Grunts Rare Books Opens In Pilsen

A Day With Pritzker Scion, Arts Champion And Gertie Founder Abby Pucker

Thirty-two-year-old Abby Pucker "is an avid collector with pieces by some seventy-five living artists including Chicago artists Torkwase Dyson, Jake Troyli and Brendan Fernandes," reports WBEZ . "Two years ago, Pucker founded a cultural consultancy group she called Gertie, and starting today, it will stage its second annual Chicago Exhibition Weekend , an art event that operates like a younger sister to the city's marquee visual art fair, Expo Chicago... The sprawling showcase features more than forty-five Chicago galleries including blue-chip spaces like Mariane Ibrahim and Gray and smaller ones that sit outside the city center like Bronzeville's Blanc Gallery and Good Weather in Douglass Park."

Inside Tony Fitzpatrick's New Bucktown Studio

"Known for his drawings, collages and multimedia projects," reports Block Club , Tony Fitzpatrick "has once again planted his flag in Bucktown—about a block from his old Big Cat Press gallery. 'It's a good reminder that artists built this neighborhood.'" He "has owned and operated galleries all over the city, most recently the Dime & T.F. Projects on Western. And for years, Fitzpatrick ran Big Cat Press at 2124 North Damen, just up the street from his new digs. Today, it's home to Door 24 Wine, co-owned by his wife, Michele Fitzpatrick... By setting up shop in Bucktown and getting reacquainted with neighbors, Fitzpatrick wants to prove the creative spirit is alive and well in the area, he said—nevermind the expensive condos."

Manchester Art Vandals Acquitted

Climate activists who glued themselves to a JMW Turner painting have been spared prison time, reports Artnet . "The judge ruled that the pair's protest action was proportionate in the face of the climate crisis." Fourteen Just Stop Oil supporters are serving prison sentences of up to five years in the United Kingdom.

Groundbreaking For $7 Billion United Center Project Could Begin Next Summer With 6,000-Seat Music Venue

The 1901 Project, "the massive project that would transform part of the West Side," could break ground in only a few months, beginning with a new music hall for the city, reports the Sun-Times . "The next generation of United Center ownership told attendees Wednesday at a joint Lincoln Forum and Union League Club of Chicago event that the development will likely stretch to fifteen years... Danny Wirtz, chairman and CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks, said the owners have been 'really open with the city' about a possible reconfiguration of the Pink Line, and the city has been 'very open to the possibilities there.'"

Related Optimistic About 725 West Randolph Proposal Despite Office Headwinds

"Much of the office market may be mired in a downturn, but demand has been strong for high-end space," reports Business Insider . "New office construction has dropped off sharply, leading to a potential upcoming shortage. Major developers and tenants have taken notice, and projects are revving up to break ground." Philippe Visser, Related's president of office development, "says Related expects to break ground on a forty-story, 925,000-square-foot office tower at 725 West Randolph in Chicago by next year. Although that city is also awash in available space, the building would be one of the only available newly built office properties in the Fulton Market neighborhood, a desirable sub-district in the city's West Loop that is known for its retail and restaurants."

Siren Betty Takes Logan Square Firehouse

"A historical firehouse in Logan Square is living on as new offices for two local companies," reports Block Club . "The Diversey-Fairfield Firehouse and Engine Company No. 106 at 2737 West Diversey is now home to Siren Betty , a popular restaurant and bar design firm, and Stock Mfg. Co. , which makes restaurant uniforms and merchandise for local and nationwide clients."

Chicago Once Housed The World's Tallest Hotel

"As long as I can remember, Chicago has been besotted by the size of its monuments. Biggest. Tallest. Busiest. This makes the Morrison Hotel—the tallest iteration of which, if it still stood, would have turned one hundred next year—twice blessed. At one point, it was the tallest hotel in the world. At another, it was the tallest building ever torn down in America," writes Rich Cohen at Chicago magazine .

Name Stripped From Glencoe Frank Lloyd Wright Cottage

"The Glencoe Historical Society has renamed a Frank Lloyd Wright cottage the Ravine Bluffs Cottage after discovering original owner Sherman Booth, whose name the cottage bore for about a century, masterminded racist covenants to keep Black, Italian and Greek residents out of the town," reports the Tribune .

Alderman Approves DePaul Athletic Facility In Lincoln Park That Will Demolish Heritage Buildings

The DePaul University Sports Facility has taken "a step forward with aldermanic approval at 2300 North Sheffield... Located near the intersection with West Belden, the project has been at the center of much controversy as plans call for the structure replacing multiple residential buildings owned by the university and commonly used for student housing," relays Chicago YIMBY . "The three-story structure is part of a larger plan to remodel and expand the school's athletic facilities with Antunovich Associates and HNTB working on its design... Locals called for its cancellation or relocation to one of the university's surface lots nearby."

