo!!!!!
Great study of the stairwell!
Thanks Judith, Elaine, Paula, Danny, Mara, Annie, Francoise, and Chris! Being at the top with a shot of my city feels wonderful!! I appreciate your leaving a comment on this today -- what a great way to start the weekend!
@michaelelliott :-) love your sense of humour. Your comment made me smile on nit so great a day! :-)