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About jwalsh2013

John P. Walsh is an art historian, writer and photographer. He has an M.A. in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and taught Modern Art History at Northwestern University. Follow his work @ http://johnpwalshblog.com/ Pinterest @ http://www.pinterest.com/lang52tr/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/john.p.walshiii.

My Street Photography. GENERAL MOTORS: CHEVROLET IMPALA (1958–1985; 1994–1996; 2000–2020).

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FEATURE IMAGE: The 1966 Chevrolet Impala is 6 foot 7 inches wide (79.9 inches). See –https://www.conceptcarz.com/s9332/chevrolet-impala-series.aspx – retrieved May 7, 2024. May 2024. 94% 7.65mb Author’s photograph.

All photographs in this post are the author’s original work.

1959: Ad tag line Chevrolet for ’59 – all new all over again! GM overhauled its entire lineup that year with fresh body designs, and the shake‑up came with a reshuffling of model names. The Impala, which had been the top trim within the Bel Air line in 1958, was elevated to its own full series. By 1959 it had fully taken over as Chevrolet’s premium offering, while the Bel Air slid into the mid‑range slot.

The new design on all cars included a taller, wraparound windshield and rear windows that were greatly enlarged joined to thinner roof pillars for greater visibility. The slightly curved rear window went high into the roof line and sported a “flat top” roof.

The front end carried a grille made of nine horizontal bars crossed by seven thicker, evenly spaced vertical bars. The center horizontal bar was heavier, and each intersection with the verticals ended in a blunt, squared‑off cap. Above the side‑by‑side headlights and grille sat a pair of horizontal, teardrop‑shaped inlets, and centered between them on the hood was the Chevy insignia.

The tailfin began its rise just behind the front door, running cleanly to the rear with a subtle lift in height. At the back, the horizontal fins overhung the taillights and converged at the centerline, forming a crisp “V” that defined the car’s signature rear profile.

The body style lasted through model year 1960. Impala’s average price in 1959 was $2,719 (about $31,000 in 2026 dollars). Chevy produced a little over 500,000 Impalas in 1959.

**Ad tag line for the 1959 Chevy Impala: “Chevy’s glamorous new series. Stunning and elegant.”**

**August 2023. 1959 Impala. 7.60 mb DSC_6290.**

**August 2023. 1959 Impala 6.71mb DSC_6291 (1)**

1959 Chevrolet Impala 2-door hardtop. Second Generation (1959-1960). In 1959 Chevy Impala replaced the Bel Air as Chevy’s full-size premium model.

**August 2023.1959 Impala. 3.28mb DSC_6289 (1)**

**June 2025. 1959 Chevy Impala. 74% 7.86mb DSC_1603**

**June 2025.1959 Chevy Impala 6.15mb DSC_1604 (1)**

The Ad tag line for 1961 Impala: “America’s most popular cars, now trimmer in size.”

American automakers spent roughly two decades — from the early ’50s into the early ’70s — preaching the gospel that bigger was better. But running alongside that full‑size bravado was a quieter, persistent current of practical, economy‑minded engineering. A string of recessions — 1953–54, 1957–58, 1960–61, then again in 1969–70 and 1973–75 — kept reminding Detroit that not every buyer wanted (or could afford) a land yacht. Add in the first real wave of international competition, and the planners finally blinked. The result: the 1960 compact‑car push, with the Big Three rolling out smaller, thriftier models — and by 1961, expanding those compacts into higher‑trim, higher‑priced variants as the market proved there was real money in “small but smart.”

**June 2025. 1961 Chevy impala. 7.40mb DSC_1703 (1)**

**June 2025. 1961 Chevy impala. 94% 7.96mb DSC_1705**

Chevrolet owned the scoreboard in 1961, cranking out nearly 1.45 million vehicles and standing as the undisputed manufacturing leader. The full‑size lineup — Impala, Biscayne, and Bel Air — accounted for roughly 80% of that volume, proving that Chevy’s big‑car formula still had the magic touch.

At the top of the heap sat the Impala, the premium full‑size offering. In convertible trim it came dressed with vinyl upholstery and headliner, an electric clock, carpet‑and‑vinyl combo flooring with coated rubber matting, and dual backup lamps — the kind of upscale touches that separated it from its Biscayne and Bel Air siblings.

The ’61 full‑size Chevrolets were completely reworked, trimming a bit of length and width for a cleaner, more modern stance. The redesign ditched the wraparound windshield and the last traces of tailfins, but kept the signature center “V” dip out back. Up front, the cars wore a full‑width grille flanked by dual headlamps on each side, with parking and turn‑signal lamps perched above — a crisp, squared‑up face that set the tone for Chevy’s early‑’60s look.

**June 2025. 1961 Chevy Impala. 99% 7.81mb DSC_1709 (1)**

In 1965 the Chevrolet Full‑size line was sold with the tag line “Exciting, new look of elegance,” and the 1965 model year pushed that promise with a noticeable shift toward greater performance.

1965 Chevrolet Impala, Fourth Generation (1965–1970). Recognizable by its signature triple taillight design and flowing full-size body, the Chevy Impala was commonly equipped with a V8 engine, such as the 350 or 409ci. Redesigned in 1965, the Impala set an all-time industry annual sales record that year. July 2017. 2.77mb DSC_0419 (1). Author’s photograph.

The redesigned body introduced for 1965 carried through into 1966, giving the lineup a fresh, modern profile. That year, the Full‑Size series — Bel Air, Biscayne, and Impala — dominated Chevrolet’s output, accounting for nearly 70% of total production (1.647 million cars). The Impala alone made up almost three‑quarters of that figure, with 1,230,915 units built.

The Impala SS (Super Sport) debuted in 1960 as an appearance‑and‑performance package, and before long it was restricted to the hardtop and convertible coupes. From 1964 through 1967 — the Impala’s third and fourth generations — the Super Sport became its own standalone model, identified by a unique VIN prefix. In 1965–67, for example, 166/168 denoted a V8‑equipped Impala SS. August 2021. 10.9 mb. Author’s photograph.

1965 Chevrolet Impala SS, Fourth Generation (1965-1970). From 1962 to 1964, Super Sports came with engine-turned aluminum trim which was used to fill the side moldings of the car. In 1965 this was replaced by a “blackout” trim strip that ran below the taillights. August 2021. 11.4 mb. Author’s photograph.

1965 Chevrolet Impala SS, Fourth Generation (1965-1970). The Chevrolet Impala arrived in 1958 with a signature design cue that set it apart from the rest of the lineup: its symmetrical triple taillights. By the late 1960s, as the muscle‑car era shifted toward smaller, lighter “big‑block” performers, the full‑size Super Sport began to fade from the spotlight. The Impala SS saw its final model year in 1969, closing out the original Super Sport era. August 2021. 7.71 mb. Author’s photograph.

The 1966 Chevrolet Full‑Size line carried the confident promise of its ad tag line — “Choose any Jet‑smooth 1966 Chevrolet. It’ll be well built, comfortable, dependable, and good looking.” Nearly 1.5 million full‑size Chevrolets rolled off the line that year, with the Impala once again leading the division at almost 960,000 units.

For 1965, Chevrolet introduced the Caprice as a top‑line Impala Sport Sedan; by 1966 it had become a separate series positioned above the Impala. The Impala itself continued to sit above the Bel Air and Biscayne and remained Chevrolet’s most popular full‑size model through the end of its initial production run in 1985.

By the late 1960s, as the muscle‑car movement shifted toward smaller, lighter platforms, the full‑size Super Sport gradually lost its footing. The Impala SS made its final appearance in 1969, closing the book on the original Super Sport era.

For Chevrolet in 1966, the company’s most painful competitive gap wasn’t in the full‑size field at all — it was the absence of a true answer to the runaway success of the Ford Mustang.

1966 Chevrolet Impala 2D Coupe. The Chevrolet Impala debuted in 1958 with a defining visual signature — its symmetrical triple taillights, a cue that instantly set it apart from the rest of the lineup. The 1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport (SS) Sport Coupe had a sexy sleek appearance with a 396 Turbo Jet that gave plenty of power and a smooth ride. May 2024. 89% 7.94mb Author’s photograph.

The 1966 Impala carried forward the clean lines of the ’65 but with a restrained, well‑judged refresh. It introduced a redesigned instrument panel, a new grille, revised wheel covers (excluding SS models), and a shift from the familiar six round taillights to rectangular units that wrapped subtly into the quarter panels, giving the rear a wider, more contemporary look. May 2024. 79% 7.85mb Author’s photograph.

Standard features on the 1966 Chevrolet Impala included lap belts front and rear, reverse lamps, day/night rearview mirror, and a padded dashboard. In a year of the introduction of the luxury Caprice and a slight redesign, sales plummeted compared to its record sales the year before. May 2024 97% 7.77mb Author’s photograph.

The 1966 Chevrolet Impala is nearly 18 feet long (213.2 inches). May 2024. 85% 7.56mb Author’s photograph.

The ad tag line in 1969 for Chevrolet’s Full‑Size lineup — “Never has so little money bought so much happiness” — captured the appeal of the Impala, Bel Air, and Biscayne as the brand’s value‑packed workhorses. By 1969, the Impala stood out not just as Chevrolet’s volume leader but as a model entering a distinctive moment in its evolution.

The 1969 Impalas carried several one‑year‑only traits that make them instantly recognizable to enthusiasts. After years of being optional, front disc brakes became standard equipment, paired with 15‑inch wheels — a setup that gave the big Chevys stronger stopping power and a more planted stance. It was also the only model year in which the cars actually wore the Impala nameplate on the body, a small but memorable break from tradition.

Production numbers underscored the Impala’s dominance. Out of Chevrolet’s 2,082,947 cars built for 1969, the Impala accounted for roughly 40% of the total — about 777,000 units — easily outpacing the more upscale Caprice and reaffirming its role as Chevrolet’s full‑size cornerstone.

1969 Chevrolet Impala. May 2024. 84% 7.93mb Author’s photograph.

1969 Chevrolet Impala. May 2024. 90% 7.42mb. Author’s photograph.

Chevrolet’s corporate message for 1970 — “Putting you first, keeps us first” — doubled as both a boast and a battle cry. And the Full‑size Chevrolets backed it up with their fourth restyle in four years. While they retained the broad‑shouldered stance and many cues of the ’69s, the 1970 models wore an entirely new face and tail, giving the big Chevys a fresher, more squared‑off presence on the road.

The 1970 model year opened with Chevrolet and Ford locked in a production slugfest, their rivalry on full display. When the dust settled, Chevy edged out Ford by fewer than 43,000 units — a razor‑thin margin in a combined output of 3,986,909 cars. Together, the two giants towered over the rest of the industry, their volume dwarfing every competitor in sight.