Monroe Street Apartment Conversion Approved

"A key city panel unanimously endorsed the $64.2 million plan to transform the fourteen-story office building at 79 West Monroe into an apartment building with 117 units, including forty-one units set aside for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans," advises WTTW's Heather Cherone on the development plan from R2 Co. and the Campari Group. It's "the first of four proposals to use millions of dollars in taxpayer money to breathe new life into Chicago's Financial District by transforming it into the city's newest residential neighborhood is one step away from approval." Reminds Crain's , "The city is committing $163 million to four projects that will convert empty Loop office space into 1,100 residences."

Ukrainian Village's Komoda Relocates After Eighteen Years

Sherri Gregorczyk has owned and operated the gift shop Komoda at the corner of Chicago and Rockwell since 2006. She reopened the shop one block east last week, reports Block Club . (The building at the older location is facing problems with its foundation.)

Data Centers Aren't The Dream They Seem

"During the pandemic, we paid a price for our decades of reliance on fragile and foreign supply chains driven by the gospel of just-in-time everything," offers entrepreneur Howard Tullman in a Crain's opinion turn . "We were left with bare shelves, empty-handed workers with nothing to assemble, layoffs and ultimately a shattered economy. [A] far more problematic wave of development, modeled on Amazon, is gathering speed across the United States, which communities have endorsed and supported based on their prior assumptions and overall positive experiences with the data centers. But this new activity—the building of self-standing and substantial data centers—is a far different and more complicated undertaking. Data centers come with near-term and potentially far-reaching environmental and other adverse consequences."

DINING & DRINKING

Maurie & Flaurie Expected To Outlive Current Superdawg Owners

Superdawg's rooftop icons, undergoing off-premises refreshing, were handmade by the establishment's founder "with an unknown artist from paper-mache around a chicken wire frame, and first went up on April 28, 1948," investigates the Trib . In 1950, when the temporary hot dog stand went year-round, "they wrapped them in fiberglass and put them on the roof, where they stood untouched for the next twenty-five or so years." Two refreshments later, "they've only been down officially three times in seventy-five years." The refurbishment at 113-year-old Orlandi Statuary in Logan Square "includes new LED eyes replacing the incandescent eyes for the first time." The return of the Dawg duo will be soon: "Winking at each other as they did," Scott Berman, son of late founders and figure namesakes Flaurie and Maurie Berman, told the paper. "Blink, blink, blink, blink."

Eden And JT's Genuine Sandwich Shop Garner Burger Hop Nods

"Eden, the farm-to-table restaurant off the Chicago River in Avondale, and Irving Park's JT's Genuine Sandwich Shop were the big winners at Chicago Gourmet's Hamburger Hop, the annual competition that crowns the best burgers in the city," reports Eater Chicago . There were fourteen spots in the running, and "the competitors were bound by ingredients from sponsors, like beef from Sysco and cheese from Kerrygold."

The Vig West Loop Opens Friday

The Vig will open a West Loop locale on Friday night at 312 North Carpenter. "The Vig West Loop will be the second location for the 1950s-themed sports parlor, joining the original The Vig Old Town and the fourth location for the Legacy Hospitality portfolio. Like its sister location, The Vig West Loop will offer a refined menu of classic cocktails and upscale casual contemporary American fare in a playfully sophisticated atmosphere... Patrons can expect live music offerings and spins from the city's top DJs, as well as The Vig's signature chocolate cookies served fresh at midnight." More here .

FILM & TELEVISION

Bigger, Bolder Movie Food

As movie theaters retrench financially in the aftermath of the pandemic and economic downturns, "big" is in, reports the New York Times . "Over-the-top specialty concessions at theaters aren't new, but they are newly everywhere... Movie theaters, which have struggled with declining attendance for decades, are increasingly turning to specialty concessions like the Sandworm Slayer to lure Americans back through their doors... The vice president of food and beverage product strategy for AMC Theaters, said limited-edition cocktails pegged to the release of 'Deadpool & Wolverine' contributed significantly to the highest weekend concession revenue for the company since 2019."

Los Angeles' Independent Moviehouses See Increased Attendance, Just Like In Chicago

In Los Angeles, the closing of sub-par movie screens means more enthusiastic audiences for independent and repertory houses, reports AP . (Ray Pride reported for Newcity on this trend last spring here .)

Art Bookstore Opens In Pilsen On Sunday

Grunts Rare Books, from the owners of M. LeBlanc and Sulk Chicago, is an art-centric bookstore and project space at 1500 South Western, which will open October 6, they advise on Instagram .

Chicago Review Of Books Shortlists CHIRBys

The Chicago Review of Books Awards have honored fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays and short stories published by Chicago authors since 2016. The 2024 shortlist includes: fiction, "The Divorcées," by Rowan Beaird; "The Material," by Camille Bordas; "The Body Farm," by Abby Geni; "Wellness," by Nathan Hill; and "Hot Springs Drive," by Lindsay Hunter. Nonfiction: "Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change," by Ben Austen; "The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City's Soul," by Scott W. Berg; "Chicago House Music: Culture and Community," by Marguerite L. Harrold; "The Night Parade," by Jami Nakamura Lin; and "The City is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis," by Gregory Royal Pratt.

