Chicago. It's what's next.

CHICAGO , IL. NEW YEARS 2007.

Spent a few days in Chicago over new years as I was gearing up for The Europe trip. Here are a few witty observations...

Ann Sathers in Chicago is the best breakfast in the world. Don't agree? I will seriously follow you into an alley and engage you in one of those 'fistfights' you see on TV. I'm not a foodie, but I love any place that puts a spread like this in front of you.

It's just such cute food. I, of course, ate 1/3 of the muffin, and drank the Coke.

Harley's sunk into a planter. Boystown, USA. ?huh? Don't get it, but I love it.

Entry I read in the guestbook at MOMA, San Francisco:

"These are not real art. Real art has, like Madonnas in it and stuff"

Certainly no Madonnas here.

An abandoned bus under the "el" becomes a hibernating albino... something. Whale? Let's go with whale.

God is in the details. The devil, luckily, can be found in the corner.

Everything fun worth doing is best done in a corner. It's the only fair privacy one has in a crowded room, it's the darkest park of a city street. Details relegated to the corner are put to the world by a designer who has special affection for them. Reveals and details in a corner never get to shine like a keystone or a header, but instead quietly take their place and perform their thankless duty. This is something a designer can relate to.

The above is a corner detail on the Belmont El station. While I was there, scaffolding was up to facilitate a renovation, and a temporary structure was standing next to the original. What was essentially a farm-grade outbuilding stood in wait as passerby pray for rehab-not renovation. I think Chicago is a smart enough city to know not to loose infrastructure with character. Thank god for that fire.

Take a look at this condo development:

This is the coolest residential project I have ever seen. It's fitting that it's in Chicago. I stumbled upon it as I wandered back into the city from Peter Mars' studio, which was a stange little gallery space in an industrial park west of the Loop. I'll design stuff like this one day. I'll live in something like this one day.