For the Full‑size line, the ad writers sharpened the pitch even further: “We’ll let other cars go their way. We’re going yours.” It was a confident nod to the brand’s bread‑and‑butter buyers — and fittingly, the Impala once again dominated production, anchoring Chevrolet’s full‑size lineup as its undisputed volume leader.

1970 Chevy Impala. September 2022. 67% Author’s photograph.

Chevrolet Impala Evolution: All Generations (1958–2020s) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-mu16nfvY) – retrieved April 27, 2026.

SOURCES:
J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1946-1959, McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 949 and 953.
J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1960 to 1965, McFarland & Company, Inc., pp. 76-78, 87-92; 352 and 357.
J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1966 to 1972, McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 32, 38-39; 235-36, 253-54, 260-61; 311-12, 330, 337.
see –https://www.conceptcarz.com/s9332/chevrolet-impala-series.aspx – retrieved May 7, 2024.

This explanatory article may be periodically updated.

Once More into the Breach: Shakespeare, History, and Olivier’s 1944 Henry V.

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Feature Image: Movie poster in Spanish for Laurence Olivier’s 1944 Technicolor adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play, Henry V (1599). Produced in Ireland to serve as a British morale-boosting propaganda tool during WWII, the film achieved global distribution through theatrical releases and subsequent re-releases and is today frequently used in university studies (e.g., Cambridge Core) on cinematic Shakespeare. Photo: “Enrique V” by Kirby York is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

Shakespeare’s Henry V was first published in 1600 in a quarto edition and in subsequent editions in 1602 and 1619. A more complete, reliable text was later published in the First Folio in 1623. Photo: “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies [Title page]” by Boston Public Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Henry V in the Regement of Princes, c. 1411–1413. Henry V died in 1422 at the age of 35, likely from dysentery contracted in the unsanitary conditions of his military camp. In his will, he named his brother, John of Bedford, as regent for his infant son, the future Henry VI, who would not be crowned in his own right until 1437. Although the Treaty of Troyes had positioned Henry V to inherit the French crown, he never became King of France; Charles VI outlived him, preventing the succession. His son, Henry VI—often described as gentle, passive, and averse to violence and warfare—proved unable to sustain his father’s hard‑won claims. His authority in France collapsed, and at home he was deposed in March 1461 by the Yorkist Edward IV. A brief restoration in 1470 returned him to the throne, but only for months; Henry VI was permanently deposed and killed in May 1471. Public Domain.

William Shakespeare likely wrote Henry V in spring 1599. The play dramatizes the 28-year-old English king’s campaign to claim the French throne, culminating in his victory at Agincourt on October 15, 1415—a battlefield I visited in 1993, still largely unchanged after six centuries. Henry based his claim on his ancestor Edward III, and his triumph was aided by a France divided by civil war between Burgundians and Orléanists.

At the Battle of Agincourt (1415), roughly 80% of Henry V’s army were longbowmen—an overwhelming concentration of missile power that defined the fight. Henry deployed thousands of archers along his flanks and center, unleashing relentless, high‑velocity arrow storms that tore through the densely packed, heavily armored French ranks. Behind their sharpened stakes, these archers acted as an offensive engine, cutting down waves of advancing knights before they ever reached English lines. The result was one of military history’s most lopsided victories. Estimates suggest 6,000–10,000 French dead—including more than ninety nobles—against only a few hundred English losses. French formations collapsed, morale shattered, and an army that outnumbered the English by as much as six to one simply disintegrated. Agincourt proved that disciplined, trained, often low‑born archers could annihilate superior numbers of elite, armored cavalry. It didn’t just win a battle—it rewrote the rules of medieval warfare. Photo: “Enrique V (3)” by Kirby York is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

Entrée de Jeanne d’Arc à Orléans (“Entrance of Joan of Arc into Orléans”), painted in 1887 by the academic artist Jacques Scherrer (1855-1916), portrays Joan’s triumphant arrival in Orléans on May 8, 1429, after she lifted the city’s siege during the Hundred Years’ War. Her victory set in motion the campaign that culminated in the Dauphin’s coronation as King Charles VII at Reims on July 17, 1429. Public Domain.

Within fifteen years, Jeanne la Pucelle—Joan of Arc—led Orléanist and Armagnac forces to lift the siege of Orléans in 1429. Captured by Burgundians in 1430, she was handed to the English and condemned by their puppet ecclesiastical court before being burned in Rouen. Henry’s 1415 victory enabled the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, which disinherited the Dauphin, named Henry regent and heir to Charles VI, and arranged his marriage to Catherine of Valois, sister of the future Charles VII. On July 17, 1429, after Joan’s visions and military successes, she stood beside the Dauphin as he was crowned at Reims. By 1453, the French had expelled the English entirely from France.

The 1944 Technicolor film follows a performance of Shakespeare’s history play at the Globe in 1603 as it evolves toward a sharper, more realistic style. Laurence Olivier’s bold, experimental film adaptation—directing and starring in the title role—reimagined Shakespeare for the screen centuries after the play’s premiere. The production became a landmark of cinematic Shakespeare, celebrated for its visual flair and Olivier’s command of film technique, especially in the sweeping, meticulously staged battle sequences. (8) William Walton : Henry V : Touch her soft lips and part. Film clips. – YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnQl4Wj8NXc) – retrieved April 23, 2026.

The play Henry V emerged during an intensely creative year for Shakespeare and was likely among the first plays staged at the new Globe Theatre. Though often read as patriotic, it also probes the ethical and personal costs of war, exposing its brutality and questioning the justice of Henry’s campaign. Laurence Olivier’s 1944 Technicolor adaptation transformed the play into wartime propaganda to bolster British morale and later earned recognition as a landmark Shakespearean film. Its iconic score was composed by William Walton.

Henry V starred British actors Laurence Olivier as Henry V and Renée Asherson as Catherine of Valois. Photo: “Enrique V (2)” by Kirby York is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The original Globe Theatre opened in summer of 1599 in Southwark, London, built by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men which was the company William Shakespeare wrote for and part-owned. It is widely believed that the first play by Shakespeare performed at the Globe was Julius Caesar, likely alongside Henry V and As You Like It. Today’s Globe Theatre in London is the third Globe. see – Globe Theatre | About us | Discover | Shakespeare’s Globe – retrieved April 23, 2026. Photo: “Shakespeare’s Globe” by Werkmens is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Wilmette’s Trinity United Methodist Church (1929): Willett Stained Glass and a Home Alone Legacy.

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FEATURE Image: Reformation and the 18^th century missions of Methodist founder John Wesley, detail of Willet stained- glass window, Trinity United Methodist Church, 1024 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. March 2017. Author’s photograph.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette is a remarkable example of early twentieth-century ecclesiastical architecture whose artistic significance is enriched by its exceptional Willett Studios stained glass and an unexpected place in popular culture through its association with the film Home Alone.

The church buildings complex displays the key ecclesiastical architectural features of late American Gothic Revival style. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.38mb DSC_0634 (1).

Architecture of Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette.

The Ashlar limestone church has stood on a prominent triangular corner of Lake and Wilmette Avenues for nearly 100 years. In the late American Gothic Revival style that flourished in the first third of the 20th century, the church displays in my photo its key ecclesiastical architectural features of (1) pointed‑arch windows with stone tracery, (2) tall bell tower with louvered openings, (3) buttress‑like vertical stonework emphasizing height, (4) a steep slate roof and (5) stained‑glass windows set in deep stone. Designed by Granger & Bollenbacher, the church building completed in 1929 is designed to feel ancient, monumental, and rooted in medieval Christian tradition — exactly what Methodist congregations of the era wanted. Trinity UMC stands out on the North Shore because it is scaled to frame its narrative, more medieval stained glass and not for grandeur comparative to its neighbors such as Christ Church (Episcopal) in Winnetka designed by Bertram Goodhue, or for crisp academic lines such as First Presbyterian in Wilmette designed by Coolidge & Hodgdon, among others. Of Gothic Revival churches built between 1900–1935. Trinity fits squarely into that movement, but with its own personality, specifically its didactic windows. The building was erected when the congregation outgrew its earlier 1908 Romanesque brick church. The church’s current Gothic Revival building, designed by Chicago architects Granger and Bollenbacher, reflects inspiration from European cathedrals. Construction began in the late 1920s, but the 1929 Stock Market Crash halted many of the planned interior details. The stained- glass windows, including the prominent façade window, were designed and installed by Henry Lee Willet in 1954.

Founding History and Its “Home Alone” Legacy.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette is one of the North Shore’s oldest congregations, with a history that stretches back to the 19th century. Founded on March 24, 1874, the church originally bore the name First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilmette. Over the decades, it evolved through several identities — Wilmette Parish Methodist Church (1930–1968), Trinity Church of the North Shore (1968–1989), and finally Trinity United Methodist Church of Wilmette, the name it carries today. The church’s historic bell — once used to call worshippers, toll for local deaths, and warn the village of fires — now sits on display near the parking lot.

While its spiritual and community roles define its core identity, Trinity United Methodist Church is also widely recognized for its unexpected place in American pop culture. The church’s exterior appears in two memorable scenes in the 1990 Christmas classic “Home Alone.” In the film, directed by John Hughes, young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) first spots the church while fleeing the burglars and hides in the Nativity scene on the lawn. Later, Kevin approaches the church at night, drawn by the sound of the choir singing “O Holy Night.” These moments set the stage for one of the film’s most emotional sequences — Kevin’s conversation with Old Man Marley — though that interior scene was filmed at Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park. Securing permission to film at Trinity was not straightforward. When Twentieth Century Fox approached the Village of Wilmette in early 1990, the Village Board narrowly approved the request in a 4–3 vote after discussion and date changes. Filming took place in late winter of that year, and the church’s brief but iconic appearance has since become a point of local pride. Today, Trinity embraces this connection, often noting that to many visitors, it is simply “the Home Alone church.”

Beyond its religious and architectural significance, the church gained broader recognition through its connection to the beloved film Home Alone.

More than a movie landmark, Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette remains a vibrant congregation committed to worship, music, community service, and hospitality — a place where history, faith, and a touch of Hollywood intersect on the corner of Lake and Wilmette Avenues.

Designed by Granger & Bollenbacher, a procession of stained‑glass windows that line the nave are set in deep stone. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.40mb DSC_0635 (1)

How the architecture relates to the stained‑glass program.