Poetry: "Yaguareté White," by Diego Báez; "The Murmuring Grief of the Americas," by Daniel Borzutzky; "Absolute Animal," by Rachel DeWoskin; "The Span of Small Forevers," by April Gibson; and "A Map of My Want," by Faylita Hicks. For essay or short story: "How Chicago's Black Steelworkers Struggled, Thrived, and Survived the Industry's Rise and Fall" by Maxwell Evans in Block Club; "What $500 Means to Zinida Moore" by Elly Fishman in Chicago; "After Twenty-five years of selling tamales in Chicago, an undocumented immigrant mother returns to Mexico without her family" by Laura Rodríguez Presa in Chicago Tribune; "Two train rides in November" by Katie Prout in the Reader; and "Blaming migrants for Chicago's problems is a historical trend" by Shermann "Dilla" Thomas in The TRiiBE.

NPR Shortening Stories On "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered"

NPR is making changes to its flagship programming in an attempt to stem an audience exodus, reports Current . More stories on "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" are being reduced to two-to-three minutes, "featuring a broader range of topics and shifting to a livelier and more conversational presentation style... Shows will include fewer scripted 'two-ways'—interviews between a host and a reporter," and each hour of the two programs "will feature no more than one element longer than five minutes."

Podcast Revisits "Candyman" Lore

"Candyman: The True Story Behind The Bathroom Mirror Murder," is streaming from CBS News .

Hilary Hahn Takes Gramophone Award

CSO mainstay Hilary Hahn has won Gramophone's Recording of the Year & Instrumental Award 2024 for Ysaÿe's Violin Sonatas, the magazine announces . "The celebrated American violinist Hilary Hahn brings technique and personality to often-recorded works in electrifying accounts that are set to be a new benchmark."

Chicago Band Stranded In North Carolina Plays On

Chicago band Sneezy "was in Asheville, North Carolina to record a new album when Helene brought devastating rains that washed away roads and critical infrastructure," reports WLS-TV . "A music venue owned by the band's manager was one of a few businesses that didn't lose power, so the band and others mobilized to serve hot food to storm victims... The band's music also offered refuge, including for a wedding party whose big day had been ruined. 'I sang "Lean on Me," and the whole room just started crying, and I'm like "Oh, my gosh,"'" Sneezy vocalist Brett O'Connor said.

Trib Drama Critic Has Questions About Equity Jeffs Ceremony

"In my twenty-five-plus years of going to the Equity Jeffs (not missed one in a long time), I've never seen a ceremony where so few artists actually showed up to pick up their wins," Tribune critic Chris Jones posts on Facebook . "It was so striking that it made you wonder whether it was actually worth having a live ceremony. Even one of the special honorees was not present. Making this worse, the Jeffs changed their rules this year to allow others to pick up trophies and deliver their own speeches for awards they did not win. It all felt, frankly, provincial, which is not the message the Chicago theater wants to send, nor the truth of what happens in this town.

"The 2024 edition was really not so good for what I have long thought is one of the most special nights of the year. There were some lovely actual acceptance speeches to enjoy and many a fine performance... But let me suggest the Jeffs, for whom I have great respect, rethink time and location. Drury Lane is not the easiest venue to reach, especially for those without cars... And this ceremony takes place much too far into the following season; demonstrably, artists are too busy to attend and the ceremony also has gained the reputation of an absurdly long running time."

Giordano Announces Sixty-Second Season

Giordano Dance Chicago, America's original jazz dance company, enters their sixty-second season with a program at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26. Works include the world premiere of "Red & Black," by choreographer Ray Leeper, an encore of the one-act "Gershwin in B" by choreographer and GDC resident choreographer Al Blackstone, and the inspirational "Flickers," by choreographer Marinda Davis. Tickets ($25-$95) and more here .

ARTS & CULTURE & ETC.

Does The Source Of Arts Funding Have To Change?

"In the United States, the arts are subsidized by the very wealthy and the very poor. But amid ongoing turmoil in the nonprofit world, some people are trying to build a new creative economy," writes Kate Dwyer at Esquire . "Yearslong decreases in corporate charitable giving and overall charitable giving made The Chronicle of Philanthropy ask , in January, 'Has the giving crisis reached the point of no return?' Similarly, Vox wondered in July, 'Are we actually in the middle of a generosity crisis?'"

On South Side Connection

"Evan Moore lets us in on the difference between people who grew up on the South Side, and people who simply live there," posts South Side Weekly . "There's a stark difference between folks who grew up in South Shore and those who live in South Shore," Moore writes in an extended essay.

Federal Judge Gives Biden Loan Forgiveness Plan The Go-Ahead

"A federal judge will let expire a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration's sweeping new student loan forgiveness plan, which could deliver relief to tens of millions of Americans," reports CNBC . "The ruling means President Biden may move forward with his administration's forgiveness plan, just weeks before the November election."

Feds Get Behind Banks Against Illinois Regulating Credit Card Processing Charges

"The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is throwing its support behind banks trying to block a new Illinois law that limits the interchange fees charged by credit card processors," reports Crain's , "marking a significant development in a case that could have major implications for national banking regulations."