AC Miller Photography - Your Daily Dose of Chicago

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Scarves

I know she is thinking, "What the hell are you looking at?" I'm shooting from the hip so she probably has no idea I took her picture, let alone that she's being featured on photo blog with a caption entitled "Scarves." A title that was also inspired by the girl behind her. I packed away my scarf for the winter a few weeks ago.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Burling High-Rise and SoNo

It's going to be interesting to see what this area will look like 5, 10, and 20 years from now. 15 years ago eight Cabrini Green high-rises were located on this site bounded by Evergreen, Halsted, Division Streets and Clybourn Avenue. Now 1230 N Burling, referred to by residents as "Scamplife," is all that remains with the exception of the Francis Cabrini Rowhomes to the south. The political and social issues involved with this land are so complex that it would require a book hundreds of pages in length to fully elaborate in detail (maybe this is in the works). It is my hope that the Chicago Housing Authority will live up to their promises by offering affordable housing to those who have been displaced so they are able to return.

Lately the word has been that Target is interested in the site at Division and Halsted where the Burling building stands. The last thing I would want to see is for this area to become cluttered with retail stores, parking lots, and strip malls. Those who live in Chicago know that there is already abundance of this on North Avenue and up and down Clybourn.

To the right of this image (north) is the SoNo residential high-rise. SoNo refers to the area SOuth of NOrth Avenue a name derived from New York's SoHo in lower manhattan (South of Houston Street, which was derived from London's SoHo neighborhood). The SoNo as a neighborhood title hasn't quite taken off and probably won't become a household name anytime soon, but it's definitely a sign of things to come.


1230 N Burling Via Zoom Lens

Monday, April 4, 2011

Hanging Shoes with City Views

A few weeks ago demolition was completed on two Cabrini Green buildings commonly referred to as "the reds" at 364 and 365 W Oak Street. I strolled by the empty sites and noticed 2 pairs of shoes hanging from the power lines. There are several reasons to explain the act of shoe tossing. It can be viewed as a sign that drugs can be found there, it can represent a murder victim, or gang turf, etc. I would like to believe that they the former residents and community that existed at 364 and 365 W Oak Street. Or, quite possibility, the shoes could have been placed there by former residents as symbols of the structures that use to be.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cabrini Green: Mixing It Up

Filmmaker Ronit Bezalel has been working on the completion of part 2 of the Cabrini Green story, titled "Mixing It Up." I look forward to see how it all comes together. Pictured above is 1120 N Larrabee which was demolished last fall.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Project Cabrini Green

The last remaining high-rise at Cabrini Green is scheduled to be demolished today. Two days ago, 134 LED lights were placed in each of the vacant apartments at 1230 N Burling. This art installation is a community based project headed by Jan Tichy, artist and professor of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. At night the flickering lights can be seen within the Burling building at the corner of Division and Haldsted Streets. The lights will fall along with the building throughout the month-long demolition. I will be returning to photograph the site throughout the month of April. To learn more check out Project Cabrini Green.