The stained glass was created by Henry Lee Willett of Willett Stained Glass Studios in Philadelphia, one of the leading American studios of the mid‑20th century. The major façade window, dated February 14, 1954, shows Willett’s signature use of rich blues, jewel‑tone reds, elongated Gothic figures, and clear narrative panels. Its scale and design were chosen for narrative clarity, while the church’s deep window wells intensify color saturation and create a natural shadow‑frame that draws the eye toward the visual telling of Scripture — a hallmark of Methodist stained‑glass design. While Trinity’s windows feel sacred and are tall enough to make a visual statement, they are also narrow enough to keep scenes readable and, like most narrative stained-glass windows, arranged in story cycles. The church’s façade and nave proportions create a natural processional reading of the windows, allowing each panel — and the entire cycle together — to unfold as a coherent theological arc. Methodist churches of the 1920s often used architecture to shape a catechetical journey, with the Gothic style providing both a sense of transcendence and a visual link to the continuity of the church across the millennia. The building and the glass tell the same story: God speaks, calls, teaches, transforms.

Interior Analysis: Gothic Revival Structure.

The sanctuary speaks in the familiar Gothic vocabulary. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.48 mb DSC_0654 (1)

A procession of rounded arches line the nave arcade, a testament to the congregation’s former Romanesque church building, with Gothic pointed-arch stained -glass windows above them guiding the eye upwards and forward. Above these, a ribbed or groin‑vaulted ceiling lifts the gaze further upward into a sense of height and devotion that feels almost instinctive. Reinforcing this vertical pull, the tall, narrow stained‑glass windows have proportions echoing centuries of Gothic design stretching light into color. Stone columns with simple capitals mark each step of the nave, guiding you along the long central aisle toward the chancel. The sanctuary is familiar Gothic interpreted through the American 1920s–30s lens—lighter, more vertical, devotional rather than medieval.

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.89mb DSC_0657 (1)

The space warms into Methodist Gothic. Dark wood pews, wooden chancel furnishings, a prominent pulpit or lectern, and a central cross create an interior that feels both sacred and approachable. The materials and layout quietly affirm the Methodist emphasis on Scripture, preaching, and congregational participation.

Overhead, hanging lantern chandeliers complete the atmosphere. Their medieval‑inspired metalwork casts a warm glow that softens the stone and wood. Evenly spaced along the nave, they reinforce the processional rhythm, drawing the eye—and the worshipper—toward the chancel and the unfolding narrative held in glass and architecture. Gothic in form, Methodist in function, Willett in storytelling, and 1920s–30s American in craftsmanship, including acoustics shaped for congregational singing, the interior of Trinity UMC is a space designed to make worship feel like a journey: from the world outside, through the nave, toward the light of the chancel and the story told in glass.

How Methodist theology shaped 20th‑century stained glass.

Methodist stained glass in the early–mid 1900s has a distinctive character shaped by Methodist convictions about Scripture, preaching, and discipleship. Because windows were expected to teach, almost every Methodist window cycle from this era functions as a visual sermon. Their imagery is intentionally accessible, with a strong Biblical orientation and a clear narrative movement through salvation history.

Methodists understand themselves as heirs of the Old Testament, followers of Jesus, children of the Reformation, and participants in the church’s ongoing renewal. As a result, their stained‑glass programs blend Old Testament, New Testament, and Reformation themes. Typical cycles include scenes of the prophets, episodes from the Life of Christ, and depictions of key Reformers such as Martin Luther (1483-1546), William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536), and Methodist founder John Wesley (1703-1791).

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 5.29mb DSC_0655 (1)

Its stained glass windows were created by the renowned Willett Studios of Philadelphia, among the most respected American ecclesiastical glass firms.

Façade window – Jesus Calling the First Disciples:

Façade window of Jesus Calling the First Disciples. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 7.65mb DSC_0649 (2)

A foundational moment in the Gospels — and a favorite subject in mid‑20th‑century Methodist stained glass — is Jesus calling the first disciples. In this scene, Jesus summons fishermen from their boats with the words, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The boat anchors the story in the Sea of Galilee, while the iconography makes the identification unmistakable. Jesus is shown with a cruciform halo and red and blue garments, signaling his dual nature. His authoritative, summoning gesture directs attention to the haloed figures of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who look up toward him in response to the call.

Detail of Façade window depicting Reformers.

At the bottom of the façade window are four scenes from the life of the Reformers. At LEFT is MARTIN LUTHER nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church (All Saints’ Church) in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, that sparked the Reformation. At the bottom right of the panel is a white rose with a red heart and black cross. That is Luther’s personal emblem, designed in 1530 and used on his letters and publications. He is wearing scholarly robes in the colors of deep red, green, and brown that Willett often used for Reformers.

At LEFT CENTER is the burning at the stake of WILLIAM TYNDALE in 1536 whose crime was translating the Bible into English for the ordinary people. Tyndale believed Scripture should be accessible to ordinary people and died for that conviction. The Reformation’s gift is to take the Bible out of the hands of the elite and place it into the hands of the people.

At CENTER RIGHT is JJOHN WESLEY, founder of Methodism, preaching in the open air to Native Americans — specifically the Muscogee (Creek) people —during his mission to the Georgia colony between 1735 to 1737 which, after his return to England, accelerated the Methodist Movement which Wesley founded at Oxford in 1729. Wesley began preaching in the open air, embracing traveling ministry and forming societies as he did in America. By 1739, he built the first Methodist meeting house in Bristol, England.

At RIGHT John Wesley preaching to early American settlers. Wesley served as Anglican pastor of Christ Church in Savannah, Georgia, where he introduced strict spiritual disciplines. His time was marked by conflict, including a failed romantic relationship, and backlash from residents against his strictness, causing him to return to England heartbroken and disillusioned after only two years.

Methodist stained glass seeks to be beautiful where clarity is key. The style tends to bold outlines, well delineated figures and readable gestures with minimal abstraction.

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 5.20mb DSC_0645 (1)

Traditional enough to feel sacred – Modern enough to feel fresh – narrative enough to teach – artistic enough to inspire: Why Willett Studios was chosen.

Christ the Teacher — sometimes also read as Christ the Good Shepherd window. Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 3.95mb DSC_0664 (2)

This Willet window is a Life of Christ triptych, arranged in the traditional Methodist/Willett narrative pattern.

At the left, the window shows the ministry of compassion: a haloed Christ blessing or forgiving a kneeling woman, possibly inspired by the woman who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Willett often preferred such non‑specific healing scenes, using them to emphasize Christ’s compassion rather than tie the image to a single Gospel episode.

At the center, Christ stands elevated and alone in Willett’s characteristic depiction of Christ the Teacher — sometimes also read as Christ the Good Shepherd when paired with lamb symbolism above. He bears the cruciform halo (reserved only for Jesus) and wears red and blue robes to signify his dual nature as God and Man. His arms extend slightly in a gesture of blessing and invitation.

At the right, the scene shifts to Christ’s agony in the garden before his betrayal and arrest, capturing the moment of solitary struggle that precedes the Passion.

“Do all the good you can.”

Taken together, these panels proclaim a unified message: Christ at the center of the Christian life, the one who heals, restores, and calls disciples to follow. The sequence echoes the Methodist conviction embodied in the familiar motto: “Do all the good you can.”

Trinity UMC, Wilmette. March 2017. Author’s photograph. 4.12.mb DSC_0637 (1)

Prairie Architecture in Transition: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frank J. Baker House (1909) in Wilmette, Illinois.

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Feature image: Frank J. Baker House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois. Frank J. Baker (1864–1922) was a driving force in Wilmette’s early growth — a sharp‑minded engineer and influential executive with the North Shore Electric Company and Commonwealth Edison who helped bring electricity to the North Shore. He is most remembered for the remarkable 1909 Frank J. Baker House, a Prairie‑style landmark designed for him by Frank Lloyd Wright. A civic leader as well as an innovator, Baker co‑founded the First National Bank of Wilmette. He died in his Wright‑designed home just a week before Christmas in 1922 at 58 years old. December 2017. 99% 7.20mb DSC_0560. Author’s photograph.

The Frank J. Baker House is a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright residence and represents a critical moment in Wright’s architectural evolution, when the architect was pushing Prairie School design beyond earlier single-story compositions and experimenting with new approaches to space, volume, and the relationship between horizontality and verticality

The Frank J. Baker House, situated at 507 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois, is a 4,800‑square‑foot residence that stands as a significant example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s evolving Prairie School vocabulary. Designed in 1909, the house incorporates five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and three fireplaces, yet its architectural importance lies less in its programmatic elements than in its role within Wright’s broader experimentation with spatial organization and structural expression during this period.

**Frank J. Baker House, 507 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, 1909, Frank Lloyd Wright. “Frank J. Baker House” by Zol87 from Chicago, IL, USA is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.**

By the first decade of the twentieth century, Wright had begun to move beyond the predominantly single‑story Prairie houses of the late 1890s, exploring the potential of vertically layered two-story domestic space. The Baker House reflects this transitional moment through its T‑shaped floor plan—a configuration Wright employed in several contemporaneous works, including the Isabel Roberts House (below) built the previous year in River Forest, Illinois.

The Frank J. Baker House illustrates a pivotal stage in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School development, where experimentation with the T-shaped plan, two-story living spaces, and environmental continuity produced one of the architect’s most significant domestic designs of 1909

My Architecture & Design Photography: RIVER FOREST, Illinois. (21 Photos & Illustrations).

**Isabel Roberts House, 603 Edgewood Place, River Forest, Illinois, 1908, Frank Lloyd Wright. It was remodeled in the 1950s.** 69% 7.99 mb Author’s photograph.

The T‑plan allowed Wright to choreograph circulation along a dominant longitudinal axis while creating subsidiary wings that modulated privacy, light, and spatial hierarchy. In the Baker House, this plan form becomes a mechanism for integrating interior volumes with the surrounding landscape, reinforcing the Prairie School’s emphasis on horizontality and environmental continuity.

The exterior composition demonstrates Wright’s mature command of Prairie Style principles: a pronounced horizontal orientation, low‑pitched rooflines, and deeply cantilevered overhangs that visually anchor the structure to its site. These elements work in concert to diminish the building’s vertical massing, producing the characteristic “sheltering” effect that Wright associated with Midwestern domestic architecture.

The Frank J. Baker House (1909) and the Isabel Roberts House (1908) are closely related works that belong to Frank Lloyd Wright’s transitional Prairie period. Both employ a T-shaped plan that allowed Wright to organize circulation along a dominant central axis while projecting subsidiary wings outward into the landscape, strengthening the Prairie School ideal of spatial openness and environmental continuity. The Isabel Roberts House can be viewed as a direct precursor to the Frank J. Baker House, with Wright developing it into a more sophisticated architectural statement through greater spatial complexity, a monumental two-story living room, and a richer interplay between horizontality and volume.

**Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903, likely a self-portrait. Public Domain.**

**In 1909 42-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright reportedly personally brought the plans to Baker in Wilmette by horseback.** Public domain. see – New owners to breathe life into 1909 Wright home – Wednesday Journal – retrieved March 30, 2026.

