Geoffrey Baer's Chicago (WTTW)

12/28/2022

Something I look forward to every year at this time. No peeking if you haven’t solved it yet!

12/23/2022

City in a Snow Globe. Fun ideas for loving winter in Chicago at the Chicago Architecture Center.

12/20/2022

Spotted off the Evanston shoreline THIS MORNING! (Air temperature 25°F windchill 11°F). Of course, I took this picture while on a bike ride this morning. So people might think I’m crazy too.

11/29/2022

He’s b-a-a-ack! Larry Yando’s 15th year as Scrooge at the Goodman. He invests what could be a cliché cartoon character with so many dimensions, such inner life and humanity. A corny old story, you say? Bah humbug! My daughter and I both got choked up at the end.

11/27/2022

Forest Park, St. Louis.
-Larger than Central Park (but so is Lincoln Park, and at least four other parks in New York City).
-Home of the 1904 World’s Fair (and third and final home of Chicago’s Ferris wheel from the 1893 World’s Fair).
-Home to the art museum, history museum, incredible zoo, and other, cultural attractions, all free to the public.
-Natural areas, hiking trails, golf courses, waterways, hills…
St. Louis can rightly be proud.

11/25/2022

The art deco “Jewelbox” conservatory from 1938 in Forest Park, St. Louis. (Thanksgiving Road trip). More posts coming later of beautiful Forest Park.

11/22/2022

I’m giving away a Subaru Live from the WTTW studios about a half an hour from now. So cool!

11/16/2022

One of my heroes. Newton Minow. A founder of PBS, originator of televised presidential debates, John F. Kennedy‘s FCC chairman (he famously called TV back then a “vast wasteland“), WTTW trustee. And oh yeah, partly credited as matchmaker for Barack and Michelle Obama.

11/15/2022

Ready for their close-up

Architects readied their buildings for closeups that would not be possible until 100 years later!

Pennsylvania duo focuses on “antique skyscrapers.”

11/10/2022

NASCAR temporarily in Grant Park. What would Aaron Montgomery Ward think?

10/23/2022

We gave the CTA‘s 99-year-old L train a workout today for two WTTW member tours. We planned to take the Green Line south but a building fire at 47th St. shut down the line temporarily. So I had to wing it as we went west on the Green Line to Oak Park instead. Good thing Chicago is the birthplace of improvisation 🙂. It was a blast sharing the day with members and the wonderful volunteers from the Heritage Fleet who keep this amazing train running.

10/21/2022

That’s a wrap! Could’ve been a little warmer on Wednesday night when we finished filming “The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago”. But the rooftop of the London House Hotel at magic hour couldn’t have been more beautiful.

10/10/2022

Spooky Season on steroids in north suburban in Highwood!

10/04/2022

Wrigley Field Like You've Never Seen It Before | Drone Fly Through of the Ballpark, Clubhouse & More

Have you seen this!!?? Wow...

See Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood like you've never seen it before. Fly through Wrigleyville, the ballpark, the Cubs Clubhouse and more with...

10/03/2022

WTTW News Debuts a New Experience for Viewers

WTTW "Chicago Tonight" gets a new set tonight!
https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2022/09/30/wttw-news-debuts-new-experience-viewers
Click below and scroll down to watch a time-lapse of construction and a sneak peek at how it looks and works with green screen and virtual elements. Pretty cool!

The Emmy award-winning, flagship nightly news program Chicago Tonight is about to look very different.

09/30/2022

The monumental Chicago Vocational School on the south east side. My friend Lee Bey suggested it for one of the most beautiful places in Chicago. Sure, it’s his alma mater, but well deserved! Lee featured it in his terrific book Southern Exposure about overlooked architecture of the southside.

09/23/2022

One of the towering “ore walls“ on the abandoned US Steel South Works site near the Calumet River is now a Chicago Park District climbing wall and I made it to the top! The walls once used to store iron ore pellets for steel making are also hollow and creepy on the inside!

09/21/2022

Couldn’t make a show about the most beautiful places in Chicago without this one. Frank Lloyd Wright’s magnificently restored Unity Temple in Oak Park. The Chicago area’s own UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with Wright’s Robie House in Hyde Park. Thanks to Heidi Ruehle and Unity Temple Restoration Foundation for hosting us and giving a great interview!

09/19/2022

Tiffany apparently did not have spellcheck when he created these mosaics. 🙂 Regardless, The Chicago Cultural Center is hands-down one of the most beautiful places in Chicago. And one of my most favorite.

09/14/2022

A bathtub with a view of Lollapalooza! The $19 million, 92nd floor penthouse at St. Regis Tower by renowned Chicago architect Jeanne Gang. And check out the pics of the open-air 82nd floor that allows wind to blow through and minimize the sway of the building.

09/06/2022

Super thrilled to meet and interview artist Nick Cave today at the MCA. His remarkable “Soundsuits” are part of a major exhibition of his exuberant and poignant work.

09/02/2022

An astonishing “handmade house" in Old Town completed in 1932. Every square inch covered in the creativity of Edgar Miller’s wood carving, stained glass, ceramic tile and relief sculpture. I’m posting a lot of photos because there is just so much to see! And check out a virtual tour here. https://www.edgarmiller.org/glasner-studio-virtual-tour

08/30/2022

The Rookery! LaSalle and Adam. Frank Lloyd Wright updated the already dazzling lobby in marble and gold leaf in 1905 to make it even more dazzling. The spiraling oriel stairway dates from Burnham and Root’s original design. Wow.

08/28/2022

Rode the cool new bridge over the Chicago River between Addison and Belmont today. On the site of the long-lost Riverview amusement park.

08/26/2022

Did you know there was a hidden private park atop the parking garage at Lakepoint Tower by legendary landscape architect Alfred Caldwell?

08/25/2022

Yesterday we took our search for Chicago beauty to new heights! Big thanks to pilots Gene Woods and Kevin Fletcher for their awesome formation flying to capture this on camera.

08/23/2022

Another day, another beautiful location. Under the flying buttresses of Tribune Tower.

08/19/2022

BAPS Hindu house of worship called a mandir in Bartlett. Filmed today. Hand-carved in marble, limestone and wood by 1000 artisans in India and shipped here in pieces for assembly, all in just 18 months! Another of our most beautiful places in Chicago for my upcoming WTTW special. Thanks to our tour guide Payal Shah (pictured) and all the wonderful welcoming people there.

08/16/2022

No, not some lavish European palace. This is in Chicago! Do you know where? Those who guessed the Elks National Memorial in Lincoln Park are correct! We filmed it yesterday for my new show "The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago"!

07/19/2022

Rare, Decades-Old 'Ghost Signs' Revealed On Ravenswood Building Facing Demolition

New AMAZING ghost signs!

The siding on a wooden two-flat dating back to the 1890s was taken down recently, revealing well-preserved walls of advertisements for Shell Oil and Wonder Bread's predecessor that might date back to the '50s.

06/28/2022

Starbucks Roastery in the former Crate and Barrel building on Michigan Avenue. Coffee beans delivered to baristas from the roaster through an elaborate system of tubes. An employee told me it was inspired by W***y Wonka. Did not fact check that statement, but it looks plausible to me!

06/19/2022

National Cathedral in DC. Jaw-dropping. Excellent tour from my longtime friend Tim who happens to be a docent there!

06/18/2022

Totally geeking out at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington DC.