The two‑story living room is the spatial and symbolic core of the house. Its brick fireplace—an archetypal Wrightian hearth—functions as both a literal and conceptual center, organizing the surrounding spaces and reinforcing Wright’s belief in the fireplace as the spiritual heart of the home. The sloped ceiling and continuous band of leaded‑glass windows along the north wall create a dynamic interplay of light and volume, while the vertical expansion of the room contrasts deliberately with the home’s otherwise horizontal emphasis. Few surviving Wright houses retain this particular combination of a T‑shaped plan and a two‑story principal interior, making the Baker House an important artifact in understanding Wright’s spatial experimentation.

The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1974, acknowledging its architectural significance. A comprehensive restoration initiated in 2020 under new ownership has sought to preserve both the material integrity and the spatial logic of Wright’s original design.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie‑style design features strong horizontal porches framing a two‑story diamond‑leaded glass window wall in the living room. The home includes five large bedrooms, three‑and‑a‑half bathrooms, and three fireplaces. The second level offers a primary suite with en‑suite bath, fireplace, and private porch, plus two additional en‑suite bedrooms, two more bedrooms, and a sitting room. The kitchen and breakfast room overlook the expansive yard. Wright designed the home’s 1922 addition. Public Domain.

Through a deliberate sequence of compression and release, Wright choreographed movement through the Baker House so that ordinary domestic spaces culminate in a soaring central living room that serves as the spiritual and architectural heart of the home.

Interior Analysis.

Upon entry, the visitor encounters a twenty‑two‑foot dining room articulated with diamond‑patterned leaded‑glass windows, a pitched ceiling, and extensive wood trim. This space exemplifies Wright’s strategy of compressing and releasing volume: the relatively intimate proportions of the dining room heighten the dramatic expansion experienced upon entering the adjacent living room.

The main‑floor kitchen, accompanied by a modest breakfast nook, reflects Wright’s early efforts to modernize domestic workspaces by integrating them more fluidly into the overall plan. The living room, by contrast, adopts a quasi‑ecclesiastical spatial character. Its cantilevered ceiling, which extends into a loft above, creates a sense of upward movement unusual in Prairie houses. The continuous horizontal and vertical window bands dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, a hallmark of Wright’s belief that architecture should mediate rather than separate human habitation from the natural environment.

At the center of the home stands the principal brick fireplace, accompanied by an overhead balcony that provides an elevated vantage point and reinforces the vertical layering of the space. On the second floor, the master bedroom includes one of the home’s three fireplaces and a private enclosed balcony, further demonstrating Wright’s interest in creating intimate, retreat‑like upper‑level spaces within an otherwise horizontally oriented composition.

see – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frank J. Baker House for Sale – Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation – retrieved March 30, 2026.

**Frank J. Baker House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois.** 6.85mb DSC_0562 (1) December 2017. Author’s photograph.

PACHAMAMA AT THE VATICAN: UNIVERSAL SACRED SYMBOL OR IDOLATRY?

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Feature image: “De la Serie Pachamama” by Juan Vélez is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Pachamama, meaning “Mother Earth” in Quechua and Aymara, is the Andean goddess of fertility and nature—a living, nurturing force central to indigenous culture. For centuries she has embodied the unity of space, time, and land, and is honored through reciprocal agricultural rituals to ensure abundant harvests.

The inauguration Mass of Pope Francis took place on March 19, 2013, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. The ceremony marked the official start of his ministry as the 266th pope and was attended by thousands of faithful, religious leaders, and political dignitaries from the global community. “The Inauguration Mass For Pope Francis” by Catholic Church (England and Wales) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Within Christian theology, Yahweh and Abba are understood as designations for the same God, each highlighting a different dimension of the divine identity: the LORD. Yahweh (YHWH), the sacred name revealed in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizes God’s self‑existence and covenantal sovereignty. Abba—an Aramaic term meaning “Father”—is used by Jesus and later by Paul to express an intimate, relational mode of addressing that same Creator. The relationship of Father and Son regarding Yahweh and the Messiah comes from the Hebrew Bible in a prophecy of Nathan. Together, the terms reflect both the transcendence and the personal closeness attributed to God in Christian thought.

God smote the land with all manner of plagues, but still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. “These things were ordered by themselves, not by God.” Released by Paramount Pictures, The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic directed, produced, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille. Starring Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh, the film dramatizes the biblical story of the Exodus.

The account of the first plague in Exodus—when the Nile turned to blood—has long been understood in Christian tradition as a dramatic assertion of the LORD’s sovereignty over creation. Water, earth, sun, moon, and all natural forces fall under His command. In the ancient world, this act was not merely a disruption of nature but a direct theological confrontation. The Nile was revered as a divine source of life, and Egyptian religion associated it with deities such as Hapi, Khnum, and Osiris. By transforming the river into blood, the LORD demonstrated His supremacy over these gods and exposed the futility of idolatry.

This theme—God’s judgment against false worship—runs throughout Scripture. The first commandment forbids the worship of other gods, and Deuteronomy 6:13–16, later cited by Jesus during His temptation in the desert (Matthew 4), reinforces the call to exclusive fidelity to the LORD and warns against “testing” Him through divided allegiance and idol worship. The plagues, therefore, are not arbitrary punishments but theological signs: they reveal the consequences of idolatry and call both Israel and Egypt to recognize the one true God.

Contemporary Catholics argue that this same principle applies today when Church leaders engage in or appear to endorse rituals involving non Christian deities. Critics of modernist tendencies point to events such as the Pachamama ceremonies during the Amazon Synod, interpreting them as a departure from the first commandment and a dangerous blurring of the line between respect for indigenous cultures and participation in religious acts incompatible with Christian worship. Such actions echo the temptation Jesus resisted who obeyed his Father’s will and relied on his Providence —instead of in the least seeking harmony or power through compromise with spiritual forces outside the covenant.

This tension recalls the famous exchange between Margaret More and her father, St. Thomas More. When she urged him to outwardly conform to an oath while privately dissenting, he replied: “What is an oath then but words we say to God?” His point was that fidelity requires integrity of both heart and action. To critics of modern syncretistic gestures, the same principle applies: one cannot outwardly participate in rites honoring a pagan goddess while inwardly claiming a different intention.

Seen through this lens, the first plague is not harsh but proportionate to the spiritual crisis it confronts. It transforms a symbol of life into a sign of judgment, exposing the emptiness of Egypt’s gods and warning Pharaoh of the consequences of hardened idolatry. The narrative becomes not only an ancient story but a perennial reminder: whenever God’s people flirt with rival spiritual powers, the result is confusion, disorder, and a call to return to the LORD with undivided hearts.

**“Tierra pachamama” by Julieta suarez is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.**

There was a Pachamama ceremonial rite attended by Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens during the Amazon Synod on October 4, 2019. Several related events followed in the subsequent days and weeks. On October 7, 2019, statues identified as Pachamama and other indigenous figures were carried from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Synod Hall and placed before the main altar. After several of these statues were removed and thrown into the Tiber River, Pope Francis ordered their recovery and had them returned to the main altar between October 21 and 25, 2019. During the Synod’s closing Mass on October 25, the pope accepted a bowl associated with ritual practices involving Pachamama and placed it on the altar. See – Pope Francis apologizes that Amazon synod Pachamama statues were thrown into Tiber River and The Pope, the Amazon, and Pachamama | FRANCIS X. CLOONEY, S.J. – retrieved March 23, 2026. As part of the post‑synodal process, Pope Francis issued the apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia on February 12, 2020, which included a brief reference to Pachamama. Although the pope did not explicitly define whether the contested image represents a goddess, a symbol of Mother Earth, or simply a pregnant woman, he framed its presence within Christian liturgical contexts as an expression of respect for indigenous cultures. He therefore cautioned against hasty judgments and argued that “it is possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way, without necessarily considering it as idolatry.” See – “Querida Amazonia”: Post-Synodal Exhortation to the People of God and to All Persons of Good Will (2 February 2020) – retrieved March 23, 2026.

**“Paths to Pachamama by the Guarani Kaiowá.”** **“Caminhos para Pachamama pelos Guaraní Kaiowá” by festivalsensacional is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.**

The papal text drew criticism from numerous sectors within the Church, including Catholic women’s organizations, which noted a central tension: while the document speaks eloquently about sensitivity to and acceptance of indigenous religious practices, it simultaneously overlooks the fact that women play indispensable liturgical and pastoral roles in Amazonian communities, even as the Catholic Church continues to bar women from ordained ministry.

Some commentators further argued that the document reflects a distinctly Jesuit interpretive lens, reviving debates reminiscent of the Chinese Rites Controversy (c. 1630s–1742). That earlier dispute—an intense, century‑long conflict within the Church—centered on whether Confucian and ancestor‑veneration rituals were compatible with Christian practice. Jesuits advocated for cultural accommodation, permitting converts to retain these rites, whereas Dominicans and Franciscans condemned them as pagan superstition. The controversy ultimately ended with a papal prohibition, a defeat the Jesuits neither forgot nor forgave. Their later suppression by Pope Clement XIV in the 1773 brief Dominus ac Redemptor further cemented the episode’s significance in Jesuit memory.

Against this backdrop, Querida Amazonia was interpreted by some as a cultural manifesto that reopens historically contentious questions about inculturation without offering concrete pastoral or structural proposals for the Church’s mission in the region. Critics argued that its “Pan‑Amazonian” vision implicitly legitimized the use of “Pachamama” figures in ecclesial settings—objects some labeled as idolatrous—and risked advancing a syncretistic or pantheistic ecclesiology. In this view, the document’s strong emphasis on indigenous spirituality blurs the line between respect for local cultures and a theological reconfiguration in which the natural environment itself appears to be divinized.

**“Ofrenda a la Pachamama” by Emi ♫ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.**

**“ofrenda a la pachamama” by pirindao is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.**

THERE’S NOTHING “PAGAN” TO SEE HERE: VATICAN SPOKESMEN.

Vatican officials repeatedly stressed that the Pachamama figures—those smooth wooden carvings that appeared throughout the Amazon Synod—were meant to embody life itself, nothing more. Yet the debate refused to settle. Reporters and commentators kept circling back, probing whether these images carried echoes of Amazonian spiritual traditions, perhaps even the mystical or magical practices woven into the forest cultures from which they emerged.

Paolo Ruffini, head of the Vatican’s communications office, stepped forward in October 2019 with a firm, almost weary clarity. The figure, he insisted, “fundamentally… represents life. And enough.” He brushed aside attempts to brand Pachamama as “pagan” or “evil,” pushing back against the swirl of speculation. To him, the symbol was no more sinister than a tree—another universal emblem of fertility, rootedness, and the continuity of creation. Ruffini’s comparison was deliberate: a reminder that symbols can be shared across cultures without carrying the weight of worship, and that the Church, in this moment, was choosing to see Pachamama not as a rival deity but as a poetic gesture toward the sacredness of life. see – Pope Francis apologizes that Amazon synod Pachamama statues were thrown into Tiber River – retrieved March 23, 2026.

“Future Pope Leo XIV in 2012 headshot” by Eja Encontro Juvenil Agostiniano Agostiniano is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Recent reports have drawn attention to Pope Leo XIV—widely regarded as a protégé of Pope Francis—regarding his participation in Pachamama-related ceremonies during his missionary work in Peru in the mid‑1990s. The resurfacing of these accounts in 2026 has generated considerable debate. Critics have questioned how the pope can, on the one hand, caution clergy against relying on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence in their homiletic preparation, while on the other hand urging restraint in judging indigenous religious practices and appearing to support primitive rituals that some observers interpret as forms of non‑Christian worship.

The discussion intensified after photographs emerged from an Augustinian symposium in South America, depicting a mid‑forties Fr. Robert Prevost kneeling in a circle during what has been described as an indigenous agricultural ritual. For those who do not view such practices as conflicting with the First Commandment, the images may seem unremarkable. For others, however, they raise theological and pastoral concerns about syncretism and the boundaries of legitimate cultural engagement within the Church.

The Entrance to an Era: Chicago’s Metropolitan Tower (1924) and the Rise of Modern Michigan Avenue.

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Feature Image: Main Entrance, Metropolitan Tower (1924), 310 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. December 2015. 4.89 mb DSC_0963 (1). Author’s photograph.

Metropolitan Tower’s main entrance is more than an architectural detail: it is a surviving gateway to one of Chicago’s most significant early skyscrapers, a building that embodied the ambitions, craftsmanship, and corporate prestige of the 1920s while reflecting the evolution of Michigan Avenue and modern Chicago.

Located at 310 South Michigan Avenue on the southwest corner of Jackson Boulevard, Metropolitan Tower originally served as corporate headquarters for S.W. Straus and Co., a banking and investment firm. The building was erected in 1924 by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in their signature classical style. The architectural firm was one of the largest in the first half of the twentieth century and went on to build Chicago’s Civic Opera Building in 1929. Founded in 1912, the firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. by way of partner, Ernest R. Graham (1868-1936), and Burnham’s sons, Hubert and Daniel Jr. Five years later the Burnhams left to form their own firm (Burnham Brothers) and Graham partnered with others of the firm’s members: William Peirce Anderson (1870-1924), Edward Mathias Probst (1870-1942), and Howard Judson White (1870-1936). No expense was spared for the Straus Building’s interior, though of the original lobby’s opulence all that remains are the elaborate bronze elevator doors. The entrance’s coffered bronze doors by Italian sculptor Leo Lentelli (1879-1961) were destroyed. see – Saliga, Pauline A., editor, The Sky’s The Limit A Century of Chicago Skyscrapers, Rizzoli New York, 1990, p. 117.

The Metropolitan Tower was built in 1924 as the headquarters of S.W. Straus & Co. and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, successors to the Burnham architectural tradition.

Ernest R. Graham (1868-1936).

William Peirce Anderson (1870-1924).

Edward Mathias Probst (1870-1942).

Howard Judson White (1870-1936).

The elaborate entrance and lobby originally featured exceptional decorative work, including bronze doors created by sculptor Leo Lentelli, although many original elements have been lost.

Leo Lentelli (1879-1961). The Italian sculptor created the original main entrance doors for Metropolitan Tower that were later destroyed. Public Domain.

The 30-floor classical-style Straus Building was renamed over the years for other of its famous inhabitants including Continental National Insurance Co. and Britannica Center for Encyclopedia Britannica. Metropolitan Tower was the first building in Chicago that took advantage of the new 1923 zoning ordinance for skyscrapers that allowed buildings taller than 260 feet (30 or more floors) with the necessary setbacks. Metropolitan Tower’s required setbacks begin at the 21st floor on which sits a nine-story tower until there is a second setback and then the final two stories. Crowned by a stepped pyramid and possessed of a powerful beacon that opened in 1924, the building is Chicago’s first Michigan Avenue skyscraper.

Metropolitan Tower was the first skyscraper on Michigan Avenue and one of the earliest buildings to take advantage of Chicago’s new 1923 zoning regulations permitting greater height through setbacks. Its distinctive stepped crown, beacon, and symbolic ornamentation made it a recognizable feature of the Chicago skyline.

Built in 1924, Metropolitan Tower was Michigan Avenue’s first skyscraper. PHOTO: “Metropolitan Tower, Chicago in May 2016” by MusikAnimal is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Unused for years, the building’s 1,500-pound carillon bells were restored in 1979 for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Chicago. Just steps from Metropolitan Tower, the papal visit included an outdoor mass in Grant Park on October 5, 1979, which attracted over one million attendees, the largest gathering ever in Grant Park history up to that time. see – CBS Chicago Vault: Pope John Paul II enthralls Chicagoans on 1979 visit – CBS Chicago – retrieved March 18, 2026.

At one time, the thirtieth floor was the Straus Tower Observatory, which was open to the public for viewing the city in all four directions. see – Home | Metropolitan Tower – retrieved February 24, 2026. Home to the Continental National Insurance Company soon after it was built, this iconic skyscraper is located within Chicago’s Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. The glass “beehive” supported by four bison figures at the top of the building held the blue light of a four-direction beacon. The ensemble, symbolizing industry, strength, and thrift, saw its beacon, signifying global reach, permanently shut down in 1934 following the financial failure of the S.W. Straus and Company during the Great Depression. The building was converted to residential condominiums in 2007. see – Metropolitan Tower | Powered by Baird & Warner– retrieved February 24, 2026; AIA Guide to Chicago, 2nd Edition, Alice Sinkevitch, Harcourt, Inc., Orlando, 2004, page 42.

The building was constructed in a classical style and represented the high quality and prestige associated with major Chicago commercial architecture of the 1920s. Over time, the building adapted to changing uses and occupants, including Encyclopedia Britannica and residential condominiums, demonstrating its continued relevance and preservation.

Silk Degrees at 50 (February 18, 1976): The Breakthrough Album That Made Boz Scaggs a Star.

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Feature Image: The 1976 cover of Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees, photographed by Moshe Brakha at Casino Point in Avalon, California, presents a stylish and contemplative Scaggs seated on a green-and-white seaside bench overlooking the Pacific. Dressed in a light suit and tie, he appears against a sunlit coastal backdrop while the partial view of a woman’s hand and high-heeled shoe introduces an element of mystery and cinematic intrigue. The image’s polished elegance perfectly complements the album’s sophisticated blend of soul, jazz, R&B, and pop, helping make Silk Degrees one of the most memorable record sleeves of the 1970s. “Silk Degrees – Boz Scaggs” by Brett Jordan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Silk Degrees was Boz Scaggs’ career-defining breakthrough album, a landmark fusion of blue-eyed soul, R&B, jazz, funk, and pop whose commercial success, enduring hit singles, and influence on the future members of Toto secured its place as one of the most important albums of the mid-1970s.

The song about a hustler looking for his next big score, Lido Shuffle was the fourth and final single released from Boz Scaggs’ 1976 album, Silk Degrees, in February 1977, about one year after the album’s February 1976 release. It’s Over (No. 38), Lowdown (No. 3) and What Can I Say (No. 42) already had been released as singles from an album that debuted in March 1976 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at no. 2 on September 18, 1976. Though Silk Degrees spun off the chart in May 1978, 115 weeks after it first appeared, Scaggs’ 7^th studio album had best-selling staying power, remaining in the top 20 (no. 17) at the end of 1976 and higher at no. 8 at the end of 1977. Before its chart departure, Silk Degrees had been certified Platinum by the RIAA and is certified 5x multi-Platinum today. see – Boz Scaggs | Biography, Music & News | Billboard – retrieved February 18, 2026.

Lido Shuffle is a breezy, upbeat number that hit no. 11 on the Hot 100 in 1977.
LYRICS Lido missed the boat that day he left the shack
But that was all he missed and he ain’t comin’ back
At a tombstone bar in a jukejoint car, he made a stop
Just long enough to grab a handle off the top
Next stop Chi town, Lido put the money down and let it roll
He said one more job ought to get it
One last shot ‘fore we quit it
One more for the road
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh
He’s for the money, he’s for the show
Lido’s waitin’ for the go
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh
He said one more job ought to get it
One last shot ‘fore we quit it
One more for the road
Lido be runnin’, havin’ great big fun, until he got the note
Sayin’ toe the line or blow, and that was all she wrote
He be makin’ like a beeline, headin’ for the borderline
Goin’ for broke
Sayin’ one more hit ought to do it
This joint ain’t nothin to it
One more for the road
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh
He’s for the money, he’s for the show
Lido’s waitin’ for the go
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh
One more job ought to get it
One last shot and we quit it
One more for the road
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh
He’s for the money, he’s for the show
Lido’s waitin’ for the go
Lido, whoa-oh-oh-oh…

While inspiration for the unmistakably contemporary “Lido Shuffle” can be drawn from Carl Perkins’ energetic rockabilly style and Fats Domino’s infectious rhythm-and-blues groove, Boz Scaggs and David Paich fashioned a modern tale of a gambler forever chasing the next big win.

**November 3, 1962: Fats Domino in Amsterdam.** “Fats Domino (1962)” by Hugo van Gelderen / Anefo is marked with CC0 1.0.

The idea for, and beat of, pop-rock Lido Shuffle was inspired by songs by Carl Perkins (1932-1988) and Fats Domino (1928-2017) and whose lyrics are about a gambler who left home to chase bets (even to Chicago) and ends up losing more winning.

**Carl Perkins.** “06 – Carl Perkins” by Bradford Timeline is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Though promising to do better, the big gambler gets wrapped up in bets, so that each time is the last time – until the next time. “He’s for the money, he’s for the show, Lido’s waitin’ for the go.” Spending wildly and getting deeper and deeper into debt, he’s having fun. That is, until the note finally comes due and the big gambler has to go for broke running for the border – or that’s the plan. Because he can neither escape his gambling addiction nor his debts he goes for one more gambling hit “goin’ for broke” expecting a bailout that won’t be coming. Like the American buffalo hunted to extinction so ends up the gambling Lido Shuffle.

A sales turnaround for Silk Degrees started in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s Over, the album’s first, and up to that point, only single, had modest top 40 success and Scaggs had no plans to release anything more. But an enterprising Cleveland R&B radio DJ at WJMO- AM started playing the Steely-Dan-styled Lowdown right off the album to Ohio’s North Coast – and the public response was massively positive. Scaggs’ label, Columbia, sent the song around to other R&B and Top 40 radio stations across the country and released Lowdown as a single in June 1976. By October 1976 Lowdown was no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, always having had crossover appeal, was no. 5 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Lowdown was no. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and sold over one million copies to be certified Gold. It also won that year’s Grammy Award for Best R & B song making 32-year-old Boz Scaggs the first white musical artist to ever win in that award category.

The success of “Lowdown” was pivotal, becoming the album’s breakthrough hit and winning a Grammy for Best R&B Song.

Lowdown is the standout hit on Silk Degrees. Released on June 4, 1976, the smooth, jazzy R&B ballad became the breakthrough hit of the album, peaking at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning the 1977 Grammy for Best R&B Song.
LYRICS Baby’s into runnin’ around, hangin’ with the crowd
Puttin’ your business in the street, talkin’ out loud
Sayin’ you bought her this and that
And how much you done spent I swear she must believe it’s all heaven sent
Hey, boy
You better bring the chick around
To the sad, sad truth
The dirty lowdown
(Oohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Taught her how to talk like that
(Oohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Gave her that big idea
Nothin’ you can’t handle, nothin’ you ain’t got Put your money on the table and drive it off the lot Turn on that old lovelight and turn a “Maybe” to a “Yes” Same old schoolboy game got you into this mess
Hey son
Better get on back to town
Face the sad old truth
The dirty lowdown
(Oohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Put those ideas in your head
(Oohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Yeah
Come on back down, little son
Dig the low, low, low, low, lowdown!
You ain’t got to be so bad, got to be so cold
This dog eat dog existence sure is getting old
Got to have a jones for this, jones for that This runnin’ with the Joneses, boy, just ain’t where it’s at, no, no…
You gonna come back around
To the sad, sad truth
The dirty lowdown
(Oohooohooohooo)
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Got you thinking like that, boy
(Oohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Said I wonder, wonder, wonder, I wonder who
Oh, look out for that lowdown
(I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
That dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty lowdown
(Ooohooohooohooo)
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Ooohooohooohooo
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who
Got you thinkin’ like that
Got you thinkin’ just like that
(Ooohooohooohooo)
(I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who)
Lookin’ that girl in the face is so sad I’m ashamed of you
I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder who

The album served as a creative incubator for musicians such as David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and David Hungate, who would soon form Toto.

It was Silk Degree’s producer, Joe Wissert, who introduced Scaggs and David Paich of the future Toto, and Lowdown was the first song on the album they wrote together. The song came about when Scaggs and Paich took off to a weekend getaway spot outside L.A. and pounded out song ideas. When they returned to the city, they immediately recorded funk-disco Lowdown with the band. To talk about “the lowdown” is a slang term for “what’s really going on” – what’s factual and not just fancied. In Scaggs’s Lowdown, the singer looks to convey to the man in the song that he face “the sad, sad truth” about his woman. “The dirty lowdown” is that she is “into runnin’ around, hangin’ with the crowd” and not appreciating him or what he gives to her. Though she is “Puttin’ your business in the street,” the singer understands and is sympathetic to what the man wants. He seems to identify with the man’s hope that there’s “Nothin’ you can’t handle, nothin’ you ain’t got, Put your money on the table…Turn a Maybe to a Yes.” But the singer concludes that the man’s rosy outlook, born of overconfidence or desperation, is missing the mark: “Same old schoolboy game got you into this mess…” The singer could legitimately wonder “who got you thinking’ like that” but then iterates the lowdown: “Lookin’ that girl in the face is so sad I’m ashamed of you…”

**“WJMO – Radio – 11821 Euclid Ave” by Timothy Culek (photographer) Cleveland State University, Michael Schwartz Library, Special Collections is marked with CC0 1.0.**

The album transformed Scaggs from a respected cult artist into a major commercial star, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and eventually earning multi-platinum status.

Following this success that Scaggs admitted was the pure “accident” of a chain of events that had Lowdown released as a single, Lido Shuffle landed on the pop chart within a couple of weeks in March 1977, peaking at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1977 (no. 6 on Cash Box) and remaining on the pop chart throughout that summer. Like Lowdown, Lido Shuffle was co-written with David Paich who was featured on keyboards. The track also featured drummer Joe Porcaro and bassist David Hungate, all of whom formed the band Toto later in 1977. Of Silk Degrees Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave the album a “B PLUS (Later A-)” observing: “Scaggs is criticized for his detachment, but I say it’s subtlety and I say thank god for it. In the past, he’s sometimes bought (not to mention sold) his own lushness, but this collection is cooled by droll undercurrents–white soul with a sense of humor that isn’t consumed in self-parody. Inspirational Verse [from Lowdown]: “Gotta have a jones for this/Jones for that/This runnin’ with the joneses, boy/Just ain’t where it’s at.” See – Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide July 12, 1976 – retrieved February 18, 2026.

“Lido Shuffle,” “Lowdown,” and “It’s Over” demonstrated the album’s blend of sophisticated musicianship and mainstream appeal. Its longevity on the charts and continued reputation illustrate its lasting cultural significance.

It’s Over is the second track on side two of Boz Scaggs’ 1976 album, Silk Degrees, and was its lead single released in March 1976. Co‑written by Scaggs and David Paich, the track distills Silk Degrees into one smooth hit — a blue-eyed soul, tight R&B, soft-rock glide. Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and David Hungate anchor the groove, the same trio that would launch Toto later that year. It’s Over cracked the top 40 at no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.
LYRICS Your baby doesn’t love you any more
Golden days before they end
Whisper secrets to the wind
Your baby won’t be near you anymore
Tender nights before they fly
Send falling stars that seem to cry
Your baby doesn’t want you any more
It’s over
It breaks your heart in two
To know she’s been untrue
But, oh, what will you do?
When she says to you
There’s someone new
We’re through, we’re through
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
All the rainbows in the sky
Start to weep, then say goodbye
You won’t be seeing rainbows anymore
Setting suns before they fall
Echo to you that’s all that’s all
But you’ll see lonely sunsets after all
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over
It’s over

Built for the World’s Fair: The Congress Plaza Hotel (1893/1907) and Chicago’s Gilded Age Ambitions.

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Feature Image: Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition features this later ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank and the celebrated Gold Room. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 6.20 mb DSC_0617 (1).

The Congress Plaza Hotel embodies Chicago’s transformation during and after the World’s Columbian Exposition, linking the city’s emergence as a world-class destination with the architectural legacy of Clinton J. Warren and later expansions by Holabird & Roche. Through its strategic location, grand design, continuous operation since 1893, and association with major historical figures, the hotel serves as a living monument to Chicago’s Gilded Age ambitions and early twentieth-century prominence.

A Hotel of the Columbian Exposition Era

The original North Tower was built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago from May 1 through October 31 of that year. The project was developed by famed hotel entrepreneur R.H. Southgate and designed by architect Clinton J. Warren (1860-1938), one of Chicago’s most prolific young hotel specialists during the late nineteenth century.

Warren moved from Massachusetts to Chicago in 1879 and joined the firm of Burnham and Root the following year. After establishing his own practice in 1886, he designed an impressive roster of Chicago hotels, including the ten-story Virginia Hotel (1889-1890) at Ohio and Rush Streets; the eight-story Metropole Hotel (1891) at Michigan Avenue and 23rd Street; the Plaza Hotel (1891-1892) at Clark Street and North Avenue; the Lexington Hotel (1892) at 22nd Street and Michigan Avenue; and the Auditorium Annex (1893) at 504 South Michigan Avenue, today known as the Congress Plaza Hotel.

Built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition and originally opened as the Auditorium Annex, it was designed by architect Clinton J. Warren, one of Chicago’s leading hotel specialists of the era.

By 1900, Warren had returned to Boston. He died in San Diego in 1938, by which time his significant contribution to Chicago architecture had largely faded from public memory. Notably, his New York Times obituary made no mention of his training under Daniel Burnham, his role in shaping Chicago’s hotel architecture over two decades, or the later notoriety of his Lexington Hotel, which served as Al Capone’s headquarters from 1928 to 1931. The obituary read in full:

“Clinton J. Warren SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 17 (AP). Clinton J. Warren, architect, who designed buildings in Europe, Mexico and Eastern United States, died at his home here last night at the age of 80. Mr. Warren formerly lived in Winchester, Mass. His widow and two sons, Clinton Jay Jr. of San Francisco and John of New York, survive.” see – TimesMachine: March 18, 1938 – NYTimes.com and The Chicago Hotels of Architect Clinton J. Warren – Owlcation – retrieved February 22, 2026.

Beaux-Arts elevator banks at 504 S. Michigan Avenue were installed in 1907. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 3.99mb DSC_0958 (2).

The Auditorium Annex and a Strategic Location

Originally known as the Auditorium Annex, the hotel opened in 1893 to accommodate the enormous influx of visitors attending the World’s Columbian Exposition. Remarkably, it has operated continuously as a hotel ever since and has also become well known for its reputed ghost hauntings.

Its location was one of its greatest advantages. The hotel stood only five blocks from both Dearborn Station and Illinois Central Station, making it the closest major hotel to two of Chicago’s principal railroad terminals. It was also the southernmost major hotel in downtown Chicago and sat just a block and a half from the elevated railway line that carried visitors directly to the exposition grounds in Jackson Park.

Expanded with the South Tower between 1902 and 1907 designed by Holabird & Roche and featuring the ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank, the hotel grew to more than 1,000 rooms by 1908.

Expansion and the Famous Gold Elevators

The celebrated gold elevator bank is located in the hotel’s South Tower, an addition constructed between 1902 and 1907 and designed by the distinguished architectural firm Holabird & Roche. Executed in an ornate Beaux-Arts style, the elevators remain among the building’s most striking historic features.

The South Tower expansion also included the luxurious Gold Room banquet hall, reinforcing the hotel’s status as one of Chicago’s premier accommodations during the early twentieth century.see – Holabird & Roche. See- Chicago Landmarks – Architect Details – retrieved February 22, 2026.

William Holabird (1854-1923) and Martin Roche (1855-1927) of the architectural firm of Holabird & Roche designed the South Tower of today’s Congress Plaza Hotel between 1902 and 1907. Public Domain.

From Auditorium Annex to Congress Hotel

By 1908, the enlarged complex contained more than 1,000 guest rooms. In 1911, the property adopted the name Congress Hotel, a reference both to nearby Congress Parkway (today Ida B. Wells Drive) and its prominent location facing Grant Park.

Over the years, the hotel welcomed numerous American presidents. Among those who stayed there, and who may well have ridden these gilded elevators, were Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge. Today, the elevators stand as elegant reminders of the hotel’s origins in the era of the World’s Columbian Exposition and of its long history as one of Chicago’s most prominent grand hotels. See – Congress Plaza Hotel History | Congress Plaza Hotel – retrieved February 22, 2026.

Renamed the Congress Hotel in 1911, it has hosted numerous U.S. presidents and remains one of Chicago’s longest-operating and most historically significant hotels.

The Passing of Robert Duvall (1931–2026): A Six-Decade Legacy of Iconic Roles.

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Feature image: Dave Kunkel, Steve Lang, Robert Duvall. PHOTO: “Dave Kunkel, Steve Lang, Robert Duvall” by Wicklein Group is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

ROSA LEE: I LOVE YOU, YOU KNOW? EVERY NIGHT WHEN I SAY MY PRAYERS AND I THANK THE LORD FOR HIS BLESSINGS AND HIS TENDER MERCIES TO ME, YOU AND SONNY HEAD THE LIST. Tender Mercies – 11. “Blessings and Tender Mercies” – retrieved February 16, 2026.

The Passing of a Film Legend

Robert Duvall died February 15, 2026, at his home in Middleburg, Virginia, at 95 it was announced February 16.

An Oscar-Winning Turn in Tender Mercies

In Tender Mercies, a 1983 American drama film set in Texas, Robert Duvall played washed-up country singer Mac Sledge in a performance that won that year’s Academy Award for Best Actor. In this scene, Duvall’s friend, Wilford Brimley, played Harry, Mac’s former manager, and Tess Harper played a widow named Rosa Lee who develops feelings for Mac. Coming off a bitter break up with his wife Dixie Lee, a superstar country singer, who won’t let her ex-alcoholic husband near herself or their grown daughter, Mac, a once legendary country music star in his own right, lives and works quietly at a gas station operated by Rosa Lee who lives with her young son. As Mac tries to rebuild both his career and life on the Texas badlands, he finds he has keener, if less flashy, success with the latter. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, Tender Mercies also won Oscar for Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen (Horton Foote).

A Six-Decade Legacy of Iconic Cinema

In his 60-year film career, Duvall made scores of films, receiving seven Academy Award nominations in the process. Duvall also received four Golden Globe Awards. From his film debut in 1962 as Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird, Duvall appeared in some of the most iconic feature films of his era and in iconic roles both on screen and behind the camera as producer, writer and director.

Robert Duvall played Lieutenant Colonel William “Bill” Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, a 1979 war film directed by Francis (Ford) Coppola. Commanding the 1st Battalion, 9th Air Cavalry Regiment during the Vietnam War, Kilgore is depicted as an adrenaline-fueled “gung-ho” officer who embodies the insanity of the war. (6) Apocalypse Now UHD (1979) – Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (1/11) | 4K Clips – YouTube – retrieved February 16, 2026.

Notable Filmography and Final Work

Notable film titles include: True Grit (1969), M*A*S*H (1970), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini (1979), Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), The Apostle (1997), Open Range (2003), and Wild Horses (2015). At 91 years old, Duvall’s final film, The Pale Blue Eye, was released 60 years after his first, in 2022.

Based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) is one of the greatest films of all time. Robert Duvall plays cool-headed Tom Hagen, the Irish-German consigliere and lawyer for the Corleone crime family. Since youth Hagen was unofficially adopted into the New York-based Italian American family by the Godfather, Vito Corleone. Hagen is dispatched to Hollywood by the Godfather to secure a film role for Johnny Fontaine, a singer and Vito’s godson, and produced by Jack Woltz (John Marley). When Woltz refuses Tom Hagen’s first offer for Johnny to star in his picture, and Tom Hagen returns to New York, the Godfather makes the reluctant film producer a second offer he can’t refuse.

Robert Duvall’s extraordinary six-decade career cemented his status as a titan of American cinema. From his hauntingly quiet film debut in To Kill a Mockingbird to his commanding, adrenaline-fueled performance in Apocalypse Now, Duvall possessed a rare, transformative range. His Oscar-winning turn in Tender Mercies showcased his unique ability to find profound truth in personal, everyday humanity. Whether portraying fierce officers, cool-headed family consiglieres, or broken men seeking redemption, Duvall consistently elevated every frame he occupied. His immense body of work leaves behind an indelible blueprint for character acting and an enduring legacy in film history.

This explanatory article may be periodically updated.

CHICAGO SKYLINE: The Shape of a Great City.

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Feature Image: Chicago. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 5.85mb DSCN1452 (1).

Chicago’s skyline demonstrates how architecture, engineering, and urban design combine to create one of the world’s most recognizable cityscapes, where individual landmarks become part of a larger visual composition of steel, stone, glass, light, and ambition.

Chicago skyline from Museum Campus promontory (Northerly Island). October 2016. Author’s photograph. 4.90mb DSC_0104 (1)

Chicago. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 5.85mb DSCN1452 (1).

Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue looking east, Chicago. From left: Trump International Hotel and Tower, Adrian Smith, architect (2009). Trump Tower Chicago is a 98-story skyscraper at 401 N Wabash Ave, completed in 2009. Rising 1,389 feet with its spire, it includes 486 condos, a 339-room hotel, and ranks as the 4th tallest building in the United States.

Wrigley Building, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, architect (1921).

Tribune Tower (partially hidden), Howells & Hood, architect (1925).

401 N Michigan Avenue (Equitable Building), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1965/Facelift 1992/Renovation 2016). The plaza (Pioneer Court) of the Miesian 401 N. Michigan draws over 22,000 pedestrians daily from busy Michigan Avenue. Apple’s global flagship store shares the plaza that provides immediate access to the Riverwalk via the Spanish Steps. see – 401 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611 – Office for Lease | LoopNet – retrieved February 13, 2026.

360 N. Michigan Avenue (London Guarantee & Accident Building), Alfred S. Alschuler, architect (1923).

85 E. Wacker Drive (London House).

75 E. Wacker (formerly Lincoln Tower, originally Mather Tower), Herbert Hugh Riddle, architect (1928) and Harry Weese & Assocs. (Renovation/1983).

71 E. Wacker Drive (The Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown, formerly Executive House Hotel), Milton Schwartz, architect (1959). 71 E. Wacker Drive is the first high-rise hotel in Chicago since the Great Depression. see – Executive House Hotel, 71 E. Wacker, Chicago – retrieved February 13, 2026.

Chicago. May 2015. Author’s photograph. 99% 7.92mb DSC_0468.

Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Street looking west on Van Buren, Chicago. Left: Chicago Club, 81. E. Van Buren, Granger & Bollenbacher, architect (1929).

Right: CNA Center (333 S. Wabash Avenue), Graham, Anderson, Probst, architect (1972).

Near background: 333 S. State, DePaul Center (formerly Goldblatt’s, originally Rothschild & Co. Store), Holabird & Roche, architect (1912), renovation 1993.

Far background: Fisher Building (343 S. Dearborn Street), D.H. Burnham & Co., architect (1896) and Northern Addition, Peter J. Weber, architect (1907). Restoration and adaptive Reuse, 2001.

Chicago. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 4.28mb DSC_0061 (1)

Adams and Dearborn Streets looking north along Dearborn, Chicago. Left: 55 Xerox Center, 55 West Monroe, Chicago, Helmut Jahn, architect (1977-1980). Behind (partially hidden): Chase Tower (originally First National Bank of Chicago), Perkins & Will; C.F. Murphy Assocs. (1969).

Right: 33 W. Monroe, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects (1980). Behind: Inland Steel Building, 30 W. Monroe, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects (1954-1958).

Background: 2 N. State/1 N. Dearborn Streets (originally, Boston Store), Holabird & Roche (1906; 1917), renovation (2001).

**Chicago.** November 2015. Author’s photograph. 3.77mb DSC_0384 (1).

Halsted Street between Adams Street and Jackson Boulevard looking east, Chicago. Union Station Tower (MidAmerica Commodity Exchange), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1971). Willis Tower (originally, Sears Tower), Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1974).

Chicago. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 2.40mb DSC_0577 (2).

Balbo and Wabash Avenues looking north on Wabash. Left: (with Columbia College wall sign) 33 Ida B. Wells Drive building, Alfred S. Alschuler, architect, (1925/1926). DePaul University College of Law, 25 E. Jackson and, beyond, 230 S. Wabash, a 21-story building built in 1910.

Center: Trump International Hotel and Tower, Adrian Smith, architect (2009).

At right: Roosevelt University: Auditorium Building, Adler & Sullivan, architect (1887-1889) and The Wabash Building, a 32-story zigzagging glass structure, Christopher Groesbeck, AIA, architect (2012). CNA Center (333 S. Wabash Avenue), Graham, Anderson, Probst, architect (1972).

Chicago. December 2015. Author’s photograph. 3.60mb DSC_0986 (2)

From left: Old Colony Building, 407 S. Dearborn Street, Holabird & Roche, architect (1894), Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center, 71 W. Van Buren Street, Harry Weese & Associates (1975), Fisher Building, 342 S. Dearborn Street, D.H. Burnham, architect (1896) and Northern Addition, Peter Weber, architect (1907) and Sears Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1974).

Chicago. July 2016. Author’s photograph. 5.33mb DSC_0743 (1)

Lincoln Park looking over South Pond towards downtown. At left: (partial view) Water Tower Place, 845 N. Michigan Avenue, Loebl, Schlossman & Hackl, architect (1976); John Hancock Building, 875 N. Michigan Avenue, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1969); 900 North Michigan Avenue, Kohn Pedersen Fox, architect (1989); Park Tower, 800 N. Michigan Avenue, Lucien LaGrange & Assoc., architect (2000); The Aon Center (formerly, Amoco Building; originally, Standard Oil Building), 200 E. Randolph Street, Edward Durell Stone; Perkins & Will, architects (1973); Trump International Hotel and Tower, Adrian Smith, architect (2009); At right: James House, 1560 North Sandburg Terrace, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, architect (1971).

Chicago. July 2016. Author’s photograph. 3.28 mb DSC_0045 (1)

Looking north on Wabash Avenue from Randolph Street, the Chicago elevated train follows a north-south route along Wabash Avenue and has been part of downtown since the late 1890’s. The “Kemper” sign is on the relatively dull modernist Kemper Building, now One East Wacker, Shaw, Metz & Assoc., architect (1962). Followed by 35 East Wacker Drive (formerly Pure Oil Building; originally, Jewelers Building) with its distinctive dome, Glaver & Dinkelberg; Thielbar & Fugard, Assoc. Archs., architect (1926). Partial view is Trump Tower.

**Chicago.** September 2016. Author’s photograph. 3.89mb DSC_0740 (1)

Right to left: The 233 E. Wacker Drive building (known as Columbus Plaza) in Chicago is 48-story apartment building, Fujikawa Conterato Lohan and Associates, architect (1978-1980).
The 111 E. Wacker Drive building (known as One Illinois Center) in Chicago, is a 30-story Modernist building featuring bronze anodized aluminum and dark-tinted glass, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in association with Joseph Fujikawa, architect (1967-1970).
The Swissôtel Chicago at 323 E. Wacker Drive, is a 45-story, triangular, all-glass luxury hotel, Harry Weese and Associates, architect (1989).
The 345 E. Wacker Drive building (known as Coast at Lakeshore East) in Chicago is a 40-story residential apartment tower, bKL Architecture LLC, architect (2013).

Chicago. September 2016. Author’s photograph. 4.93mb DSC_0745 (1)

From the Riverwalk looking north along N. St. Clair Street: at right, the 27-story spandrel glass and metal panel 633 N. St Clair St. building, Loebl Schlossman [later; Dart] & Hackl, architect (1991).
At left, the 63-story pinkish, rose-hued Swedish granite 161 Chicago Avenue East building (known as Olympia Centre) is a mixed-use retail, office, and residential skyscraper, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1984-85).
At right, the 74-story gray marble facade Water Tower Place, the first vertical shopping center on Michigan Avenue (8 floors), also includes the Ritz-Carlton hotel, luxury condos, and office space, Edward D. Dart (Loebl Schlossman Bennett and Dart), architect (1975).
The John Hancock Center—now officially 875 North Michigan Avenue—is a 100‑story, tapered mixed‑use skyscraper known for its iconic X‑bracing. Often described as a “vertical city,” it is considered one of the first major mixed‑use skyscrapers in the world and includes office space (floors 13–41), about 700 condominiums (floors 44–92), and the highest indoor swimming pool in North America on the 44th floor. Its 94th‑floor observation deck offers panoramic views of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Bruce Graham of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architect (1969). It was engineered by Fazlur Rahman Khan, who pioneered the tubular structural system used in the tower.

Chicago. September 2016. Author’s photograph. 5.06mb DSC_0756 (2)

The Carbide and Carbon Building rises from 230 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago like a gleaming Art Deco toast to the Jazz Age, Burnham Brothers, architect (1929). The 37‑story tower is instantly recognizable: its base wrapped in polished black granite, its shaft clad in deep green terra cotta, and its crown shimmering with 24‑karat gold leaf. Legend has it the architects shaped the building to resemble a champagne bottle — a fitting symbol for a city that never stopped celebrating its own ambition.

Chicago. October 2015. Author’s photograph. 3.90mb.

Above: Alexander Calder’s Flamingo (1974) sits in Federal Plaza designed by modernist architect Mies Van Der Rohe. Behind it is Mies’ 45-floor John C. Kluczynski Building at 230 S. Dearborn Street and on a sunny east side of South Dearborn his 30-story Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Moving south across Jackson Boulevard is the 5-story 33 West Jackson Boulevard building built in 1910 (with additions/remodels stretching through 1917). Next to it is The Standard Club at 321 South Dearborn Street built in 1926 and designed by Albert Kahn. The Fisher Building (1896) at 343 South Dearborn Street and its annex is next further south. Designed by D.H. Burnham & Company, it was completed in 1896. The Old Colony building on the other side of the L tracks was built between 1893 and 1894, When it officially topped out, the 17-story, 215-foot high-rise briefly held the title of the tallest building in Chicago. It was designed by the legendary architectural firm of Holabird & Roche. The framework was engineered by Corydon T. Purdy who designed it with a highly advanced, pioneering skeletal steel-frame structure that carries the entirety of the building’s massive weight allowing the exterior features absolutely no self-supporting walls.

Chicago. June 2022. Author’s photograph. 7.24 mb

Above: On the west side of Clark Street between Adams Street and Jackson Boulevard—visible directly behind Alexander Calder’s Flamingo sculpture—the prominent structures are from left to right: The Commercial Office Building located at 118 South Clark Street (directly tucked between the Bankers Building and Jackson Boulevard)—was completed in 1920 and designed by the prolific Chicago architectural firm Holabird & Roche, Willis Tower in the distance, The Bankers Building (105 West Adams Street, completed in 1927 by the Burnham Brothers, a 476-foot Art Deco masterpiece featuring characteristic deep light courts and upper-tier setbacks), and, on the other side of Adams Street, The Field Building at 140 S. Clark. Completed in 1934 by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, it stands as one of the finest premier masterpieces of Art Deco skyscraper design in the entire United States. A corner slice of the Edison Building is also pictured.

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FEATURE IMAGE: The 1966 Chevrolet Impala is 6 foot 7 inches wide (79.9 inches). See –https://www.conceptcarz.com/s9332/chevrolet-impala-series.aspx – retrieved May 7, 2024. May 2024. 94% 7.65mb Author’s photograph.

The new design on all cars included a taller, wraparound windshield and rear windows that were greatly enlarged joined to thinner roof pillars for greater visibility. The slightly curved rear window went high into the roof line and sported a “flat top” roof.

The tailfin began its rise just behind the front door, running cleanly to the rear with a subtle lift in height. At the back, the horizontal fins overhung the taillights and converged at the centerline, forming a crisp “V” that defined the car’s signature rear profile.

The body style lasted through model year 1960. Impala’s average price in 1959 was $2,719 (about $31,000 in 2026 dollars). Chevy produced a little over 500,000 Impalas in 1959.

Ad tag line for the 1959 Chevy Impala: “Chevy’s glamorous new series. Stunning and elegant.”

1959 Chevrolet Impala 2-door hardtop. Second Generation (1959-1960). In 1959 Chevy Impala replaced the Bel Air as Chevy’s full-size premium model.

The Ad tag line for 1961 Impala: “America’s most popular cars, now trimmer in size.”

In 1965 the Chevrolet Full‑size line was sold with the tag line “Exciting, new look of elegance,” and the 1965 model year pushed that promise with a noticeable shift toward greater performance.

By the late 1960s, as the muscle‑car movement shifted toward smaller, lighter platforms, the full‑size Super Sport gradually lost its footing. The Impala SS made its final appearance in 1969, closing the book on the original Super Sport era.

For Chevrolet in 1966, the company’s most painful competitive gap wasn’t in the full‑size field at all — it was the absence of a true answer to the runaway success of the Ford Mustang.

The 1966 Chevrolet Impala is nearly 18 feet long (213.2 inches). May 2024. 85% 7.56mb Author’s photograph.

Production numbers underscored the Impala’s dominance. Out of Chevrolet’s 2,082,947 cars built for 1969, the Impala accounted for roughly 40% of the total — about 777,000 units — easily outpacing the more upscale Caprice and reaffirming its role as Chevrolet’s full‑size cornerstone.

1969 Chevrolet Impala. May 2024. 84% 7.93mb Author’s photograph.

1969 Chevrolet Impala. May 2024. 90% 7.42mb. Author’s photograph.

1970 Chevy Impala. September 2022. 67% Author’s photograph.

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Architecture of Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette.

Founding History and Its “Home Alone” Legacy.

Beyond its religious and architectural significance, the church gained broader recognition through its connection to the beloved film Home Alone.

How the architecture relates to the stained‑glass program.

Interior Analysis: Gothic Revival Structure.

How Methodist theology shaped 20th‑century stained glass.

Its stained glass windows were created by the renowned Willett Studios of Philadelphia, among the most respected American ecclesiastical glass firms.

Façade window – Jesus Calling the First Disciples:

Methodist stained glass seeks to be beautiful where clarity is key. The style tends to bold outlines, well delineated figures and readable gestures with minimal abstraction.

Traditional enough to feel sacred – Modern enough to feel fresh – narrative enough to teach – artistic enough to inspire: Why Willett Studios was chosen.

“Do all the good you can.”

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The Frank J. Baker House illustrates a pivotal stage in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School development, where experimentation with the T-shaped plan, two-story living spaces, and environmental continuity produced one of the architect’s most significant domestic designs of 1909

Through a deliberate sequence of compression and release, Wright choreographed movement through the Baker House so that ordinary domestic spaces culminate in a soaring central living room that serves as the spiritual and architectural heart of the home.

Interior Analysis.

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THERE’S NOTHING “PAGAN” TO SEE HERE: VATICAN SPOKESMEN.

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The Metropolitan Tower was built in 1924 as the headquarters of S.W. Straus & Co. and designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, successors to the Burnham architectural tradition.

The elaborate entrance and lobby originally featured exceptional decorative work, including bronze doors created by sculptor Leo Lentelli, although many original elements have been lost.

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Silk Degrees was Boz Scaggs’ career-defining breakthrough album, a landmark fusion of blue-eyed soul, R&B, jazz, funk, and pop whose commercial success, enduring hit singles, and influence on the future members of Toto secured its place as one of the most important albums of the mid-1970s.

While inspiration for the unmistakably contemporary “Lido Shuffle” can be drawn from Carl Perkins’ energetic rockabilly style and Fats Domino’s infectious rhythm-and-blues groove, Boz Scaggs and David Paich fashioned a modern tale of a gambler forever chasing the next big win.

The success of “Lowdown” was pivotal, becoming the album’s breakthrough hit and winning a Grammy for Best R&B Song.

The album served as a creative incubator for musicians such as David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and David Hungate, who would soon form Toto.

The album transformed Scaggs from a respected cult artist into a major commercial star, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and eventually earning multi-platinum status.

“Lido Shuffle,” “Lowdown,” and “It’s Over” demonstrated the album’s blend of sophisticated musicianship and mainstream appeal. Its longevity on the charts and continued reputation illustrate its lasting cultural significance.

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A Hotel of the Columbian Exposition Era

Built in 1893 during the World’s Columbian Exposition and originally opened as the Auditorium Annex, it was designed by architect Clinton J. Warren, one of Chicago’s leading hotel specialists of the era.

The Auditorium Annex and a Strategic Location

Expanded with the South Tower between 1902 and 1907 designed by Holabird & Roche and featuring the ornate Beaux-Arts gold elevator bank, the hotel grew to more than 1,000 rooms by 1908.

Expansion and the Famous Gold Elevators

From Auditorium Annex to Congress Hotel

Renamed the Congress Hotel in 1911, it has hosted numerous U.S. presidents and remains one of Chicago’s longest-operating and most historically significant hotels.

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The Passing of a Film Legend

An Oscar-Winning Turn in Tender Mercies

A Six-Decade Legacy of Iconic Cinema

Notable Filmography and Final Work

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Chicago’s skyline demonstrates how architecture, engineering, and urban design combine to create one of the world’s most recognizable cityscapes, where individual landmarks become part of a larger visual composition of steel, stone, glass, light, and ambition.

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**Ad tag line for the 1959 Chevy Impala: “Chevy’s glamorous new series. Stunning and elegant.”**